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Couple formation and assortative mating significantly influence societal structures, as marriages between individuals from diverse geographical or social backgrounds promote intra-family diversity. Understanding these patterns is crucial for grasping the demographic processes that shape contemporary societies. However, the scarcity of comprehensive data has impeded progress in this area. This paper aims to fill this gap by investigating assortative mating trends in the United States among birth cohorts from 1700 to 1910, utilizing data from FamiLinx, an online crowdsourced genealogical database. We focus on two primary dimensions: migration background (including natives, first and second-generation migrants) and age at marriage. Our analysis yields three major findings. First, we document significant changes in assortative mating trends over time, reflecting the dynamic nature of mate selection and its responsiveness to societal shifts. Second, we uncover substantial heterogeneity in assortative mating patterns across different social groups, indicating varying social dynamics and preferences. Third, we illustrate how these trends can be differently interpreted depending on whether the perspective is individual or familial. Additionally, we explore the advantages and limitations of using online genealogical data for historical studies of assortative mating, highlighting its potential for offering new insights while acknowledging the challenges posed by data quality and representativeness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Nicotiana attenuata styles preferentially select pollen from among accessions with corresponding expression patterns of NaS‐like‐RNases (SLRs), and the postpollination ethylene burst (PPEB) is an accurate predictor of seed siring success. However, the ecological consequences of mate selection, its effect on the progeny, and the role of SLRs in the control of ethylene signaling remain unknown.We explored the link between the magnitude of the ethylene burst and expression of the SLRs in a set of recombinant inbred lines (RILs), dissected the genetic underpinnings of mate selection through genome‐wide association study (GWAS), and examined its outcome for phenotypes in the next generation.We found that high levels of PPEB are associated with the absence of SLR2 in most of the tested RILs. We identified candidate genes potentially involved in the control of mate selection and showed that pollination of maternal genotypes with their favored pollen donors produces offspring with longer roots. When the maternal genotypes are only able to select against nonfavored pollen donors, the selection for such positive traits is abolished.We conclude that plants' ability of mate choice contributes to measurable changes in progeny phenotypes and is thus likely a target of selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the vice presidency evolves over time, the way we assess vice presidents' activities and influence also needs to change. We must consider the type of partnership that the president and the vice president develop together, which determines not only the latter's involvement in the decision‐making process but also the scope of his or her influence. Since partnerships can change from one term to another and according to the issues, they can help explain the fluctuations of vice presidents' influence within and between administrations, but they also enhance our comprehension of the evolution of executive power by emphasizing the dynamics of the connection between its principal components—the presidency and the vice presidency. This article introduces a new typology accounting for four different partnerships: communication, coordination, cooperation, and collaboration. This typology distinguishes between weak and strong partnerships, depending on the level of influence they allow the vice presidents to exert. Partnerships are defined by a series of criteria related to the selection of the running mate, the tasks of the vice president within the administration, and the quality of his or her relationship with the president. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theories of mate selection debate about whether people tend to choose partners based on similarities to their parents. The present study aimed to address whether a similarity in how people perceive their parents and their partners is associated with the relationship between parental attachment and relationship satisfaction by adopting a template-matching framework. Participants were urban, emerging adults in India (n = 263, 137 male and 126 female) who were measured for how they perceive the traits of a parental figure, traits of a partner, attachment to the parent, and relationship satisfaction with the partner. Data analysis was conducted using correlations, linear regressions, and moderation analyses. Findings show that perceived neuroticism of parents was associated with perceived neuroticism of the partner. Additionally, perceptions of neuroticism of parents predicted neuroticism in partners. Perceived agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness to experience moderated the relationship between parental attachment and relationship satisfaction. A gender difference with a small effect size in perceptions of similarity was observed for openness to experience and agreeableness. Finally, perceived agreeableness also moderated the relationship between parental attachment and relationship satisfaction for men and women separately. However, for men, perceived neuroticism also significantly moderated this relationship. The findings imply that, to an extent, the more emerging adults perceive similarities of certain traits in their parents and partners, the higher likelihood that their attachment to their parent predicts relationship satisfaction with their partner. Limitations and future directions have been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trait polymorphisms can vary across different contexts of selection and be maintained through trade-offs between these contexts. For example, colour polymorphic variants may represent alternative strategies optimizing crypsis or thermoregulation in different populations. Here we use visual modelling to test the conspicuousness of different colour pattern morphs in males and females of an Australian lizard, Lampropholis delicata , to predators and conspecifics. We further assess differences in reflectance, microhabitat selection, and mate preference to determine the functional role of the polymorphism and explain its variable distribution across latitude and the sexes. Plain morphs are more conspicuous than striped morphs in both bird and lizard visual models, suggesting predation selection, and habitat structure varies among sex-morph types, but we find no difference in microhabitat selection or mate preference based on colour. We suggest that a combination of spatially varying selection, habitat preference, and context-specific behaviour may be necessary to explain spatial patterns of colour morph frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inter-sexual mate competition occurs any time opposite-sex individuals simultaneously seek to acquire or maintain exclusive access to the same sexual partner. This underappreciated form of mate competition has been anecdotally documented in several avian and mammalian species, and systematically described among Japanese macaques and humans. Here, we extend the concept of inter-sexual mate competition by reassessing a remarkable series of Portuguese letters, penned in 1664 and later discovered and translated by Mott and Assunção (J Homosex 16:91–104, 1989). The letters comprise one side of a correspondence between two males, former lovers who were scrutinized by the Portuguese Inquisition. After ending the relationship, the recipient of the letters was betrothed to a woman, which provoked a jealous response from his jilted male lover and pleas to reunite. We argue that the letters portray a prolonged sequence of inter-sexual mate competition in which a male and female competitor vied for the same man. An established taxonomy of mate competition tactics was applied to the behavior of both competitors illustrating many parallels with contemporary examples of inter-sexual mate competition. Through this comparison, we show that modern mate competition taxonomies can be fruitfully applied to historical texts and that inter-sexual mate competition occurred hundreds of years before the present. Other examples of inter-sexual mate competition are likely to exist in the historical record, providing a rich source of scientific information if appropriate theoretical frameworks are employed. Indeed, any time individuals are attracted to sexual partners who behave in a bisexual manner, then inter-sexual mate competition can ensue with members of the other sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mating effort questionnaire (MEQ) is a multi-dimensional self-report instrument that captures factors reflecting individual effort in upgrading from a current partner, investment in a current partner, and mate seeking when not romantically paired. In the current studies, we sought to revise the MEQ so that it distinguishes among two facets of mate seeking—mate locating and mate attracting—to enable a more nuanced measurement and understanding of individual mating effort. Moreover, we developed additional items to better measure partner investment. In total, the number of items was increased from 12 to 26. