Intraspecific Variation of Choosiness and Its Neurogenomic Basis

In many species, females are choosy about with whom they mate. Variation in how selective females are, termed choosiness, is common. Choosiness shapes which males' genes enter the next generation and plays a key role in speciation. However, despite its central role in numerous evolutionary processes, basic questions about variation in choosiness and its genomic basis remain poorly understood. Using crickets as a study system, this project aims to examine whether females differ reliably in their choosiness for male song and how much of those differences among females reflect their genetics. Using gene expression and genetic mapping experiments, this project also aims to identify candidate genes underlying variation in choosiness. One of the broader impacts of this project explore the use of alternative tools (dance) for teaching animal behavior to college and K-12 students as a complement to typical written and spoken approaches. Choosiness describes how discerning an individual is in mate choice, and the dramatic differences animals demonstrate in choosiness has major implications for selection and speciation. Yet our understanding about variation in choosiness remains poor compared to our understanding of which traits are favored. This imbalance hinders our ability to answer crucial questions about individual differences and whether reinforcement selection could impact choosiness. This project focuses on crickets, in which pulse rate of the male song and female preference for pulse rate are species-specific and under natural selection. The proposed work will estimate intraspecific variation in choosiness for song pulse rate, examine whether there is repeatable individual variation in choosiness, and understand its relationship with variation in other preference traits. This project also aims to quantify heritability in choosiness and to identify the genetic basis of variation in choosiness variation using differential gene expression and genetic mapping experiments. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.