Browsing by Subject "Sexual selection"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Análisis e interpretación de las dimorfometrías en una población de rana Perezi
    (Murcia: Universidad de Murcia, Servicio de Publicaciones, 1991) Real, R.; Antúnez, A.; Facultad de Biología
    Se realiza un estudio de las dimorfometrías de Rana perezi a partir del análisis de 6 variables simples y las relaciones entre ellas. Los valores medios de la longitud del cuerpo no son significativamente diferentes entre machos y hembras, si bien se presentan diferencias en la distribución de este carácter que podrían ser atribuidas a la predación, consumo de energía y selección intrasexual, que actúan principalmente sobre los machos. Existe dimorfismo en la anchura de la cabeza, que podría estar relacionado con los cambios en la dieta y con la producción de vocalizaciones. Los machos presentan una mayor longitud relativa de la pata anterior, relacionada con el amplexus; en las hembras la relación pata anterior / longitud del cuerpo disminuye con la edad. El crecimiento alométrico de la tibia en relación a la pata posterior detectado en las hembras podría estar relacionado con la necesidad de una mayor capacidad de salto debida al incremento alométrico de su peso durante la reproducción, que es superior al que aparece en los machos. La capacidad para el salto manifiesta una presión de selección superior en los adultos en relación a los inmaduros, debido al proceso reproductor. Los machos reproductores están más expuestos a los predadores y las hembras incrementan considerablemente su peso durante la reproducción.
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    Vocal cues to male physical formidability
    (2022-07-05) Mailhos, Álvaro; Egea Caparrós, Damián Amaro; Guerrero Rodríguez, Cristina; Luzardo, Mario; Dilyanova Kiskimska, Nansi; Martínez Sánchez, Francisco; Psicología Básica y Metodología
    Animal vocalizations convey important information about the emitter, including sex, age, biological quality, and emotional state. Early on, Darwin proposed that sex differences in auditory signals and vocalizations were driven by sexual selection mechanisms. In humans, studies on the association between male voice attributes and physical formidability have thus far reported mixed results. Hence, with a view to furthering our understanding of the role of human voice in advertising physical formidability, we sought to identify acoustic attributes of male voices associated with physical formidability proxies. Mean fundamental frequency (F0 ), formant dispersion (Df ), formant position (Pf ), and vocal tract length (VTL) data from a sample of 101 male voices was analyzed for potential associations with height, weight, and maximal handgrip strength (HGS). F0 correlated negatively with HGS; Pf showed negative correlations with HGS, height and weight, whereas VTL positively correlated with HGS, height and weight. All zero-order correlations remained significant after controlling for false discovery rate (FDR) with the Benjamini–Hochberg method. After controlling for height and weight—and controlling for FDR—the correlation between F0 and HGS remained significant. In addition, to evaluate the ability of human male voices to advertise physical formidability to potential mates, 151 heterosexual female participants rated the voices of the 10 strongest and the 10 weakest males from the original sample for perceived physical strength, and given that physical strength is a desirable attribute in male partners, perceived attractiveness. Generalized linear mixed model analyses—which allow for generalization of inferences to other samples of both raters and targets—failed to support a significant association of perceived strength or attractiveness from voices alone and actual physical strength. These results add to the growing body of work on the role of human voices in conveying relevant biological information.
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    Voice pitch is negatively associated with sociosexual behavior in males but not in females
    (Frontiers in Psychology, 2023) Mailhos, Álvaro; Egea-Caparrós, Damián-Amaro; Martínez-Sánchez, Francisco; Cabana, Álvaro; Psicología Básica y Metodología
    Acoustic cues play a major role in social interactions in many animal species. In addition to the semantic contents of human speech, voice attributes – e.g., voice pitch, formant position, formant dispersion, etc. – have been proposed to provide critical information for the assessment of potential rivals and mates. However, prior studies exploring the association of acoustic attributes with reproductive success, or some of its proxies, have produced mixed results. Here, we investigate whether the mean fundamental frequency (F0), formant position (Pf), and formant dispersion (Df) – dimorphic attributes of the human voice – are related to sociosexuality, as measured by the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI-R) – a trait also known to exhibit sex differences – in a sample of native Spanish-speaking students (101 males, 147 females). Analyses showed a significant negative correlation between F0 and sociosexual behavior, and between Pf and sociosexual desire in males but not in females. These correlations remained significant after correcting for false discovery rate (FDR) and controlling for age, a potential confounding variable. Our results are consistent with a role of F0 and Pf serving as cues in the mating domain in males but not in females. Alternatively, the association of voice attributes and sociosexual orientation might stem from the parallel effect of male sex hormones both on the male brain and the anatomical structures involved in voice production.