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis revealed that a four-factor solution, reflecting partner upgrading, mate locating, mate attracting, and partner investment, yielded the best fit. In Study 2, this structure was replicated using confirmatory factor analysis in an independent sample. Based on extant studies documenting the relationships between psychopathy, short-term mating effort, and sexual risk taking, a structural equation model (SEM) indicated that trait psychopathy positively predicted mate locating, mate attracting, and partner upgrading and negatively predicted partner investment. A separate SEM showed that partner upgrading positively predicted risky sexual behaviors, while partner upgrading and mate locating positively predicted acceptance of cosmetic surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bewildering courtship phenotypes of male birds of paradise (Paradisaedae) represent a classic example of sexual selection through mate choice. While the majority of sexual selection studies have focused on either mate choice or intrasexual competition, males across a variety of taxa adopt alternative mating tactics as additional means of obtaining fertilization when they are otherwise unable to. For example, across various polygynous birds, subordinate males engage in sneak copulations, which may offset the fitness costs of prolonged subordinate periods. Despite exhibiting strong mating skews and male delayed plumage maturation, reports of sneak copulation in the birds of paradise are exceedingly rare. After reviewing an extensive video collection of courtship interactions, we found examples of mountings by female‐plumaged birds in three birds of paradise species: the Western parotia Parotia sefilata, Carola's parotia Parotia carolae, and the magnificent bird of paradise Cicinnurus magnificus. While homosexual mountings by females have been documented previously in Lawes' parotia P. lawesii, adult males in the magnificent bird of paradise violently attacked intruding female‐plumaged birds attempting to mount receivers, suggesting that they may be immature males engaging in alternative mating tactics. Overall, the rare video footage described here is suggestive of two fascinating, yet unexplored phenomena in polygynous birds: alternative mating tactics and female homosexual behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding what processes shape the formation of species' geographic range limits is one central objective linking ecology and evolutionary biology. One potentially key process is sexual selection; yet, theory examining how sexual selection could shape eco-evolutionary dynamics in marginal populations is still lacking. In species with separate sexes, range limits could be shaped by limitations in encountering mates at low densities. Sexual selection could therefore modulate mate limitation and resulting extinction–colonization dynamics at range margins, through evolution of mate encounter ability and/or mate competition traits, and their demographic consequences. We use a spatially explicit eco-genetic model to reveal how different forms of sexual selection can variably affect emerging range limits. Larger ranges emerged when sexual selection acted exclusively on traits increasing mate encounter probability, thus reducing female's mate limitation toward the range margins. In contrast, sexual selection via mate competition narrowed range limits due to increased trait-dependent mortality in males and elevated mate limitation for females. When mate encounter coevolved with mate competition, their combined effects on range limits depended on the mating system (polygyny vs. monogamy). Our results demonstrate that evolution of species' ranges may be importantly shaped by feedbacks between sexual selection and spatial population demography and dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests are facing unprecedented levels of stress from pest and disease outbreaks, disturbance, fragmentation, development, and a changing climate. These selective agents act to alter forest composition from regional to cellular levels. Thus, a central challenge for understanding how forests will be impacted by future change is how to integrate across scales of biology. Phenotype, or an observable trait, is the product of an individual's genes (G) and the environment in which an organism lives (E). To date, researchers have detailed how environment drives variation in tree phenotypes over long time periods (e.g., long‐term ecological research sites [LTERs]) and across large spatial scales (e.g., flux network). In parallel, researchers have discovered the genes and pathways that govern phenotypes, finding high degrees of genetic control and signatures of local adaptation in many plant traits. However, the research in these two areas remain largely independent of each other, hindering our ability to generate accurate predictions of plant response to environment, an increasingly urgent need given threats to forest systems. I present the importance of both genes and environment in determining tree responses to climate stress. I highlight why the difference between G versus E in driving variation is critical for our understanding of climate responses, then propose means of accelerating research that examines G and E simultaneously by leveraging existing long‐term, large‐scale phenotypic data sets from ecological networks and adding newly affordable sequence (‐omics) data to both drill down to find the genes and alleles influencing phenotypes and scale up to find how patterns of demography and local adaptation may influence future response to change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine wages of Black and White interracially married individuals compared to their intramarried counterparts in the United States. We find a raw interracial marriage wage penalty for White spouses and a raw interracial marriage wage premium for Black spouses. The differential disappears for females, but not for males, when controlling for selection on standard wage equation variables. Negative selection on unobservables into interracial marriage explain the White male penalty. We find a larger penalty for White males and a smaller premium for Black males in states that were forced to allow interracial marriage by the Supreme Court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Standard toxicological test methods with Hyalella azteca incorporate both lethal and sublethal (growth, reproduction) endpoints, although lethal endpoints are often favored in routine testing. However, sublethal endpoints are important to consider because they are ecologically relevant and are often more sensitive than lethality. It is difficult to achieve robust data for reproduction in H. azteca because high biological variability is associated with reproductive yield, likely due to complex interactions in mate selection, which can add to the variability in brood sizes that females produce. In addition, effects on reproduction often co‐occur with effects on growth, making it difficult to differentiate effects on growth from those on reproduction in standard tests initiated with juveniles. The present study characterized the reproductive capacity of H. azteca by investigating the role of sex ratios in reproductive yield. Experiments were initiated in the absence of toxicants with sexually mature (6–8‐week‐old) individuals that were placed in different female‐to‐male ratios (1:1, 2:3, 3:2, and 7:3). Reproduction was monitored during weekly static renewals for 7 weeks. The results indicated that a higher female:male ratio (seven females to three males) improved reproductive success and lowered biological variability in reproduction. In addition, the body lengths and weights of newly mature amphipods were used to create a size distribution to aid in the identification of small female amphipods. Based on the results of our study, a novel reproductive toxicity test method is proposed that begins with sexually mature amphipods in a ratio of seven females to three males to minimize reproductive variability in amphipods and to enable a more effective assessment of contaminants using reproduction as a highly sensitive endpoint. However, evaluation of this novel method with toxicants is needed to demonstrate that results are comparable to standard methods. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:712–722. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For expensive problems, as the number of objectives and the number of decision variables increase, the number of non-dominated solutions in the population increases dramatically, and the population does not have enough convergence pressure to converge to the true pareto frontier. A Kriging-assisted Multi-stage Evolutionary Algorithm (K-MSEA) is proposed to enhance the exploratory capacity of populations in expensive many-objective optimization problems. A multi-stage strategy is used in K-MSEA. Mating selection and environmental selection of populations are divided into three stages based on convergence and diversity indices. Targeted selection of individuals should be conducted at each stage of population development. The population independently chooses the appropriate stage in accordance with the current demands of convergence and diversity. Differential evolutionary algorithm is used to improve the search ability of the population. To guide the population in the correct direction, K-MSEA employs an elite retention strategy in environmental selection. The population utilizes individual renewal, where underperforming parents are replaced by better-performing offspring. The surrogate model is then updated with the uncertainty information supplied by the Kriging model. Finally, K-MSEA is benchmarked against five other algorithms in experiments on two benchmark problems and two realistic expensive problems. Mathematical analysis demonstrates that K-MSEA is more competitive than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus , is the cause of pine wilt disease and reproduces by copulation within host pine trees. Female mate selection in B. xylophilus mating behaviour has been reported but definitive evidence is lacking. Furthermore, while the mating behaviour of the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans on agar has been well understood, the mating behaviour of B. xylophilus on agar has not been studied in detail, and the differences in their characteristics remain unclear. Here, we addressed these knowledge gaps by observing B. xylophilus mating behaviour on agar. We identified six primary mating sub-behaviours in B. xylophilus males. Comparative analysis with C. elegans revealed distinct differences in the sequence of mating stages. Notably, B. xylophilus males actively searched for the female's vulva during the wrapping stage, whereas females exhibited back-and-forth locomotion to align the male spicule with the vulva location. Additionally, we conducted mating assays using anaesthetised female nematodes to evaluate the female's role in the mating behaviours of