NDLI: The Indirect Benefits of Mating with Attractive Males Outweigh the Direct Costs

Content Provider	PubMed Central
Author	Head, Megan L. Hunt, John Jennions, Michael D. Brooks, Robert
Editor	Harvey, Paul
Copyright Year	2005
Abstract	The fitness consequences of mate choice are a source of ongoing debate in evolutionary biology. Recent theory predicts that indirect benefits of female choice due to offspring inheriting superior genes are likely to be negated when there are direct costs associated with choice, including any costs of mating with attractive males. To estimate the fitness consequences of mating with males of varying attractiveness, we housed female house crickets, Acheta domesticus, with either attractive or unattractive males and measured a variety of direct and indirect fitness components. These fitness components were combined to give relative estimates of the number of grandchildren produced and the intrinsic rate of increase (relative net fitness). We found that females mated to attractive males incur a substantial survival cost. However, these costs are cancelled out and may be outweighed by the benefits of having offspring with elevated fitness. This benefit is due predominantly, but not exclusively, to the effect of an increase in sons' attractiveness. Our results suggest that the direct costs that females experience when mating with attractive males can be outweighed by indirect benefits. They also reveal the value of estimating the net fitness consequences of a mating strategy by including measures of offspring quality in estimates of fitness.
Related Links	http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030033
Starting Page	33
File Format	PDF
ISSN	15457885
e-ISSN	15457885
Journal	PLoS Biology
Issue Number	2
Volume Number	3
Language	English
Publisher	Public Library of Science
Publisher Date	2005-01-01
Access Restriction	Open
Rights Holder	Public Library of Science
Subject Keyword	Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all) Immunology and Microbiology(all) Neuroscience(all) Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all) Research in Higher Education
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Neuroscience Immunology and Microbiology Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Mapping the Economic Costs and Benefits of Conservation

Disentangling the Benefits of Sex

Benefits of Rebuilding Global Marine Fisheries Outweigh Costs

Why Do Cuckolded Males Provide Paternal Care?

Simultaneous mating with multiple males reduces fertilization success in the myobatrachid frog Crinia georgiana

Immune activity elevates energy expenditure of house sparrows: a link between direct and indirect costs?

The benefits of genetic diversity outweigh those of kin association in a territorial animal.

Exposure to pesticides impairs the expression of fish ornaments reducing the availability of attractive males

Why Are Autism Spectrum Conditions More Prevalent in Males?

The Indirect Benefits of Mating with Attractive Males Outweigh the Direct Costs

Similar Documents

Mapping the Economic Costs and Benefits of Conservation

Disentangling the Benefits of Sex

Benefits of Rebuilding Global Marine Fisheries Outweigh Costs

Why Do Cuckolded Males Provide Paternal Care?

Simultaneous mating with multiple males reduces fertilization success in the myobatrachid frog Crinia georgiana

Immune activity elevates energy expenditure of house sparrows: a link between direct and indirect costs?

The benefits of genetic diversity outweigh those of kin association in a territorial animal.

Exposure to pesticides impairs the expression of fish ornaments reducing the availability of attractive males

Why Are Autism Spectrum Conditions More Prevalent in Males?

The Indirect Benefits of Mating with Attractive Males Outweigh the Direct Costs