Variation in female mate preference in response to eavesdropping \"interloper\" males

Eavesdropping by conspecific males that are competing for mates has been demonstrated across a variety of taxa. However, few studies have investigated how eavesdropping may actually impact female mating decisions. Specifically, females may change their mating preferences based on whether the eavesdropping male varies in its phenotype (e.g., expression of condition-indicating secondary sexual characters or courtship vigor) relative to the male that initiated courtship. We examined variation in female preferences in the context of eavesdropping in the brush-legged wolf spider, Schizocosa ocreata. Female S. ocreata typically prefer males with large tufts and males that court at higher rates. In live mating trials, however, females preferentially mated with the males that courted first. It has yet to be investigated whether female preferences change when males of varying phenotypes are encountered sequentially, as might be expected in an eavesdropping context. We used video playback experim...跨多个分类群均已证实，争夺配偶的同种雄性会发生窃听行为。然而，鲜有研究探讨窃听行为究竟会如何影响雌性的交配决策。具体而言，雌性的交配偏好可能会根据窃听雄性与发起求偶的雄性之间的表型（phenotype）差异——例如体现身体状态的第二性征表达水平或求偶活力——而发生改变。本研究以刷肢狼蛛（brush-legged wolf spider）*Schizocosa ocreata* 为研究对象，探讨了窃听情境下雌性交配偏好的变化。刷肢狼蛛雌性通常偏好具有较大毛簇的雄性，以及求偶频率更高的雄性。但在活体交配实验中，雌性却优先与率先发起求偶的雄性交配。目前仍未明确，当雌性按顺序接触不同表型的雄性时（这一情况在窃听情境中较为常见），其交配偏好是否会发生改变。我们采用视频回放实验……