Mate choice

Mate choice is the selection of reproductive partners through preferences or competition. It shapes who mates and can drive the evolution of traits and courtship behaviors.

Sexual selection: Evolutionary change caused by differences in mating success among individuals. Mate choice is one route by which differences in mating success shape traits.
Mating system: The pattern of pair formation and reproductive relationships in a population. Mate choice operates within mating arrangements such as monogamy or polygyny.
Three-spined stickleback: A small freshwater fish widely studied for its behavior, ecology, and evolution. Females often prefer red-throated males, a classic case of visual mate preference.
Direct benefits hypothesis: The hypothesis that mate preferences favor partners providing immediate resources or protection. It contrasts with explanations based on inherited benefits to offspring.
Courtship display: A behavior or signal performed to attract or assess a potential reproductive partner. Displays provide information or stimulation that can influence partner decisions.
Sexual reproduction: Reproduction in which genetic material from two gametes combines to produce offspring. Partner selection is situated within the broader process of sexual reproduction.
Bowerbird: A bird whose males build and decorate structures called bowers to attract mates. Female inspection of bowers makes courtship choice visible and experimentally testable.
Sexual conflict: An evolutionary conflict in which traits increasing one sex's reproductive success reduce the other's. Mate preferences can oppose coercive or manipulative traits favored by sexual conflict.
Sexual dimorphism: A difference in form or appearance between males and females of the same species, beyond reproductive organs. Repeated mate preferences can produce sex differences in traits.
Parental investment: Energy, time, and risk devoted to producing and caring for offspring that reduce future reproductive opportunities. Unequal investment can make the sexes differ in mating opportunities and preferences.

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