Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2006, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology

Females can vary in their mate choice decisions and this variability can play a key role in evolution by sexual selection. Variability in female preferences can affect the intensity and direction of selection on male sexual traits, as well as explain variation in male reproductive success. I looked at how consistency of female preference can vary for a male sexual trait, song length, and then examined context-dependent situations that may contribute to variation in female preferences. In Chapter 2, I assessed repeatability – a measure of among-individual variation – in preference for male song length in female American goldfinches (Spinus tristis). I found no repeatability in preference for song length but did find an overall preference for shorter songs. I suggest that context, including the social environment, may be important in altering the expression of female preferences. In Chapter 3, I assessed how the choices of other females influence female preference. Mate choice copying, in which female preference for a male increases if he has been observed with other females, has been observed in several non-monogamous birds. However, it is unclear whether mate choice copying occurs in socially monogamous species where there are direct benefits from choosing an unmated male. I found evidence for mate choice copying and suggest that copying occurs when choosing extrapair mates. In Chapter 4, I examine how social relationships among females influence copying. A female may be more likely to copy another female if they are familiar with one another due to shared environments and experiences. I found that females are more likely to copy familiar rather than unfamiliar females, which has not been shown in this context. The latter two chapters show that social context is a source of variation that can cause a female to alter her preferences. This suggests an important potential role of female-female social relationships on male reproductive success and the evol (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ian Hamilton (Advisor); J. Andrew Roberts (Advisor); Jacqueline Augustine (Committee Member) Subjects: Animals; Behavioral Sciences; Biology; Ecology; Organismal Biology; Zoology

Master of Science, Miami University, 2018, Biology

Females often use male signals and cues to locate potential mates and assess their quality. These male signals can be transmitted across one or multiple signaling modalities. In the wolf spider Pardosa milvina, males use a visual courtship display to attract female attention and encourage sexual receptivity. However, whether or not other signaling modalities influence female mate choice in this species is poorly understood. I hypothesized that male chemical cues may play a role in female mate choice in addition to visual cues. I tested females for their ability to detect and assess males based on their chemical cues, both isolated and when combined with a visual signal. Females did not change their activity in the presence of isolated male chemical cues. When presented with males either surrounded by or lacking their chemical cues, I found that while male courtship played a major role in female detection and attraction, females tended to spend less time near males when their chemical cues were present. This research suggests that while male courtship displays are necessary and sufficient for mate attraction, chemical signals may play a limited role by helping females more quickly assess a male's visual display.

Committee: Ann Rypstra PhD (Advisor); Nancy Solomon PhD (Committee Member); Brian Keane PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Animals; Biology; Zoology

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2013, Arts and Sciences: Anthropology

This thesis advances the understanding of the characteristics that older adults desire in a long-term mate and what conditions their decision to marry, remarry, or date in their old age, especially regarding the role of kin selection. Data from 105 participants, with a minimum requirement of 55 years of age, were collected using a study-specific questionnaire based on the mate selection criteria popularized by Hill (1945) and corroborated by Buss (1989). Study sites are community-based senior centers or independent living complexes with a minimum age requirement around the Greater Cincinnati Area in Ohio. Results suggest that age does not have a significant effect on the importance of traditional mate-selection criteria. Additionally, the likelihood to marry, remarry, or date is very low, which might be significantly influenced by age. This study contributes to our overall understanding of human life histories, models of senescence, and the grandparental generation.

Committee: Jeremy Koster Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Leila Rodriguez Soto Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Cultural Anthropology

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2017, Arts and Sciences: Biological Sciences

Recent interest in male mate choice has prompted a re-examination of widely held beliefs regarding sex roles in animal mating systems. It is now known that males can be choosy based on female quality – namely with regards to sperm competition and fecundity. However, studies which directly compare aspects of female quality and their influence on male mate choice are relatively rare. The brush-legged wolf spider Schizocosa ocreata (Hentz) has a well-studied, conspicuous male courtship display, within which can be seen evidence of male mate choice based on female mating history and foraging history, as well as possible effects of experience and rearing environment. This makes it an excellent system to compare the importance of these two female states and examine how the choice patterns they give rise to may be influenced by the environment. By examining male courtship and female behavior under different circumstances and across environmental experience conditions, the relative effects of these factors can be inferred. Evidence collected in this study suggests that female mating status is the dominant predictor of both male and female mate choice, with males most often courting virgin females more vigorously regardless of context, as well as females showing higher levels of receptivity when unmated. An important exception to this trend is seen in field-reared males and their female partners, who show no preference or behavioral differences based on female state, suggesting that this preference is not static and may be influenced by experience. Altogether these results fit within the general pattern of two-axis preference studies by showing a trend to the importance of mating status with lesser importance of feeding status. Therefore, these results may help to better understand the influence of male mate choice on female sexual selection across taxa.