B. xylophilus. The mating duration increased significantly when females were anaesthetised, and the probabilities of reaching the wrapping and vulva location stages were reduced. Therefore, B. xylophilus females actively cooperate in mating behaviours. Our findings highlight unique aspects of mating behaviours in B. xylophilus and provide insights concerning differences in mating behaviours between B. xylophilus and C. elegans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical demographic research shows that the factors influencing mortality risk are labile across time and space. This is particularly true for datasets that span societal transitions. Here, we seek to understand how marriage, migration, and the local economy influenced mortality dynamics in a rapidly changing environment characterized by high in-migration and male-biased sex ratios. Mortality records were extracted from a compendium of historical vital records for the Baja California peninsula (Mexico). Our sample consists of 1,201 mortality records spanning AD 1835–1900. Findings from Cox proportional hazard models indicate that (1) marriage was associated with a protective effect for both sexes; (2) residing in a mining town was associated with higher mortality for men, but not women; (3) migration was associated with decreased mortality risk for women, but not men; and (4) the risk of mortality increased in the face of infectious disease, but decreased over time. Despite the early initiation of reproduction for women, marriage had a protective effect, likely because marriage linked women to resources. Although mining boomtowns were associated with elevated risk factors generally, only men experienced greater mortality risk, likely due to dangerous working conditions that women did not experience. Last, female, but not male, migrants experienced greater longevity, possibly because exposure to harsh labor conditions eroded the protective effect of selection bias for men. Together, these results shed light on an understudied historical population and broaden our understanding of demographic dynamics in preindustrial settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In popular narratives, the first date with a potential mate often centers on their gaze as embodiment of interest and attraction. However, evidence is still lacking on the role of eye-contact as a potent signal in human social interaction in the context of dating. In addition, behavioral mechanisms of mate selection are not well understood. In the present study, we therefore examined mutual eye-contact and its influence on mate choice by applying dual mobile eye-tracking during naturalistic speed-dates. A total of 30 male and 30 female subjects attended four speed-dates each (N = 240). Subjects were more likely to choose those dating partners with whom they shared more eye-contact with. In addition, perceived attractiveness played an important role for mate choice. Interestingly, receiving but not giving eye-contact also predicted individual mate choice. Eye-contact thus acts as an important signal of romantic attraction when encountering a dating partner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information cascades have been used to explain a variety of collective behaviours in nonhuman animals, including mate selection, antipredator responses and social foraging. A taxonomically widespread phenomenon, information cascades occur in many group-living animals from ant colonies to schools of fish and social mammals. Here we review the animal behaviour literature for examples of information cascades. We found that the literature on information cascades in animals is limited by inconsistent terminology that fails to adequately describe the differences between cascade types. We propose a classification framework, adapted from behavioural economics, to describe information cascades in behavioural ecology. Our framework consists of three types of information cascades derived from individual level fitness outcomes (adaptive, maladaptive or neutral) and a further two cascade types based on the transmission mechanism of cascading social information (signals or cues). We use a selection of past studies to illustrate the diversity of information cascades and we apply our framework to real world examples. We also discuss four mechanisms used by group-living animals to minimize the spread of maladaptive information cascades and propose avenues for future research. • Information cascades drive collective behaviours in a diverse suite of animal taxa. • Information cascades may be adaptive, selectively neutral or maladaptive. • Cascades are classified by their selective outcome and mode of transmission. • Group-living animals employ several mechanisms to minimize maladaptive cascades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competition among pollen or sperm (gametic selection) can cause evolution. Mating systems shape the intensity of gametic selection by determining the competitors involved, which can in turn cause the mating system itself to evolve. We model the bidirectional relationship between gametic selection and mating systems, focusing on variation in female mating frequency (monandry-polyandry) and self-fertilisation (selfing-outcrossing). First, we find that monandry and selfing both reduce the efficiency of gametic selection in removing deleterious alleles. This means that selfing can increase mutation load, in contrast to cases without gametic selection where selfing purges deleterious mutations and decreases mutation load. Second, we explore how mating systems evolve via their effect on gametic selection. By manipulating gametic selection, polyandry can evolve to increase the fitness of the offspring produced. However, this indirect advantage of post-copulatory sexual selection is weak and is likely to be overwhelmed by any direct fitness effects of mating systems. Nevertheless, gametic selection can be potentially decisive for selfing evolution because it significantly reduces inbreeding depression, which favours selfing. Thus, the presence of gametic selection could be a key factor driving selfing evolution. Author summary: Animals and plants often produce millions of sperm or pollen, of which only a tiny fraction succeed. This means sperm and pollen harbour a lot of evolutionary potential, even though they are generally small and hidden from view. We used mathematical models to understand the evolution of genes that influence the fertilisation success rate of sperm or pollen. A crucial issue is the number of different males who donate sperm or pollen, which is called the mating system. We can predict how genes will evolve with different mating systems. These predictions can then be tested by looking at DNA sequences from genes that are active in sperm or pollen in species with different mating systems. This process allows us to check our understanding of evolution. Secondly, we looked at the evolution of the mating behaviour itself. By changing their mating behaviour, animals and plants can manipulate natural selection on sperm or pollen, thereby evolving to change the way evolution operates. This helps to answer a bigger evolutionary question: why do organisms evolve differences in the way they respond to natural selection? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Background Method Results Conclusion This study examines, for the first time in Canada, the relationship between how different‐sex couples meet and assortative mating on education, race, nativity, and age.Extending research on how the likelihood of heterogamy differed between offline and online dating, this study disentangles the implications of institutional and third‐person influences from those of online dating for configuring the patterns of heterogamy and gender asymmetry in assortative mating.Data from a 2018 national survey are analyzed using (multinomial) logit models.Educational heterogamy and nativity heterogamy are higher, but age heterogamy appears lower, in online than offline dating. Next, specific channels of offline dating—formal institutions, social ties, and other channels—are distinguished and compared with online dating. Online dating tends to entail higher educational and nativity heterogamy (vs. meeting through formal institutions), higher racial and nativity heterogamy but lower age heterogamy (vs. meeting through social ties), and higher educational heterogamy (vs. meeting through other offline channels). Further considering gender asymmetry shows that online dating is associated with higher educational hypergyny (more‐educated man, less‐educated woman) than meeting through other offline channels; higher nativity hypogyny (immigrant man, native‐born woman) than meeting offline (overall, formal institutions, social ties); and lower age hypergyny (older man, younger woman) than meeting offline through social ties.The findings help untangle the roles of institutional, social, and digital forces in shaping assortative mating. They illustrate the importance of leveraging theoretically informed comparisons to understand how online and offline dating configures assortative mating and its gender‐asymmetric patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex pheromones are species-specific chemical signals that facilitate the location, identification, and selection of mating partners. These pheromones can vary between individuals, and act as signals of mate quality. Here, we investigate the variation of male pheromones in the mesosomal glands of the large carpenter bee Xylocopa sonorina, within a Northern California population. We tested the hypothesis that morphological traits are correlated with the observed variation in chemical blend composition of these bees. We also conducted behavioral assays to test whether these male pheromones act as long-range attractants to conspecifics. We found that larger males with darker mesosomal glands have a higher pheromone amount in their glands. Our analysis also suggests that this pheromone blend functions as a long-range attractant to both males and females. We show that both male body size and sexual maturation are important factors influencing pheromone abundance, and that this pheromone blend acts as a long-range attractant. We hypothesize that this recorded variation in male pheromone could be important