BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND THE STUDY OF PARTNER CHOICE

Female mate choice has been studied extensively by behavioral ecologis ts and ethologists. Mate choice is, however, only one form of 'partner choice'. Recent experimental work has demonstrated the existence of p artner choice in many other contexts, for example, antipredator behavi or, foraging behavior, mate searching, and anti-parasite decisions. Th ese studies have revealed important new insights for the study of part ner choice. We review these studies, and suggest how they might both p ave the way for future work in this area and provide the underpinnings fora comprehensive conceptual framework for studying partner choice.