Committee: George Uetz Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Eric Maurer Ph.D. (Committee Member); Andrew Roberts Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1983, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1980, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1962, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Anthropology

Since Darwin first described his theory of sexual selection, evolutionary biologists have used this framework to understand the potential for morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits to evolve within each sex. Recently, researchers have revealed important nuances in effects of sexual coercion, intersexual conflict, and sex role reversals. Among our closest relatives living in complex societies in which individuals interact outside of just the context of mating, the sexual and social lives of individuals are tightly intertwined. An important challenge to biological anthropologists is demonstrating whether female opportunities for mate choice are overridden by male-male competitive and male-female coercive strategies that dominate multi-male, multi-female societies. In this dissertation, I explore interactions between these various mechanisms of competition, coercion, and choice acting on the lives of female olive baboons (Papio anubis) to determine how they may influence expression of female behavioral and vocal signals, copulatory success with specific males, and the role of female competition in influencing mating patterns. I found females solicit specific males around the time of ovulation. Although what makes some males more preferred is less clear, there is evidence females choose males who might be better future protectors – males who will have long group tenures and are currently ascending the hierarchy. Preference translates into higher copulation rates and success at consort takeovers, there is little support that this is simply based on male aggression toward females. Outside the fertile window female copulations were more likely related to male aggression and male dominance rank. Additionally, I found evidence that copulation calls of female olive baboons indicate ovulation and may function to encourage specific males to guard or continue mating with females. However, some of the temporal features of calls indicate a function for paternity c (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dawn Kitchen (Advisor) Subjects: Physical Anthropology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2014, Psychology/Experimental

In the current research predictions derived from three hypotheses regarding the adaptive function of female orgasm were tested. In Study 1, 199 female undergraduate students participated in an experiment that tested the Mr. Right and long-term pair bonding hypotheses that female orgasm functions as a long-term mate selection device and to promote attachment and bonding, respectively. In Study 2, 144 male undergraduate students participated in an experiment that tested the paternity confidence hypothesis that female orgasm functions as a signal of fidelity to males, which calibrates male investment. In both studies, participants imagined themselves as a member of a romantic relationship provided in a scenario. Within these scenarios, the relationships varied between either short-term or long-term and the frequency that the female experienced orgasm during intercourse varied between never, occasionally, and almost always. Participants were randomly assigned to one condition of this 2 (relationship context: short-term, long-term) x 3 (female orgasm frequency: never, occasionally, almost always) between-subjects design. Females answered questions regarding relationship satisfaction and males answered questions regarding investment. Tentative support for the Mr. Right hypothesis was found, with moderate effect sizes indicating a relationship between female orgasm frequency and female relationship satisfaction in short-term relationship contexts. Clear support was found for the long-term pair bonding hypothesis with a statistically significant relationship between female orgasm frequency and female relationship satisfaction in long-term relationship contexts being completely mediated by the female's love for her partner. No support was found for the paternity confidence hypothesis as there was no relationship between female orgasm frequency and male investment in long-term relationship contexts.

