A generalization of the informational view of non-random mating: Models with variable population frequencies

Abstract

Mate choice may generate non-random mating patterns. It has been recently shown that the mating distribution caused by mate choice can be expressed as a gain in information with respect to random mating. In that model, the population phenotypic frequencies were assumed as constant during the breeding season. In the present work such restriction was relaxed to consider different encounter-mating processes in which the population frequencies of available individuals change over mating rounds. As with the constant case, here we describe the change in the mating phenotypes by the flow of information with respect to random mating. This information can be partitioned into sexual selection, sexual isolation and a mixed effect. Likewise, the pairwise statistics for total change, sexual selection and sexual isolation are generalized for variable population frequencies.\n\nThe new tests had more power for the detection of the effects of non-random mating when the population frequencies vary during the breeding season. The differences in power were high for sexual selection but slight for sexual isolation scenarios. However, the application of the new formulas require the estimation of frequencies at each mating round. Therefore, choosing one or another type of statistics would depend on the biological scenario as well as in the availability and easiness to split the sampling in more than one mating round.