Data from: A variance partitioning approach identifies the absence of mate choice and the lack of forced copulation in the water strider Gerris gracilicornis. American Naturalist.

GENERAL INFORMATION<br>A. Paper associated with this archiveCitation: Malik, M.M., et al. 2025. A variance partitioning approach identifies the absence of mate choice and the lack of forced copulation in the water strider Gerris gracilicornis. American Naturalist<br>Brief abstract: In animals, choosers assess the attractiveness of courting individuals based on multiple sexual traits rather than a single trait. To quantify mate choice towards combinations of these traits, it is essential to analyse choosers’ responses. The chooser’s responses can depend on the courter's identity, indicating the mate choice of the chooser based on the courter’s overall attractiveness. In addition, examining mate choice across different mating stages (pre-copulatory, copulatory, and post-copulatory) by assessing courter identity effects on chooser behaviours can further clarify mating dynamics. Moreover, estimating the contribution of each sex to the variation in copulation frequency can provide insights into the mating system. Here, we examined the water strider Gerris gracilicornis and found that pre- and post-copulatory behaviours in both sexes did not vary with the identity of the opposite-sex, indicating a lack of pre- or post-copulatory mate choice in either sex. Our results also suggested that copulation frequency was not influenced by males, thereby confirming the absence of forced copulation in G. gracilicornis. Overall, this study offers a novel approach for understanding the mating system of a species and assessing stage-specific mate choice based on overall attractiveness.<br>B. OriginatorsMuna Maisarah Malik, Eunyoung Choi, Byeongho Lee &amp; Chang S. HanDepartment of Biology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea<br>C. Contact informationChang S. HanDepartment of Biology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Republic of [e-mail]<br>D. Dates of data collectionN/A<br>E. Geographic Location(s) of data collectionRepublic of Korea<br>F. Funding SourcesThis work was supported by National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grants funded by the Korea government (NRF-2022R1C1C1004303 and RS-2024-00405751) to CSH. <br>ACCESS INFORMATION1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data or code<br>2. Data derived from other sources<br>3. Recommended citation for this data/code archiveMalik, M.M., et al. 2025. Data from: A variance partitioning approach identifies the absence of mate choice and the lack of forced copulation in the water strider Gerris gracilicornis. American Naturalist<br>DATA &amp; CODE FILE OVERVIEWThis data repository consist of 1 data file, 1 code script, and this README document, with the following data and code filenames and variablesData files and variables<br>Data_Malik.txt<br>#assay_order: assay order#male: male ID#female: female ID#pair: pair ID#copulation_order: copulation order within an assay#resistance: occurrence of female resistance behaviour#lat_to_cop: female latency to copulate#cop_dur: copulation duration#gurd_dur: guarding duration#sqrt_lat_to_cop: square-root transformed latenty to copulate#sqrt_cop_dur: square-root transformed copulation duration#sqrt_gurd_dur: square-root transformed guarding duration#copfreq: copulation frequency#sepbyfemale: guarding termination frequency by female resistance#sepbymale: guarding termination frequency by male voluntarily dismount#tapfreq: male tapping frequency#prolongedgd: prolonged guarding<br>Code scripts and workflow<br>ASREML_codes.txt The codes provided run on ASREML-SA 4.2 (not ASREML-R). After creating the AS file from the data file (Data_Malik.txt), you can execute the codes in ASREML-SA. First, multiple univariate mixed-effects models are used to assess male and female effects on each mating behaviour. Subsequently, multivariate mixed-effects models are applied to calculate among-male (or among-female) correlations between mating behaviours.<br>SOFTWARE VERSIONSASREML-SA 4.2<br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

## 通用信息
### A. 本存档关联论文及引用
引用：Malik, M.M. 等（2025）。《方差划分（variance partitioning）方法揭示宽肩黾蝽（Gerris gracilicornis）不存在配偶选择（mate choice）且无强制交配行为》，发表于《美国博物学家》（American Naturalist）。
### 研究摘要
在动物类群中，择偶者通常依据多重性征而非单一性状评估求偶个体的吸引力。若要量化针对这些性状组合的配偶选择，分析择偶者的行为反应是必要前提。择偶者的反应可能依赖于求偶者的个体身份，这体现了择偶者基于求偶者整体吸引力所做出的配偶选择决策。此外，通过评估求偶者身份对择偶者行为的影响，在不同交配阶段（交配前、交配中与交配后）开展配偶选择研究，可进一步阐明交配动态机制。不仅如此，估算不同性别对交配频率变异的贡献，能够为解析该物种的交配系统提供关键洞见。本研究以宽肩黾蝽（Gerris gracilicornis）为研究对象，结果显示雌雄两性的交配前、后行为均不会随异性个体身份发生显著变化，表明雌雄两性均不存在交配前或交配后的配偶选择。研究结果还表明，交配频率不受雄性个体的影响，从而证实了宽肩黾蝽不存在强制交配行为。综上，本研究为解析物种交配系统以及基于整体吸引力评估阶段特异性配偶选择提供了一种全新的研究范式。
### B. 数据产生者
Muna Maisarah Malik、Eunyoung Choi、Byeongho Lee 与 Chang S. Han，韩国首尔庆熙大学生物学系，首尔02447，大韩民国。
### C. 联系方式
Chang S. Han，韩国首尔庆熙大学生物学系，首尔02447，大韩民国，邮箱：[e-mail]。
### D. 数据收集日期
无（N/A）。
### E. 数据收集地理位置
大韩民国。
### F. 资助来源
本研究获得韩国国家研究基金会（National Research Foundation of Korea, NRF）资助，资助项目编号为NRF-2022R1C1C1004303与RS-2024-00405751，资助对象为CSH。

## 访问信息
1. 本数据或代码所受的许可与使用限制
2. 源自其他渠道的衍生数据
3. 本数据/代码存档的推荐引用格式：Malik, M.M. 等（2025）。数据来自：《方差划分方法揭示宽肩黾蝽不存在配偶选择且无强制交配行为》，《美国博物学家》。

## 数据与代码文件概览
本数据集仓库包含1个数据文件、1个代码脚本以及本README文档，相关数据与代码的文件名及变量说明如下：
### 数据文件及变量
Data_Malik.txt
- assay_order：实验顺序
- male：雄性个体ID
- female：雌性个体ID
- pair：配对组合ID
- copulation_order：单次实验内的交配顺序
- resistance：雌性抵抗行为发生情况
- lat_to_cop：雌性交配潜伏期
- cop_dur：交配持续时长
- gurd_dur：护偶持续时长
- sqrt_lat_to_cop：经平方根转换的交配潜伏期
- sqrt_cop_dur：经平方根转换的交配持续时长
- sqrt_gurd_dur：经平方根转换的护偶持续时长
- copfreq：交配频率
- sepbyfemale：雌性通过抵抗行为终止护偶的频次
- sepbymale：雄性主动脱离护偶终止配对的频次
- tapfreq：雄性敲击行为频次
- prolongedgd：延长型护偶行为
### 代码脚本与分析流程
ASREML_codes.txt：所提供代码仅可在ASREML-SA 4.2版本环境下运行（不适用于ASREML-R）。使用者需先从数据文件Data_Malik.txt生成AS格式文件，随后即可在ASREML-SA中执行代码。分析流程分为两步：首先采用单变量混合效应模型（mixed-effects model）评估雌雄个体对各项交配行为的影响；随后应用多变量混合效应模型（mixed-effects model）计算雄性间（或雌性间）交配行为的相关性。

## 软件版本
ASREML-SA 4.2