Female mate choice of male signals is unlikely to promote ecological adaptation in treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae).

A key question in speciation research is how ecological and sexual divergence arise and interact. We tested the hypothesis that mate choice causes local adaptation and ecological divergence using the rationale that the performance~signal trait relationship should parallel the attractiveness~signal trait relationship. We used female fecundity as a measure of ecological performance.

Variation in signal-preference genetic correlations in Enchenopa treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae).

Fisherian selection is a within-population process that promotes signal-preference coevolution and speciation due to signal-preference genetic correlations. The importance of the contribution of Fisherian selection to speciation depends in part on the answer to two outstanding questions: What explains differences in the strength of signal-preference genetic correlations? And, how does the magnitude of within-species signal-preference covariation compare to species differences in signals and preferences? To address these questions, we tested for signal-preference genetic correlations in two members of the Enchenopa binotata complex, a clade of plant-feeding insects wherein speciation involves the colonization of novel host plants and signal-preference divergence. We used a full-sibling, split-family rearing experiment to estimate genetic correlations and to analyze the underlying patterns of variation in signals and preferences.