Abstract
Due to the differential costs of sexual reproduction (Bateman, 1948; Orians, 1969), females are assumed be the more selective sex when it comes to mate choice. Females can maximise their reproductive investments by choosing high quality mates. A number of factors may influence a male’s quality as a mate, in particular competitive ability, disease resistance and relatedness to the female. Competition between males results in the most competitive males accruing the most resources and highest social status. Females may identify males of high competitive ability by using signals of these competitive gains (Zahavi, 1987). Due to the detrimental effects of inbreeding and disease, females also need to detect relatedness and infection status from male signals. Here we review evidence showing how female house mice may use urinary scents to detect a male’s competitive ability, his disease resistance and relatedness, and thus his desirability as a mate.
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Malone, N., Payne, C.E., Beynon, R.J., Hurst, J.L. (2001). Social Status, Odour Communication and Mate Choice in Wild House Mice. In: Marchlewska-Koj, A., Lepri, J.J., Müller-Schwarze, D. (eds) Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 9. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0671-3_29
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0671-3_29
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