Sexual selection is a fundamental process in evolutionary biology. There has been much recent interest and controversy over how elaborated sexual display traits evolve. In this study the hypothesis that mate choice is much more complex than is commonly suggested will be evaluated. This information will then be used for evaluating competing sexual selection hypotheses that may describe the evolution of elaborate male sexual display. This work will be carried out in a field study of the satin bowerbird, a species that has one of the most ornate male sexual displays of any species, has served as an important model species for studying sexual display, and for which the study population has been monitored since 1980. The existing highly detailed information on individual female mate searching and courtship patterns at bowers over multiple years provides unique information for testing sexual selection hypotheses. The focus of this proposal is on the potential importance of male spatial modulation of courtship display and its role in a highly complex mate selection system. Also, an ongoing study of mate searching will be extended and information on genetic relatedness of individuals in this study population will be added. This work should provide new information on courtship communication and how males modulate courtship, how relatedness affects mate choice and mate searching by females and extend our information on the lifetime mate searching histories of individuals females. The intellectual merit of this proposal results from the opportunity to explore complex male display and understand what mechanisms of sexual selection drive the evolution of these highly elaborated male display traits. Novel tests of hypotheses about the role of relatedness in mate choice will be developed. This work will further our goal of following mate choice patterns of female satin bowerbirds through their lifetime. Broader impacts of this research include the opportunity to train undergraduates, graduate students, and volunteers in the field and lab in which a high proportion of females and underrepresented minorities participate. This work on mate choice in bowerbirds has resulted in publication in top journals including two recent scientific articles in Nature and has drawn much attention from the media including two write ups in Nature, one in Science and articles in National Geographic Magazine and the NY Times. This work presents many opportunities to educate the general public about interesting and important issues related to sexual selection, animal behavior and evolution.