Committee: Anne Gordon Ph.D. (Advisor); Howard Cromwell Ph.D. (Committee Member); William O'Brien Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2001, Arts and Sciences : Biological Sciences

Courtship behavior has been studied extensively in the wolf spider Schizocosa ocreata (Araneae: Lycosidae). While much research has tested predictions of sexual selection theory regarding male traits used in female mate choice, some critical assumptions about female behavior remain untested. Because variation in female mating behavior is critical in sexual selection, I studied several aspects of mate choice from the females' perspective: (1) Do females mate more than once? (2) Is female preference for male characters (leg tufts and visual courtship displays) repeatable? (3) Does female receptivity vary with age (post-adult)? Females were paired with multiple males, and re-mating by females was rare (6%) implying that females are primarily monogamous. Males in contrast seem to be polygamous, 62% of males that were paired with more than one virgin female mated more than once. Sexual conflict over optimal mating rate may be inevitable resulting in different mating strategies. To determine repeatability of ma le preference, females were shown videos of courting males (identical in behavior and size, but different tuft sizes) simultaneously in a choice chamber once/day over 4 days. The repeatability of female preference varied with the nature of the choice. Female preference for larger tufts was significant and repeatable (r = 0.65) when choosing between an average male and one with reduced tufts, but not when choosing between an average male and one with enlarged tufts. This may be an indication of a threshold trait. To examine variation in receptivity with age post-adulthood, I studied responses of females to a courting male video. Receptivity varied significantly with age post-adulthood: females were more aggressive and less receptive to video images of courting males in the first week, became significantly more receptive after 3 weeks, and less thereafter. Correlated changes in aggressive and receptivity behavior may suggest a physiological linkage. These studies dem (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: George Uetz (Advisor) Subjects:

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2010, Arts and Sciences: Biological Sciences

Condition dependence (CD) of animal behavior is an emerging avenue of study. Because many aspects of animal physiology and life history vary with environmental factors, a variable environment may influence phenotype expression, which may consequently be subject to sexual selection. However, under food limitation, potentially cannibalistic animals like spiders face condition-dependent trade-offs between sexual selection (mate choice) and natural selection (sexual cannibalism). This research investigated the relationship between female feeding history, mate choice, male courtship and reproductive timing in the wolf spider, Schizocosa ocreata (Lycosidae; Hentz). I tested the influence of long- and short-term food stress on female mate choice, by assessing female preference for condition dependent male visual signals – body size and sexual ornaments. Female preference for visual male traits varied as a function of feeding treatment and time post maturity. Females demonstrated different degrees and types of phenotypic selection on males, but ultimately males with relatively large ornaments were selected through mate choice. Male courtship investment also varied with female feeding treatment, as males courted female silk from well-fed, deprived and cannibalistic females differently. However, both male experience and female feeding treatment significantly impacted courtship investment, as male investment in courtship vigor in subsequent encounters depended on the type of female seen in a previous encounter. Emerging from these observations was support for differential male investment and preliminary support for male mate choice in a wolf spider. Feeding history significantly impacted spider growth and induced plastic developmental responses as females matured. Food limited females took longer to develop by adding additional instars and ultimately attained a smaller adult size. Female gonad development coincided with increased female receptivity in well-fed females, suggest (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: George Uetz PhD (Committee Chair); John Layne PhD (Committee Member); Eric Maurer PhD (Committee Member); Elke Buschbeck PhD (Committee Member); Ann Rypstra PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2009, Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology

In socially monogamous birds, the accurate advertisement and assessment of mate quality is essential in mate choice and fidelity decisions. To understand the relationships between mate quality, mate choice, and mate fidelity, I used eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) and tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) as models of socially monogamous passerine species in three studies of avian mating system biology. During the 2006-2008 breeding seasons I investigated the relationship between condition during feather molt (using feather growth bar width from the previous post-breeding molt) and measures of male breeding season quality, including plumage coloration, body mass index, coloration and condition at time of feather growth of females obtained as mates, male feeding rates (bluebirds), and male ectoparasite loads (swallows). Body mass index was the best indicator of condition during the post-breeding molt. Neither male nor female plumage coloration was correlated with post-breeding molt. Furthermore, feeding rate and ectoparasite load did not add any explanatory power to models predicting molt condition. This study confirmed that condition at the time of molt is related to a measure of male quality during the subsequent breeding season. In 2008 I tested the prediction that breeding female eastern bluebirds would use male breast coloration in mate choice decisions. I performed an aviary-based mate-choice experiment in which I manipulated the color of the melanin-pigmented orange-red breast of male bluebirds that were preferred by females (making preferred males redder than non-preferred males). Females unequivocally did not prefer males with duller orange-red breasts, as predicted, but instead, may have preferred males with redder breasts. This was the first known study to experimentally test the coloration of a melanin-based plumage patch in mate choice decisions. Finally, during the breeding seasons of 2006-2008, I tested the prediction that female eastern bluebirds and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: J. Andrew Roberts Ph.D. (Advisor); Thomas C. Grubb, Jr. Ph.D. (Advisor); Richard A. Bradley Ph.D. (Committee Member); Paul G. Rodewald Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Animals; Behaviorial Sciences; Biology; Ecology; Zoology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2011, Biological Sciences (Arts and Sciences)