for female choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The risk of parasitic infection has a major influence on animal behaviour. Organisms must adjust their behaviour to avoid various modes of parasitic infection and pathogen acquisition. Social species are at an increased risk of parasitic transmission as they spend more time in the proximity of others that may carry parasites. The detection of parasitic risk is also critical in mate assessment and choice. Perceptual systems and behavioural responses have evolved to detect individuals who are parasitized and pose the risk of parasitic transmission. This includes the integration of inputs from various sensory modalities (e.g., olfaction), brain regions and networks, and neuromodulatory systems. Understanding the neurobiological systems involved in detecting the parasite infection risk and the expression of disgust will allow us to better understand the evolution and regulation of pathogen avoidance and mate choice. Animals are under constant threat of parasitic infection. This has influenced the evolution of social behaviour and has strong implications for sexual selection and mate choice. Animals assess the infection status of conspecifics based on various sensory cues, with odours/chemical signals and the olfactory system playing a particularly important role. The detection of chemical cues and subsequent processing of the infection threat that they pose facilitates the expression of disgust, fear, anxiety, and adaptive avoidance behaviours. In this selective review, drawing primarily from rodent studies, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the detection and assessment of infection status and their relations to mate choice are briefly considered. Firstly, we offer a brief overview of the aspects of mate choice that are relevant to pathogen avoidance. Then, we specifically focus on the olfactory detection of and responses to conspecific cues of parasitic infection, followed by a brief overview of the neurobiological systems underlying the elicitation of disgust and the expression of avoidance of the pathogen threat. Throughout, we focus on current findings and provide suggestions for future directions and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pareto dominance-based evolutionary algorithms can effectively address multiobjective optimization problems (MOPs). However, when dealing with many-objective optimization problems with more than three objectives (MaOPs), the Pareto dominance relationships cannot effectively distinguish the nondominated solutions in high-dimensional spaces. With the increase of the number of objectives, the proportion of dominance-resistant solutions (DRSs) in the population rapidly increases, which leads to insufficient selection pressure. In this paper, to address the challenges on MaOPs, a knee point-driven many-objective evolutionary algorithm with adaptive switching mechanism (KPEA) is proposed. In KPEA, the knee points determined by an adaptive strategy are introduced for not only mating selection but also environmental selection, which increases the probability of generating excellent offspring. In addition, to remove dominance-resistant solutions (DRSs) in the population, an interquartile range method is adopted, which enhances the selection pressure. Moreover, a novel adaptive switching mechanism between angle-based selection and penalty for selecting solutions is proposed, which is aimed at achieving a balance between convergence and diversity. To validate the performance of KPEA, it is compared with five state-of-the-art many-objective evolutionary algorithms. All algorithms are evaluated on 20 benchmark problems, i.e., WFG1-9, MaF1, and MaF4-13 with 3, 5, 8, and 10 objectives. The experimental results demonstrate that KPEA outperforms the compared algorithms in terms of HV and IGD in most of the test instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buergeria buergeri is a stream-breeding rhacophorid frog. The sexual dimorphism in body size is significant in this species, which might be advantageous for its movement within the stream in an amplected state. However, the fertilisation rate of egg masses decreases as the body size difference between both sexes in the amplectant pair increases because the distance between the cloacae increases. In this study, we examined the mating pattern of B. buergeri and the relationship between female/male SVL ratio in the amplectant pair and fertilisation rate, and the swimming ability within the stream. As a result, when the female/male SVL ratio was less than 1.45, the fertilisation rate reached a plateau (nearly 100%). However, the fertilisation rate decreased as the female/male SVL ratio increased when this ratio was greater than 1.45. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was observed between the female/male SVL ratio and swimming ability. These results suggest that there was a trade-off between fertilisation rate and swimming ability via the female/male SVL ratio. In the field, we observed a significant positive correlation between male and female SVLs in 16 amplectant pairs, with a mean female/male SVL ratio of 1.44. Our experimental results suggest that when the female/male SVL ratio is 1.44, the fertilisation rate is close to 100%, and the swimming ability can be maintained at an intermediate level. Therefore, B. buergeri adopts a size-assortative mating and maintains the female/male SVL ratio of approximately 1.44 to balance both fertilisation rate and swimming ability, thereby increasing reproductive success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an interactive two-archive method to solve many-objective optimization problems. Two updating strategies based on the aggregation-based framework are presented and incorporated into a two-archive framework. In addition, we further extend this method by introducing an interactive mechanism in which evolutionary information is passed from the diversity archive to the convergence archive. Given the requirement to balance convergence and diversity, a mating selection method is proposed to regulate the evolutionary speed of these two archives collaboratively. The proposed algorithm has been tested extensively on several problems with different peer algorithms to validate its effectiveness. The results show that the proposed method can outperform several state-of-the-art evolutionary algorithms for handling many-objective optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a collection of symposium abstracts from the International Journal of Psychology. It covers a range of topics including the internationalization of psychological research in Latin America, the role of psychological variables in mate selection, advances in clinical research in Colombia, a new formulation for assessment and clinical skills training, the history and impact of psychology laboratories in Colombia, the role of the Arab Union of Psychological Science in reforming psychology in the Arab world, the global implications of Open Science, and gender differences in the regulation of pain empathy. The text emphasizes the need for improved reproducibility, openness, and collaboration in psychological research, and explores various cultural perspectives and contexts. [Extracted from the article]

Postcopulatory sexual selection (PCSS), namely sperm competition and cryptic female choice, is typically investigated in benign environments, with a fixed number of partners, which mate at the same time intervals; all conditions that are rarely met in natural populations.Although there is increasing evidence that environmental fluctuations affect sexual selection before mating, whether and to which extent they influence postcopulatory trajectories is still little explored.PCSS was investigated in replicate populations of guppies (Poecilia reticulata) in which males and females mated after maintained for 2 weeks on either restricted (RE) or ad libitum (AL) diet and the paternity of the offspring produced by multiply mated females was assigned using microsatellite markers.Compared to AL fish, RE females (i) had fewer mating partners, but the time interval between the first and the last mating was not affected; (ii) produced broods with a lower variance in male fertilization success (a measure of the opportunity for PCSS); and (iii) produced broods with a paternity bias towards the first mate (reversing the last sperm precedence observed in AL populations), and associated more towards males with higher courtship rate.Our results demonstrate that short‐term limitation in food availability significantly influence PCSS by modifying both fertilization success variance and sperm precedence pattern. Environmental variation should therefore become part of the research paradigm to improve our understanding of postcopulatory evolutionary dynamics. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual selection by mate choice is a powerful force that can lead to evolutionary change, and models of why females choose particular mates are central to understanding its effects. Predominant mate choice theories assume preferences are determined solely by genetic inheritance, an assumption still lacking widespread support. Moreover, preferences often vary among individuals or populations, fail to correspond with conspicuous male traits, or change with context, patterns not predicted by dominant models. Here, we propose a new model that explains this mate choice complexity with one general hypothesized mechanism, "Inferred Attractiveness." In this model, females acquire mating preferences by observing others' choices and use context-dependent information to infer which traits are attractive. They learn to prefer the feature of a chosen male that most distinguishes him from other available males. Over generations, this process produces repeated population-level switches in preference and maintains male trait variation. When viability selection is strong, Inferred Attractiveness produces population-wide adaptive preferences superficially resembling "good genes." However, it results in widespread preference variation or nonadaptive preferences under other predictable circumstances. By casting the female brain as the central selective agent, Inferred Attractiveness captures novel and dynamic aspects of sexual selection and reconciles inconsistencies between mate choice theory and observed behavior. Sexual selection by mate choice is a powerful force that can lead to evolutionary change, but why do females choose particular mates? This study proposes that mate choices rely on context-dependent social information; this model explains major puzzles in the study of sexual selection, including why preferences vary among individuals and over time and how male trait variation is maintained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research regarding how people choose their long-term romantic partners is extensive, but the understanding of the psychological processes behind these choices, and predicting who people choose, is elusive. This review attempts to examine potential reasons for this elusive nature by first outlining the current state of the literature and then highlighting issues within the current paradigm. First among these issues is a focus on singular perspectives and little attempt to integrate these perspectives with others. Second, many studies focus on increasingly complex designs to explore the predictive utility of trait preferences, attempts which have had only limited success. Third, novel findings appear to be unintegrated with established findings, leaving the potential combination of these ideas unrealized. Finally, long-term romantic partner selection is a complex psychological phenomenon, but current theory and research methodologies are not sufficiently addressing this complexity. This review concludes with suggestions for future research direction, including a focus on the psychology behind the partner selection process and the potential of qualitative enquiry to reveal novel pathways behind these psychological processes. There is a need for an integrative framework that permits the coexistence of established and novel ideas, and multiple perspectives, from both current and future research paradigms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender role attitudes refer to attitudes toward the appropriate roles, rights, and responsibilities of men and women in society. Evidence indicates that individuals with traditional gender role attitudes tend to prefer mates with sex-typical opposite-sex characteristics in heterosexual men and women. This study examined whether gender role attitudes were associated with vocal masculinity preference in gay men in China. Five hundred and sixty-seven participants aged between 16 and 49 years completed the vocal masculinity preference (voice pitch and vocal tract length; VTLs) and gender role attitudes scale. The results indicated that gay men generally preferred masculine voices (lower voice pitch and longer VTLs) and gender role attitudes were positively correlated with preferences for masculine cues in the voices of men. While individuals indicating an affinity with traditional gender roles exhibited stronger preferences for feminine voices, which were inconsistent with the present hypotheses. The results help us understand the role of traditional gender beliefs in the mate preferences of gay men in China. Furthermore, based on the results, understanding one's gender-role attitudes can help cultivate more diversified criteria for mate selection and facilitate gay men in better choosing suitable mates. Future longitudinal studies should examine the relationship between gender role attitudes and masculine preference changes over time. Whether this relationship differs in the different sexual roles of gay men should also be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genomic selection (GS) is an effective method for the genetic improvement of complex traits in plants and animals. Optimization approaches could be used in conjunction with GS to further increase its efficiency and to limit inbreeding, which can increase faster with GS. Mate selection (MS) typically uses a metaheuristic optimization algorithm, simulated annealing, to optimize the selection of individuals and their matings. However, in species with long breeding cycles, this cannot be studied empirically. Here, we investigated this aspect with forward genetic simulations on a high-performance computing cluster and massively parallel computing, considering the oil palm hybrid breeding example. We compared MS and simple methods of inbreeding management (limitation of the number of individuals selected per family, prohibition of self-fertilization and combination of these two methods), in terms of parental inbreeding and genetic progress over four generations of genomic selection and phenotypic selection. The results showed that, compared to the conventional method without optimization, MS could lead to significant decreases in inbreeding and increases in annual genetic progress, with the magnitude of the effect depending on MS parameters and breeding scenarios. The optimal solution retained by MS differed by five breeding characteristics from the conventional solution: selected individuals covering a broader range of genetic values, fewer individuals selected per full-sib family, decreased percentage of selfings, selfings preferentially made on the best individuals and unbalanced number of crosses among selected individuals, with the better an individual, the higher the number of times he is mated. Stronger slowing-down in inbreeding could be achieved with other methods but they were associated with a decreased genetic progress. We recommend that breeders use MS, with preliminary analyses to identify the proper parameters to reach the goals of the breeding program in terms of inbreeding and genetic gain. Author summary: Oil palm is a tropical perennial plant and the world main source of vegetable fats. Oil palm breeding requires the estimation of the additive genetic value of the selection candidates to identify the best hybrid crosses, that will be released as commercial varieties. Genomic selection (GS) has the potential of boosting the rate of genetic progress for quantitative traits. However, GS could also be used in conjunction with approaches to optimize selection and mating, in order to maximize genetic progress while limiting inbreeding, which can increase faster with GS and can have negative consequences (inbreeding depression detrimental for seed production, loss of favorable alleles). This study compared several strategies to reach this goal. In particular, we considered mate selection (MS), a method that uses an algorithm optimizing the selection of individuals and their crosses. Our results showed that MS reduced inbreeding in parental populations and increased annual genetic progress. The originality of this work resides in the fact that, despite the high computational burden of MS, we applied it in a large simulated dataset and showed its efficiency in the context of genomic and conventional selection. Also, this is the first study to characterize, in terms of breeding rules, the optimized solution (i.e. the set of selected individuals and their mating design) retained by MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article relates to breeding programs that seek to manage genetic diversity. The method maximizes a multicomponent objective function, applicable across breeding scenarios. However, this paper focuses on breeding decisions following immigration of 10 unrelated individuals into a highly inbred simulated population (F ≈ 0.34). We use Optimal Contribution Selection to maximize retention of genetic diversity. However, some treatments add Coancestry Assortative Mating (CAM). This helps to avoid early dilution of immigrant genetic material, maximizing its ability to contribute to genetic diversity in the longer term. After 20 generations, this resulted in considerably increased genetic diversity, with mean coancestries 59% of what random pairing gave. To manage progeny inbreeding, common practice is to reject matings above an upper limit. As a suboptimal rules-based approach, this resulted in 26% decreased genetic diversity and 8% increased inbreeding in the long term, compared with random pairing. In contrast, including mean progeny inbreeding as a continuous variable in the overall objective function decreased final inbreeding by 37% compared with random pairing. Adding some emphasis on selection for a single trait resulted in a similar pattern of effects on coancestry and inbreeding, with 12% higher trait response under CAM. Results indicate the properties of alternative methods, but we encourage users to do their own investigations of particular scenarios, such as including inbreeding depression. Practical implementation of these methods is discussed: they have been widely adopted in domestic animal breeding and are highly flexible to accommodate a wide range of technical and logistical objectives and constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partisans in the American electorate are affectively polarized, which coincides with the tendency for partisan geographic sorting. Could mate selection pressures contribute to this geographic tendency, and how might they interact with out-party affect? I propose a model in which an individual's perception of their mate success in a niche is key. I argue that perceived mate success is a function of a niche's partisanship and one's out-party affect, which in turn, incentivizes sorting. The model is partially tested with conjoint experiments on multiple U.S. samples. Results show that partisans perceive a lower probability of mate success in niches with greater shares of out-partisans and that mate success interacts with negative out-party affect. I also replicate findings on political mate choice preferences with a more appropriate method. Lastly, this project links instrumentality and affect, which is a departure from past work. In doing so, it contributes to research on the consequences of mate pressures for political behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Flamingos are highly social birds that live in large flocks. Flamingos are commonly housed in zoological collections but can be challenging to breed regularly. The characteristic bright pink plumage colour of adult birds develops over time. Anecdotally, young flamingos have been observed to appear on the edges of flamingo flocks. Therefore, this project aimed to measure the social behaviour of juvenile flamingos and record