Data from: Leader preference in Neoconocephalus ensiger katydids: a female preference for a non-heritable male trait

Leader preferences, which result in greater mating success of males that produce their signals just ahead of those of their neighbors, are common in acoustically communicating insects and anurans (e.g. Whitney and Krebs 1975, Greenfield and Roizen 1993, Grafe 1996, Römer et al. 1997, Greenfield et al. 2004). These preferences are unusual in that they do not act on a property of the male signal itself but rather on its timing relative to that of other males (Snedden and Greenfield 1998), making the relationship between female preferences and male signal traits particularly complex. Leader preferences have been studied from several perspectives: their strength, their effect on male interactions, and their evolutionary origins (e.g. Greenfield and Roizen 1993, Grafe 1999, Römer et al. 2002, Hartbauer et al. 2006, Richardson et al. 2008, Hartbauer 2014, Party et al. 2014, Party et al. 2015).

可使信号发出时机早于邻近同类的雄性个体获得更高交配成功率的领先信号偏好（Leader preferences），在开展声学通讯的昆虫及无尾两栖动物（Anura）中极为普遍（例如Whitney与Krebs 1975、Greenfield与Roizen 1993、Grafe 1996、Römer等1997、Greenfield等2004）。这类偏好的特殊性在于，其选择依据并非雄性信号自身的某一属性，而是该信号相较于其他雄性信号的时间先后关系（Snedden与Greenfield 1998），这使得雌性偏好与雄性信号性状之间的关联变得尤为复杂。学界已从多个维度对领先信号偏好展开研究，包括其作用强度、对雄性个体间互动的影响以及其进化起源（例如Greenfield与Roizen 1993、Grafe 1999、Römer等2002、Hartbauer等2006、Richardson等2008、Hartbauer 2014、Party等2014、Party等2015）。