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Dryad

Data for: Ecological contexts shape sexual selection on male color morphs in wood tiger moths

Data files

Apr 03, 2025 version files 26.24 KB

Abstract

Color polymorphisms in natural populations often reflect the interplay between various selective pressures, such as natural and sexual selection. In this study, we investigate the dynamics of sexual selection operating on color polymorphism in wood tiger moths under different ecological contexts. Wood tiger moths exhibit polymorphism in male hindwing coloration, with individuals possessing one or two dominant W alleles displaying two forms of white coloration that differ in their UV reflectance (WW, Wy), while those with two recessive y alleles exhibit yellow coloration (yy). Females carry the color alleles, but do not express them phenotypically. We performed two mate choice experiments that simulated two ecological conditions: one with limited morph availability and low male encounter rates and the other with all morphs present and high potential for male encounters. We collected data on morph-specific mating success of the males, mating latency, female rejections along with fitness measurements of the number of eggs, number of larvae and hatching success for each mated pair. Our data files contain this information along other variables used as random effects, such as the dates of the experiments, replicate numbers and unique IDs of the stock females used in these experiments. The data is stored as six .csv files along with a README file containing a more precise description of the variable names and types. We demonstrate that WW males consistently experience higher mating success compared to yy males, irrespective of the presence of Wy males and male encounter rates. Surprisingly, mating with a WW male does not confer direct reproductive benefits to females in terms of lifetime reproductive success; instead, Wy females exhibit overall higher reproductive success regardless of their mating partner. Although the precise mechanism driving the higher mating success of WW males remains unclear, a temporal decline in mating success of WW males suggests potential differences in male mating strategies. Our findings support the hypothesis that sexual selection contributes to the maintenance of polymorphism, revealing a stable mating advantage of a particular color morph that may be offset by other selective forces.