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Dryad

Mating status affects female choice in Chloridea virescens

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Feb 12, 2024 version files 69.25 KB

Abstract

Sexual selection in animals has been mostly studied in species in which males are signallers and females are choosers. However, in many species females are (also) signallers. In species with non-signalling females, virgin females are hypothesized to be less choosy than mated females, as virgins must mate to realize fitness and the number of available males is generally limited. Yet, when females signal to attract males, mate limitation can be overcome. We tested how virgin and mated females differ in their calling behaviour, mating latency, and in mate choice, using the tobacco budworm Chloridea (Heliothis) virescens as an example for a species in which females are not only choosers but also signallers. We found that virgin females signalled longer than mated females, but virgin and mated signalling females were equally ready to mate, in contrast to non-signalling females. However, we found that virgin signalling females showed weaker mate preference than mated females, which can be explained by the fact that females increase their fitness with multiple matings. Mated females may thus further increase their fitness by more stringent mate selection. We conclude that signalling is a crucial aspect to consider when studying female mate choice, because signalling may affect the number of available mates to choose from.