Identifying the different factors that influence female preference is essential to our understanding of the evolution of female preferences. Plastic mate preferences can be favored by natural selection in varying environments, including social environments. In this dissertation, I addressed the following questions in Xiphophorus birchmanni, X. cortezi and X. malinche: 1) What factors affect variation in female preference for vertical bars; 2) Does experience with different male phenotypes affect female preferences for vertical bars; 3) Does female preference contribute to the evolution of the exaggerated dorsal fin; 4) Did the exaggerated dorsal fin evolve to enhance courtship displays; 5) What are the phylogenetic relationships within and across these species? Female preferences for vertical bars in X. cortezi varied with female bar state, female size, and population in wild-caught females. By further examining differences using lab-reared fish, I found that preferences varied by social experience with barred and barless males, and this relationship varied across populations. These results indicated a combination of both genetic (population, bar state) and environmental (female size) on female preferences. I also found that barless males were more aggressive toward females, and suggest that these behavioral differences could explain how experience influences female preferences. Xiphophorus birchmanni females preferred dorsal fins that were larger than expected given the male's size, and during male–female interactions, males raised their dorsal fins as part of their courtship display directed towards females. I suggest that female preference selected for enlarged dorsal fins in male X. birchmanni, and that female preferences are potentially disruptive for dorsal fin size. I also found that raising the dorsal fin is a signal directed at females in several species of Xiphophorus. However, sexual dimorphism in dorsal fin size evolved prior to increased use of the dors (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Molly Morris (Committee Chair); Oscar Rios-Cardenas (Committee Member); Matthew White (Committee Member); Harvey Ballard (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Ecology; Evolution and Development; Freshwater Ecology; Zoology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2011, Biological Sciences (Arts and Sciences)

Variation in acquisition of resources across the lifetime of a female, as well as species differences in allocation of resources to life history traits, can interact to produce variation in female mate preferences. By examining the influence of resources, it is possible to understand how variation in mate preference is adaptive. I first investigated how diet manipulation during juvenile development and maternal effects influenced mate preference for two male traits, male size and male symmetry, in Xiphophorus multilineatus. While diet influenced preference for male size, maternal effects influenced preference for male symmetry. I then compared how diet influenced preference in X. multilineatus to preference in X. variatus, a species with a potentially different life history strategy. I found that X. variatus appears to have a higher reproductive effort than X. multilineatus, and that their preference for male size was not influenced by diet, which could be predicted if female preference is a component of reproductive effort. These studies suggest that to understand adaptive variation in female mate preference, both life history strategy and the specific male trait being assessed needs to be considered.

Committee: Molly Morris Ph.D. (Advisor); Donald Miles Ph.D. (Committee Member); Kelly Johnson Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Biology; Evolution and Development

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2005, Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Profound social developments, such as the advent of the gender equality movement, have had a significant influence on many aspects of long-term romantic relationships. This is particularly noted with regards to the types of characteristics men and women desire in a long-term partner. Studies have long shown that what men and women value in a partner is not always consistent between genders. Two hundred forty-three university students from a mid-sized Midwestern university were surveyed on what they desire in a long term mate. They also completed self-esteem and gender role adherence scales. Results demonstrated traditional gender differences. However, consistent with previous literature, results also suggest that select gender differences in mate preferences are continuing a convergence trend. Evidence for self-esteem and gender role adherence as alternative predictors of traditionally gender distinct mate preference was not found. Gender differences with regards to the perceived function or benefit of favoring particular traits were uncovered for the traits concerning physical attractiveness and financial resourcefulness, but not for the trait concerning good health.

