Too Many Males and Too Little Time: Mate Choice in Socially Complex Groups

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For many animals, choosing their mate is one of the most important decisions individuals make.  In animals who mate within dynamic social aggregations, choices are far from simple.  Individuals must evaluate the attractiveness of many potential mates and also weigh emergent sources of information, such as competitive interactions and other individuals’ mate choices.  Come learn how mate choice rules can change with the social context- from irrational frogs to copying fish- and how such behavioral variation might influence the evolution of sexually-selected traits.