where they were found in two zoo enclosures for two species of flamingo. This project identified that juvenile flamingos prefer to spend time with birds of their own age and are most commonly seen on the periphery of their flock. However, this can be dependent on species and situation (e.g., management impacts on flock structure). We suggest improvements to flamingo enclosures to provide quality, accessible resources for all individuals of all ages that are housed under human care. Flamingos are colonial species commonly kept in zoos, well known for their bright plumage and elaborate courtship displays. This project aimed to determine the differences in flock position and association preferences of juvenile Greater Flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) and Caribbean Flamingos (P. ruber) housed in the same zoological collection. Little research has been conducted on the association preferences of juvenile flamingos, especially in captive flocks, and therefore this study collected data using photographs taken throughout 2014 and 2015 to further understand association patterns. Data were collected on the age category of each juvenile flamingo observed, the age of their nearest neighbour and their position within the flock, and the location within an enclosure zone at different times of the day. The results showed that Greater Flamingo juveniles mainly associated with individuals of their own age and were most likely positioned at the periphery of their flock significantly more of the time until approximately 24 months of age. Sub-adult Greater Flamingos spent significantly more time associating with adult flamingos at the centre of the flock. In contrast, data collected on Caribbean Flamingos indicated that juveniles did not segregate themselves from the adults as distinctively. Birds aged 13–24 months were observed significantly more at the centre of the flock and had more associations with adult flamingos, in a similar manner to that observed in Greater Flamingos. Due to population management needs, juvenile Caribbean Flamingos were removed from the flock at the start of 2015 and this may have influenced the association and location preferences of the remaining young flamingos. In conclusion, these results indicated that captive juvenile flamingos were often seen away from adult birds and that sub-adult flamingos returned to the heart of their natal flock to associate significantly more with other adult individuals, potentially preparing for mate selection and breeding. Captive enclosure should therefore be spacious enough to enable young flamingos to remove themselves from adult birds so that behavioural development can be unaffected by artificially high rates of aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cryptic lineage is a genetically diverged but morphologically unrecognized variant of a known species. Clarifying cryptic lineage evolution is essential for quantifying species diversity. In sympatric cryptic lineage divergence compared with allopatric divergence, the forces of divergent selection and mating patterns override geographical isolation. Introgression, by supplying preadapted or neutral standing genetic variations, can promote sympatric cryptic lineage divergence via selection. However, most studies concentrated on extant species introgression, ignoring the genetic legacy of introgression from extinct or unsampled lineages ("ghost introgression"). Cycads are an ideal plant for studying the influence of ghost introgression because of their common interspecific gene flow and past high extinction rate. Here, we utilized reference‐based ddRADseq to clarify the role of ghost introgression in the evolution of a previously identified sympatric cryptic lineage in Cycas revoluta. After re‐evaluating the evolutionary independency of cryptic lineages, the group‐wise diverged single‐nucleotide polymorphisms among sympatric and allopatric lineages were compared and functionally annotated. Next, we employed an approximate Bayesian computation method for hypothesis testing to clarify the cryptic lineage evolution and ghost introgression effect. SNPs with the genomic signatures of ghost introgression were further annotated. Our results reconfirmed the evolutionary independency of cryptic lineage among C. revoluta and demonstrated that ghost introgression to the noncryptic lineage facilitated their divergence. Gene function related to heat stress and disease resistance implied ecological adaptation of the main extant populations of C. revoluta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contact zones provide important insights into the evolutionary processes that underlie lineage divergence and speciation. Here, we use a contact zone to ascertain speciation potential in the red‐eyed treefrog (Agalychnis callidryas), a brightly coloured and polymorphic frog that exhibits unusually high levels of intraspecific variation. Populations of A. callidryas differ in a number of traits, several of which are known sexual signals that mediate premating reproductive isolation in allopatric populations. Along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, a ~100 km contact zone, situated between two phenotypically and genetically divergent parent populations, contains multiple colour pattern phenotypes and late‐generation hybrids. This contact zone provides the opportunity to examine processes that are important in the earliest stages of lineage divergence. We performed analyses of colour pattern variation in five contact zone sites and six parental sites and found complex, continuous colour variation along the contact zone. We found discordance between the geographic distribution of colour pattern and previously described genomic population structure. We then used a parental site and contact zone site to measure assortative mating and directional selection from naturally‐occurring amplectant mating pairs. We found assortative mating in a parental population, but no assortative mating in the contact zone. Furthermore, we uncovered evidence of directional preference towards the adjacent parental phenotype in the contact zone population, but no directional preference in the parent population. Combined, these data provide insights into potential dynamics at the contact zone borders and indicate that incipient speciation between parent populations will be slowed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how many mates an animal has in its lifetime is a critical factor in sexual selection. At the same time, differences in an organism's ecology, such as the quantity and quality of food, could be reflected in different mating rates. Mating rate had a significant effect on female net fitness (i.e., lifetime offspring production), however, laboratory measurements cannot well mirror the situation in wild. The common bedbug (Cimex lectularius) is a well-established model for studying traumatic insemination and sexual conflict. The species comprises two host lineages that feed on bats (BL) or humans (HL). HL can constantly feed on human hosts throughout the year, while BLs feed only during summer months when their bat hosts occupy the roosts. Because mating in female bedbugs is closely linked to foraging, this system provides a valuable model to study mating variation in the field. We established a new method for estimating age-dependent mating rates of females in the wild by relating the fluorescent pigment accumulation in the eyes of females to the number of mating scars that manifest as melanized spots caused by the injection of sperm through the wall of the female abdomen by the male into the spermalege. In addition, using laboratory bedbugs we found that three and a half observed matings on average lead to one observed melanized mating scar. Although young BL and HL females (with low pteridine concentrations) did not differ in the number of matings, the mating rate increased with age only in HL but not in BL females. We sampled on average older BL than HL females. The lack of access to food (bat blood) during winter could explain the lack of increase in the number of scars with age in BL. In species where mating leaves visible marks, using fluorescent pigments to determine female age (applicable to most arthropods) could be an important tool to study sexual selection and mating rate in the wild. The method can help formulate sustainable and biologically lucid approaches for their control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual selection often shapes social behavioural activities, such as movement in the environment to find possible partners, performance of displays to signal dominance and courtship behaviours. Such activities may be negatively influenced by increasing temperatures, especially in ectotherms, because individuals either have to withstand the unfavourable condition or are forced to allocate more time to thermoregulation by increasing shelter seeking behaviour. Thus, they "miss" opportunities for social and reproductive interactions. Moreover, behavioural displays of ectotherms closely depend on temperature; consequently, mate choice behaviours may be disrupted, ultimately modifying sexual selection patterns. Therefore, it would be interesting to elucidate how increasing temperatures associated with global warming may influence activity and social interactions in the species' natural habitat and, specifically how high temperatures may modify intersexual interactions. Consequently, our aim was to explore differences in the daily pattern of social interactions in an ectotherm model, Tropidurus spinulosus, in two thermally different habitats and to determine how high temperatures modify mate choice. High environmental temperatures were found to be associated with a bimodal pattern in daily activity, which was closely linked to the daily variations in the thermal quality of the habitat; whereas the pattern and frequency of social displays showed less plasticity. The time allocated to mate choice generally decreased with increasing temperature since individuals increased the use of thermal refuges; this result supports the hypothesis of "missed opportunities". Moreover, at high temperatures, both sexes showed changes in mate selection dynamics, with females possibly "rushing" mate choice and males showing an increase in intermale variability of