Direct detection of male quality can facilitate the evolution of female choosiness and indicators of good genes: evolution across a continuum of indicator mechanisms

The evolution of mating displays as indicators of male quality has been the subject of extensive theoretical and empirical research for over four decades. Research has also addressed the evolution of female mate choice favoring such indicators. Yet, much debate still exists about whether displays can evolve through the indirect benefits of female mate choice. Here, we use a population genetic model to investigate how the extent to which females can directly detect male quality influences the evolution of female choosiness and male displays. We use a continuum framework that incorporates indicator mechanisms that are traditionally modelled separately. Counter to intuition, we find that intermediate levels of direct detection of male quality can facilitate, rather than impede, the evolution of female choosiness and male displays in broad regions of this continuum. We examine how this evolution is driven by selective forces on genetic quality and on the display, and find that direct detec...四十余年来，作为雄性质量指标的交配展示（mating displays）的演化，一直是理论与实证研究领域备受关注的核心议题。相关研究同时围绕青睐这类指标的雌性择偶偏好的演化展开。然而，关于交配展示能否通过雌性择偶选择的间接收益实现演化，学界至今仍存在大量争议。本文借助种群遗传模型（population genetic model），探究雌性直接检测雄性质量的程度如何影响雌性择偶挑剔性与雄性交配展示的演化。我们采用了统一的连续统框架，整合了以往通常单独建模的各类指标机制。与直觉相悖的是，我们发现：在该连续统的广泛区域内，中等程度的雄性质量直接检测能力，反而会促进而非阻碍雌性择偶挑剔性与雄性交配展示的演化。我们进一步考察了该演化过程如何受遗传质量与展示性状的选择压力驱动，并发现直接检测……