Table 4.3 Possible instances of cryptic female choice in rodents (adapted from Eberhard 1996)
Evidence for criteriaFemale
Female mate Differences Females
mate preference in male re- mate
preference observed productive multiply
Species observeda in natureb successc in natured Reference
Discarding sperm from current male
House mouse (Mus musculus) ???? Leckie et al. 1973
Failure to transport sperm to fertilization site
Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) Y? Y? Y Adler 1969; Chester and Zucker
1970; Matthews and Adler
1979; McClintock, Anisko, and
Adler, 1982; McClintock, Toner,
Adler, and Anisko, 1982
Remating with other males
Golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus)?? Y Y? Carter 1973; Ogelsby et al.
1981; Huck and Lisk 1985
Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) Y Y? Y Hardy and Debold 1972; Erskine
and Baum 1982; McClintock
1984
Reducing number of offspring produced
after copulation
Water vole (Arvicola terrestris) Y? Y? Potapov et al.1993, cited in
Eberhard 1996
Premature termination of copulation
Golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) YYYY? Huck and Lisk 1986
Failure to ovulate
Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)?? Y Y Zarrow and Clark 1968
Bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) Y??? Clarke and Clulow 1973;
Clulow and Mallory 1974
Field vole (Microtus agrestis) Y??? Clarke and Clulow 1973;
Milligan 1982
Prairie vole (M. ochrogaster) ???? Gray etal. 1974
Montane vole (M. montanus) Y? Y? Davis et al. 1974
Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) Y? Y Y Ågren 1990
Failure to prepare the uterus for implantation
House mouse (Mus musculus)?? Y? Diamond 1970; McGill 1962;
Land and McGill 1967
Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) YYYY McClintock 1984
Golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus)?? Y Y Huck and Lisk 1986
Deermouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) YYYY Dewsbury and Baumgartner
1981; Lovecky et al. 1979
Cactus mouse (P. eremicus)?? Y? Dewsbury and Estep 1975
Field vole (M. agrestis) ???? Milligan 1982
Removal of mating plugs
Fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) Y Y? Y Koprowski 1992
Gray squirrel (S. carolinensis) Y Y? Y Koprowski 1992
Sometimes abort zygotes
House mouse (Mus musculus) Y Y? Y Y? Hoppe 1975; Bronson 1979;
Huck 1982
Meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) Y? Y Y Clulow and Langford 1971;
Mallory and Clulow 1977;
Webster et al. 1981; Boonstra
et al. 1993
Field vole (M. agrestis) Y?? Y Y? Clarke and Clulow 1973
Collared lemming (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) Y Y? Y Y? Mallory and Brooks 1978
Biased use of stored sperm
House mouse (Mus musculus) Y — — Y (t-allele) Bronson 1979; Bateman 1960,
cited in Denell and Judd 1961
aDoes female behavior towards potential mates differ among males?
bDoes female behavior towards potential mates differ among males in nature?
cDo differences in female behavior towards potential mates result in differences in male reproductive success?
dDo females mate with multiple males in nature?