reproductive displays. In our ectotherm model, plastic adjustments in the behavioural activity pattern induced by high temperatures, plus the modification of the displays during courtship may ultimately modify mate choice patterns and sexual selection dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foraging behavior is increasingly seen as an integral component in maintaining connectivity within habitat structure. Daily patterns in the foraging behavior of birds are assumed to balance the counteracting starvation, risks of predation and mate choice in breeding season in songbirds. Present study is the first investigation of the data on foraging patterns assemblage of population of Indian robin (Copshychus fulicatus L.), belongs to Semi-urban climate in Himalayan foothills. Foraging rate were found higher in male Indian robin in breeding season than non-breeding season because they need more energy to sing to attract female in breeding season, while female forage almost equal in both the season. Slight variation were found in foraging rate in morning and evening for both the sexes, evening have little more edges. This study also has significant value to study the effect of increasing urbanization on foraging, as need of recent research of ornithologist for sub- population, sub- species and species conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cognitive buffer hypothesis proposes that species with larger brains (relative to their body size) exhibit greater behavioural flexibility, conferring an advantage in unpredictable or novel environments. Therefore, behavioural flexibility – and relative brain size – are likely to be important predictors of a species' vulnerability to anthropogenic pressures and, ultimately, extinction risk. However, current evidence linking brain size to species' vulnerability and extinction risk is inconclusive. Furthermore, studies examining the relationship between relative brain size and behavioural flexibility have mainly focused on foraging innovations, whilst other forms of behavioural flexibility remain unexplored. In this study, we collate species‐specific information and examine links between relative brain size, rates of natal and adult dispersal (a measure of flexibility in breeding site fidelity), vulnerability to six anthropogenic threats and extinction risk for 131 species of seabird. We focused our study on seabirds, a highly threatened group that displays large variation in both relative brain size and dispersal behaviour. We found a significant positive relationship between relative brain size and natal dispersal rate, suggesting that relative brain size could enhance flexibility in breeding site choice in seabirds, consistent with the cognitive buffer hypothesis. However, this relationship does not persist when we consider adult dispersal, possibly reflecting constraints imposed by mate selection and knowledge transfer in seabirds. We also show that relative brain size is negatively associated with vulnerability to climate change. These findings have immediate application for predicting interspecific variation in species' vulnerability to climate change and identifying priority species for conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Using pooled data from the 2010, 2012, and 2014 China Family Panel Studies, this paper elucidates the internal heterogeneity among non‐arranged marriages by examining changing patterns and determinants of mate selection in China from 1950 to 2014. Background: Previous research has documented a decline in arranged marriages and a rise in self‐initiated marriages in the Asian context. Methods: This study uses two measures to capture the nuanced nature of mate selection, namely, arranged versus non‐arranged marriages among all couples, and introduced versus self‐initiated marriages among non‐arranged couples. Results: While arranged marriages declined rapidly and were replaced mostly by introduced marriages before 1980, after 1980, self‐initiated marriages began to increase. Urbanization and better education led to more non‐arranged marriages, particularly through self‐initiated means. The influence of county‐level per capita GDP on mate selection is quadratic. Conclusion: The two‐stage transitions in mate selection reflect the importance of accounting for both structural and ideational factors in explaining these changes. Implications: We challenge the assumed unilinear change from arranged marriages to self‐initiated marriages along the processes of economic development. The intensified economic pressures may have driven some young adults back to introduced, even arranged, marriages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In haploid species, sexual reproduction by selfing lacks the common benefits from recombination and is indistinguishable from asexual reproduction at the genetic level. Nevertheless, the evolution of self-compatibility, known as homothallism in organisms with mating types, has occurred hundreds of times in fungi. Two main hypotheses have been proposed for the evolution of homothallism. First, that homothallism offers reproductive assurance, which is especially important when species have an obligatory sexual phase in their lifecycle. Second, that homothallism is associated with population-level compatibility, increasing the chance of outbreeding. Here, we test these hypotheses using the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe , which is homothallic by mating-type switching, leveraging natural variation for switching efficiency in this species. Combining empirical tests with cellular automaton simulations, we show that homothallism by switching increases mating success of switching genotypes, but does not affect population-level compatibility. Experiments show that outcrossing is actually reduced under homothallism. This reduction in outcrossing is explained by our simulations, which show that due to local mating, gametes that mated through intraclonal selfing are no longer available for outcrossing. Our results suggest that the recurrent evolution of haploid self-compatibility is likely driven by selection for mating assurance, not to increase the potential for outcrossing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexually dimorphic behaviour is pervasive across animals, with males and females exhibiting different mate selection, parental care, foraging, dispersal, and territorial strategies. However, the genetic underpinnings of sexually dimorphic behaviours are poorly understood. Here we investigate gene networks and expression patterns associated with sexually dimorphic imprinting‐like learning in the butterfly Bicyclus anynana. In this species, both males and females learn visual preferences, but learn preferences for different traits and use different signals as salient, unconditioned cues. To identify genes and gene networks associated with this behaviour, we examined gene expression profiles of the brains and eyes of male and female butterflies immediately post training and compared them to the same tissues of naïve individuals. We found more differentially expressed genes and a greater number of associated gene networks in the eyes, indicating a role of the peripheral nervous system in visual imprinting‐like learning. Females had higher chemoreceptor expression levels than males, supporting the hypothesized sexual dimorphic use of chemical cues during the learning process. In addition, genes that influence B. anynana wing patterns (sexual ornaments), such as invected, spalt, and apterous, were also differentially expressed in the brain and eye, suggesting that these genes may influence both sexual ornaments and the preferences for these ornaments. Our results indicate dynamic and sex‐specific responses to social scenario in both the peripheral and central nervous systems and highlight the potential role of wing patterning genes in mate preference and learning across the Lepidoptera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coloration facilitates evolutionary investigations in nature because the interaction between genotype, phenotype and environment is relatively accessible. In a landmark set of studies, Endler addressed this complexity by demonstrating that the evolution of male Trinidadian guppy coloration is shaped by the local balance between selection for mate attractiveness versus crypsis. This became a textbook paradigm for how antagonistic selective pressures may determine evolutionary trajectories in nature. However, recent studies have challenged the generality of this paradigm. Here, we respond to these challenges by reviewing five important yet underappreciated factors that contribute to colour pattern evolution: (i) among-population variation in female preference and correlated variation in male coloration, (ii) differences in how predators versus conspecifics view males, (iii) biased assessment of pigmentary versus structural coloration, (iv) the importance of accounting for multi-species predator communities, and (v) the importance of considering the multivariate genetic architecture and multivariate context of selection and how sexual selection encourages polymorphic divergence. We elaborate these issues using two challenging papers. Our purpose is not to criticize but to point out the potential pitfalls in colour research and to emphasize the depth of consideration necessary for testing evolutionary hypotheses using complex multi-trait phenotypes such as guppy colour patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most genetic operators use random mating selection strategy and fixed rate crossover operator to solve various optimization problems. In order to improve the convergence and diversity of the algorithm, an adaptive adjacent maximum distance crossover operator is proposed in this paper. A new mating selection strategy (distance-based mating selection strategy) and an adaptive mechanism (adaptive crossover strategy based on population convergence) are adopted. Distance-based mating selection strategy purposefully selects parents to produce better offspring. Adaptive crossover strategy based on population convergence increases the convergence speed of the algorithm by controlling the crossover probability. The proposed crossover strategy is evaluated on the simulated binary crossover operators of