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Mate choice in Mus musculus is relative and dependent on the estrous state.

ABSTRACT: Mate choice is a critical behavioral decision process with profound impact on evolution. However, the mechanistic basis of mate choice is poorly understood. In this study we focused on assortative mate choice, which is known to contribute to the reproductive isolation of the two European subspecies of house mouse, Mus musculus musculus and Mus musculus domesticus. To understand the decision process, we developed both full mating and limited-contact paradigms and tested musculus females' preference for musculus versus domesticus males, mimicking the natural musculus/domesticus contact zone. As hypothesized, when allowed to mate we found that sexually receptive musculus females exhibited a robust preference to mate with musculus males. In contrast, when non-receptive, females did not exhibit a preference and rather alternated between males in response to male mount attempts. Moreover in a no-choice condition, females mated readily with males from both subspecies. Finally, when no physical contact was allowed, and therefore male's behavior could not influence female's behavior, female's preference for its own subspecies was maintained independently of the estrous state. Together, our results suggest that the assortative preference is relative and based on a comparison of the options available rather than on an absolute preference. The results of the limited-contact experiments highlight the interplay between female's internal state and the nature of the interaction with prospective mates in the full mating conditions. With these experiments we believe we established an assortative mate preference assay that is appropriate for the investigation of its underlying substrates.

SUBMITTER: Zinck L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3677927 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Abstract: Background:Communal nursing in house mice is an example of cooperation where females pool litters in the same nest and indiscriminately nurse own and other offspring despite potential exploitation. The direct fitness benefits associated with communal nursing shown in laboratory studies suggest it to be a selected component of female house mice reproductive behaviour. However, past studies on communal nursing in free-living populations have debated whether it is a consequence of sharing the same nest or an active choice. Here using data from a long-term study of free-living, wild house mice we investigated individual nursing decisions and determined what factors influenced a female's decision to nurse communally. Results:Females chose to nurse solitarily more often than expected by chance, but the likelihood of nursing solitarily decreased when females had more partners available. While finding no influence of pairwise relatedness on partner choice, we observed that females shared their social environment with genetically similar individuals, suggesting a female's home area consisted of related females, possibly facilitating the evolution of cooperation. Within such a home area females were more likely to nest communally when the general relatedness of her available options was relatively high. Females formed communal nests with females that were familiar through previous associations and had young pups of usually less than 5 days old. Conclusions:Our findings suggest that communal nursing was not a by-product of sharing the same nesting sites, but females choose communal nursing partners from a group of genetically similar females, and ultimately the decision may then depend on the pool of options available. Social partner choice proved to be an integrated part of cooperation among females, and might allow females to reduce the conflict over number of offspring in a communal nest and milk investment towards own and other offspring. We suggest that social partner choice may be a general mechanism to stabilize costly cooperation.

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Mate choice in Mus musculus is relative and dependent on the estrous state.

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