Mate choice copying

[2] Moreover, mate-choice copying is one form of social learning in which animals behave differently depending on what they observe in their surrounding environment.

[4] Mate choice copying has been found in a wide variety of different species, including (but not limited to): invertebrates, like the common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster);[5][6] fish, such as guppies (Poecilia reticulata)[7] and ocellated wrasse;[1] birds, like the black grouse;[8] and mammals, such as the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)[9] and humans.

[10] Most studies have focused on females, but male mate copying has been also found in sailfin mollies (Poecilia latipinna)[11] and humans.

[14] The fact that mate-choice copying exists in various species is due to the differential abilities of females in choosing a desirable male with good quality genes.

[15] Therefore, mate-choice copying as a behavior has evolved through social learning to educate those females—including naive ones—to choose a desirable male, allowing only good quality genes to be propagated in the population over time.

[15] Mate-choice copying is also effective at eliminating the stress in females of monogamous species such as Gouldian finches (Erythrura gouldiae) that would have otherwise had to mate with a less-desirable, poor-quality male.

[16] Another hypothesis that have been also proposed is that Game theory applies to the mate-choice copying behavior where females choose whether to be an observer or a demonstrator based on the abundance of each in the population.

[15] A female might tend to become an observer in a population where demonstrators are more abundant to increase its chances of having access to a high-quality male and vice versa.

[4] Such a mate choice behavior is displayed by a male mainly to avoid wasting its energy in having a sexual interaction that might not necessarily increase its relative fitness if the female chose the sperms of the rival to fertilize its eggs.

[13] In other words, the genetic similarity of these females due to kinship is reflected in their mate choice behavior that other researchers can view as a mere act of social facilitation.

[13] Even though there is not a lot of evidence to support this hypothesis, it offers a plausible explanation as to why females of a species might exhibit nonindependent mate choice.