non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II and multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on decomposition. The performance of the algorithm is verified on a series of standard test problems. Finally, the optimization results of the improved algorithm using adaptive adjacent maximum distance crossover operator and the standard algorithm are compared and analyzed. The experimental results show that the algorithm using adaptive adjacent maximum distance crossover operator has better optimization results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reproductive biology of Marsh frogs (Pelophylax ridibundus s.l.) was investigated in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of Türkiye in terms of reproductive phenology, fecundity, clutch size, reproductive effort, and mate choice. Frogs are active for approximately ten months throughout the year and hibernate between November and January. Breeding occurs from mid-January until early June and metamorphosis took 45-65 days, with juveniles observed from the end of March. The tadpole reaches its largest size at stage 38, with a mean total length of 60.61 mm and juveniles have an average snout-vent length of 20 mm at the end of metamorphosis. Secondary sexual characters can be observed on individuals reaching 45 mm snout-vent length and we could not detect any amplexed pairs below this length. The clutch size of spawned egg masses ranged between 144 - 645 and the mean egg size was calculated as 1.73 mm. The mean fecundity was 3853 (ranging between 940 and 6000) eggs and the reproductive effort was 0.094 in females. Females were approximately 16% larger than males and the snout-vent length of males and females of amplexed pairs is significantly different but not correlated. These findings signify random mating instead of size-assortative mating. However, the preference of 6.8% larger females than single ones to mate indicates a sizedependent mating for Western Mediterranean population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study investigates how family care responsibilities impact older single adults' approach to and experience on the dating market. Background: There is a growing population of single older adults, but very little understanding of their experiencing seeking romantic partners. Prior dating and marriage research has focused primarily on younger adults or single parents seeking remarriage. There is evidence of parenthood negatively impacting the search for a partner, but it is unclear how caregiving responsibilities impact this process for older adults. Method: Here, 100 older adults, 50 men and 50 women ages 60–83, were recruited from online dating websites and interviewed about their experiences seeking romantic partners. Results: Many men and women postponed dating until carework was complete. Additionally, men found women with care responsibilities less desirable, but women preferred men who were close to their families. Men were only less desirable when women believed the men would increase a woman's carework responsibilities. Conclusion: This study reveals how family caregiving responsibilities have a noticeable and gendered impacted on older adults' experiences with repartnering. This study extends marriage market and marital search theories by highlighting the complicated and influential role of family, particularly family carework responsibilities, in older adults' opportunities and status on the dating and marriage market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prolonged incompatibility with a spouse in a marriage will trigger conflicts that can destabilize marital harmony. Before marriage, each prospective partner should identify the personal needs and characteristics of his or her potential mate so that the individual becomes the best version of himself and is fully responsible for fulfilling his needs. This research aims to analyze the effect of family values, adult attachment, and mating intelligence on preferences in mate selection among young adults. The research was conducted in Indonesia with 250 young adults who were selected using a voluntary sampling technique. A series of questionnaires were distributed online using Google Forms, which were shared through social media. Then, the data were analyzed using descriptive tests, independent sample t-tests, correlation tests, and path analysis. Results revealed that secure attachment mediated family values and mating intelligence. Mating intelligence mediated secure attachment and kindness/dependability preferences. Mating intelligence mediated secure attachment and education/intelligence preferences. Mating intelligence had an effect on status/resource preferences. Avoidant attachment affected the preferences of kindness/dependability and religiosity/chastity. Family values affected preferences for kindness/dependability, attractiveness/sexuality, status/resources, education/intelligence, and religiosity/chastity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Highlight: Woodman, J. P., Cole, E. F., Firth, J. A., Perrins, C. M., & Sheldon, B. C. (2022). Disentangling the causes of age‐assortative mating in bird populations with contrasting life‐history strategies. Journal of Animal Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365‐2656.13851. In their study of age‐assortative mating, Woodman and colleagues thoroughly and concisely detail its behavioural determinants using datasets, astonishing in themselves, amassed from their decades‐long studies of mute swans (Cygnus olor) and great tits (Parus major), species that are respectively longer‐ and shorter‐lived and occupying different segments of the slow/fast life‐history continuum. Here, they show that positive age‐assortative mating occurs through active, age‐based mate selection in mute swans which play the long game, whereas in the shorter‐lived great tit this is principally a passive byproduct of demographic processes. That great tits have relatively lower interannual survivorship means that newly recruited, young birds occupy a larger proportion of the breeding population in any given year than occurs in mute swans. The adaptive significance of age‐assortative mating is yet to be determined, but the current study provides an exciting possibility for the role of selection on assortative mating generally in either promoting or constraining active mate selection and sexual dimorphism within and across the tree of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age shapes fundamental processes related to behaviour, survival and reproduction, where age influences reproductive success, non‐random mating with respect to age can magnify or mitigate such effects. Consequently, the correlation in partners' age across a population may influence its productivity. Despite widespread evidence for age‐assortative mating, little is known about what drives this assortment and its variation. Specifically, the relative importance of active (same‐age mate preference) and passive processes (assortment as a consequence of other spatial or temporal effects) in driving age assortment is not well understood.In this paper, we compare breeding data from a great tit and mute swan population (51‐ and 31‐year datasets, respectively) to tease apart the contributions of pair retention, cohort age structure and active age‐related mate selection to age assortment in species with contrasting life histories.Both species show age‐assortative mating and variable assortment between years. However, we demonstrate that the drivers of age assortment differ between the species, as expected from their life histories and resultant demographic differences. In great tits, pair fidelity has a weak effect on age‐assortative mating through pair retention; variation in age assortment is primarily driven by fluctuations in age structure from variable juvenile recruitment. Age‐assortative mating is, therefore, largely passive, with no evidence consistent with active age‐related mate selection. In mute swans, age assortment is partly explained by pair retention, but not population age structure, and evidence exists for active age‐assortative pairing.This difference is likely to result from shorter life‐spans in great tits compared with mute swans, leading to fundamental differences in their population age structure, whereby a larger proportion of great tit populations consist of a single age cohort. In mute swans, age‐assortative pairing through mate selection may also be driven by greater age‐dependent variation in fitness.The study highlights the importance of considering how different life histories and demographic differences arising from these affect population processes that appear congruent across species. We suggest that future research should focus on uncovering the proximate mechanisms that lead to variation in active age‐assortative mate selection (as seen in mute swans); and the consequences of variation in age structure on the ecological and social functioning of wild populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the relationship between the height of adult males and marital outcomes, including likelihood of marrying, age at marriage, and marital fertility, in rural Spain. For this analysis, a sample of 4,501 men born between 1835 and 1975 living in 14 villages in northeastern Spain was taken. Previous research has shown that shorter individuals are less likely to marry. However, it is still disputed whether differences exist in the timing of marrying based on height, and little attention has been paid to the effect(s) of height on offspring. Family data were obtained from parish records and interviews with individuals and their families, while height data were obtained from military records, with individuals in Spain being conscripted at the age of 21 years. The data were linked according to nominative criteria using family reconstitution methods. The results confirm that shorter individuals were less likely to marry. Individuals of medium and medium-high height were the first to marry, with a small gap between them and shorter individuals. With regard to marital fertility, no difference in terms of average fertility by height were found, but there were small differences in timing of childbirth, possibly as a result of delayed marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]