Female agreement over male attractiveness is not affected by cost of mating with experienced males

Abstract

The extent to which females differ in their mating preferences has important consequences for the evolution of male sexual traits; yet, the way in which female mating preferences vary remains largely unexplored in most animal taxa. Even less is known about the implications of this variation to female fitness. Here, we examine the degree of between-female agreement in the mating preferences of the cockroach, Nauphoeta cinerea, and relate this variation to differences in female reproduction. Using a repeated-measures design, we mated a series of males sequentially to 5 different females. We found that females were largely in agreement in their mating preferences with a significant, albeit low (0.094 ± 0.061), repeatability of male attractiveness as assessed by different females. This is surprising given that females experienced a consistent reduction in offspring production when mating to more experienced males and suggests that females have a limited ability to detect male mating history. This cost may, in part, be offset by a longer gestation time when mating with more experienced males, which is known to extend female longevity in this species. There appears to be good reason for females to agree in their mate choice in this species. Across males, we found a significant negative correlation between male attractiveness and gestation time, suggesting that females actively discriminate against males that accelerate gestation. We discuss the implications of our findings to the operation of sexual selection in N. cinerea.