Committee: Doris Chang (Advisor) Subjects: Psychology, Social

BA, Kent State University, 2012, College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Ambassador Crawford / Department of Management and Information Systems

This thesis is going to target what specific gender differences are found in the young, heterosexual adult population when it comes to mate choice. More narrowly, it will find out what psychological behaviors are found to be attractive and unattractive in an individual. Whether these traits are shaped by culture, evolution, or both is to be examined. This thesis will include the different possible mechanisms in psychology, such as cognitive, behavioral, and unconscious processes which take place before, during, and after a relationship. The proximity effect and the exposure effect will also be included as well as two mating timelines: short-term and long-term. The thesis will also pinpoint further associations of attractiveness such as narcissism and the "Nice Guy Paradox." Stockholm syndrome will also be explained to explore the adverse phenomenon of a relationship becoming abusive, and why some people may choose to stay in these abusive relationships. The Attachment Fertility Theory is also an important factor when studying the unfortunate effects of an abusive relationship, and it also will be a large topic of discussion.

Committee: Brad Shepherd Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Evolution and Development; Psychology

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2011, Biological Sciences

The spectacular diversification of cichlids that has taken place in only a few million years constitutes a superb model-system for the study of speciation. Sexual selection may be one of the primary forces that drives speciation in African cichlids. The rock-dwelling cichlids of Lake Malawi exhibit a striking variety of melanic pigmentation patterns on their bodies, faces, and dorsal fins, however the role of these patterns in female preference is poorly understood. In this study, female mate preference for four different male pigmentation patterns was tested in the widespread Malawian cichlid, Metriaclima zebra. Using 3D computer-animated models as synthetic stimuli, female preferences were tested in two-choice trials and assessed with two approaches: 1) association time, and 2) a motivational approach using an associative learning paradigm. For the second approach, M. zebra females were trained to swim through a hoop in order to gain visual access to a computer-animated model of a male. In two-way choice trials, females were given the opportunity to gain visual access to either a computer-animation of a conspecific male from the same population; a computer-animated variant of a conspecific male in which features of the dark pigmentation pattern were manipulated; or a sympatric heterospecific, Metriaclima callainos. A female's preference for a particular male was assessed by: 1) proportion of time spent in association with the male and 2) the frequency of operant behaviors to gain visual access to the male. The computer-animated models were shown to be reinforcers of behavior in Metriaclima zebra females. However, in neither approach did the females exhibit a preference for the conspecific over any of the alternative variants or heterospecific presented. The motivational approach revealed high variation in mate preferences among individuals. These results suggest that male's dark pigmentation patterns alone are insufficient for species recognition in M. zebra and t (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Moira van Staaden PhD (Advisor); Robert Huber PhD (Committee Member); Sheryl Coombs PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology

MS, Kent State University, 2013, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Biological Sciences

Male katydids produce mating calls through stridulation to attract potential mates. Calls were recorded in the field and analyzed to compare between two related species that occur in overlapping ranges in the northwestern United States. Distinct differences were found between the two species' calls in both dominant frequency and chirp rate. Also, one species interspersed trills amongst the chirps of the call, while the other species' call did not include trills. These distinct call differences can be used for species identification and can be easier to differentiate than physical characteristics. The upper limits of sexual selection can be estimated using upper limits on Bateman gradients, which represent how fecundity increases with additional mates. Upper limits on Bateman gradients are expected to be constrained by various factors such as nutrition. These upper limits were estimated using controlled mating experiments with katydids on high and low protein diets (as adults) by measuring how maximum fecundity (fecundity with ideal mates) increased with each mating. Decreases in both maximum fecundity and the potential for sexual selection were expected in males and females due to protein limitation. This would result from decreased potential fecundity in low protein females and decreased value of nuptial gifts given by low protein males. The results did not support our predictions as strongly as hoped, but a decrease in the upper limits of sexual selection was nearly significant in low protein males, evidenced by reduced fecundity gains from remating. Also, spermatophores (the katydid nuptial gift) had a more complicated effect on fecundity than expected. Spermatophore size differed between males' first and second matings, however, larger spermatophores did not always confer more value to females, particularly in second matings. Stable isotope analysis was used to examine the lack of significant effects from differences in dietary protein on th (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Patrick Lorch (Advisor); Mark Kershner (Committee Member); Sean Veney (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Sciences; Animals; Behavioral Sciences; Behaviorial Sciences; Biology; Ecology; Entomology; Evolution and Development; Organismal Biology; Zoology