Data from: Female preference functions drive interpopulation divergence in male signalling: call diversity in the bushcricket Ephippiger diurnus

Female preferences play a major role in the elaboration and diversification of male traits: as a selective pressure on males, variation in female preferences can generate population divergence and ultimately, speciation. We studied how interpopulation differences in the shape of female mate preference functions may have shaped male advertisement signals in the bushcricket Ephippiger diurnus. This species is distributed as geographically isolated populations with striking interpopulation variation in male acoustic signals, most notably in the number of syllables per call. Here, we asked whether differences in the shape of preference functions exist among populations and whether those differences may have driven male signal evolution resulting in the observed differences in syllable numbers. Our results reveal fundamental differences in female preferences among populations, with differences in the overall preference function shape corresponding to differences in male signals. These differences in female preferences best explain the major differences in male signals among populations. The interpopulation variation in signals and preferences potentially reflects the evolutionary history of the species and may contribute to further divergence among populations and subsequent speciation.

雌性偏好对雄性性状的塑造与多样化发挥着关键性作用：作为施加于雄性的选择压力，雌性偏好的差异可引发种群分化，最终促成物种形成。本研究以昼鸣棘螽（Ephippiger diurnus）为对象，探究雌性配偶偏好函数（female mate preference functions）的种群间形状差异是否塑造了该物种雄性的求偶鸣声信号。该物种呈地理隔离的种群分布格局，其雄性声学信号存在显著的种群间差异，尤以单次鸣叫的音节数最为突出。本研究旨在明确两个核心问题：其一，不同种群的配偶偏好函数形状是否存在差异；其二，此类差异是否推动了雄性信号演化，进而造就了观测到的音节数差异。研究结果显示，不同种群的雌性偏好存在根本性差异，且配偶偏好函数的整体形状差异与雄性信号差异高度对应。雌性偏好的此类差异，最能解释不同种群间雄性信号的主要差异。信号与偏好的种群间变异，潜在反映了该物种的演化历史，或可推动种群间进一步分化乃至后续的物种形成。