Data from: Stable directional sexual selection and repeatable choosiness for song preference in the Pacific field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus

Choosiness, or how picky an individual is in mate choice, is key to both
sexual selection and speciation. Yet the amount of phenotypic variation in
choosiness and how that variation is partitioned among individuals remains
largely unexplored. Here, using the Pacific field cricket Teleogryllus
oceanicus, we dissect preference for two song traits, proportion of long
chirp and interpulse interval. We subsequently quantify phenotypic
variation in choosiness and investigate whether there is consistent
individual variation in choosiness and whether choosiness for different
song traits covaries. Strikingly, we found that the overall shape and peak
preference for the proportion of long chirps remained similar to those
reported in an earlier study from the same population more than a decade
ago, providing evidence that directional sexual selection can be
relatively stable over long time frames in wild populations. Further, we
found moderate levels of within-individual repeatability in choosiness for
both song traits, suggesting a substantial level of individual variation
in choosiness. Interestingly, choosiness for the two song traits
positively covaries, indicating that there may exist overall choosier and
more permissive females in song preference.

择偶挑剔性（choosiness），即个体在择偶过程中的挑剔程度，是性选择（sexual selection）与物种形成（speciation）的核心关键。然而，学界对择偶挑剔性的表型变异（phenotypic variation）幅度，以及该变异在个体间的分配模式，仍鲜有探索。本研究以太平洋田野蟋蟀（Teleogryllus oceanicus）为研究对象，解析其对两项鸣声性状的择偶偏好：长鸣比例（proportion of long chirp）与脉冲间隔（interpulse interval）。随后，我们量化了择偶挑剔性的表型变异，并探究了择偶挑剔性是否存在稳定的个体间差异，以及不同鸣声性状的择偶挑剔性是否存在协变关系。值得注意的是，我们发现该种群蟋蟀对长鸣比例的整体偏好曲线与偏好峰值，与十余年前的一项早期研究结果高度一致，这为野生种群中的定向性选择（directional sexual selection）可在长期时间尺度内保持相对稳定提供了实证依据。此外，我们发现两项鸣声性状的择偶挑剔性均存在中等程度的个体内重复性（within-individual repeatability），表明择偶挑剔性存在显著的个体间差异。有趣的是，两项鸣声性状的择偶挑剔性呈正相关，这表明在鸣声偏好方面，可能存在整体更挑剔或更宽容的雌性个体。