Mate choice copying and conspecific cueing in Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica

In four experiments, we examined the effects on the affiliative preferences of 'focal' female Japanese quail given the opportunity to watch a conspeci fic male interact with a 'model' female. Experiments were conducted in thre e, 10-min phases: (1) a pretest, during which a 'focal' female chose betwee n two males; (2) an observation phase, when each focal female watched the m ale she had spent less time near during the pretest (her 'nonpreferred' mal e) interact with a 'model' quail; and (3) a post-test, during which each fo cal female again chose between her nonpreferred and preferred males. Focal females increased their preferences for nonpreferred males after seeing the m together with a model female (but not a model male), even if the nonprefe rred male and model female were separated by an opaque barrier that prevent ed them from interacting. A focal female's preference for the end of the en closure containing her nonpreferred male was not increased when she either watched him court a concealed model female or watched a model female that w as being courted by him. Taken together, the present results suggest that a simple tendency for females to approach areas where they have previously s een a male and female quail, in preference to locations where they have see n only a male quail, can explain some of the effect of watching a nonprefer red male mate on a female's tendency to affiliate with him. However, focal females also showed enhanced preferences for nonpreferred males they had se en mating after we both moved those males and controlled for effects of tra nsposition. Thus, processes akin to both 'mate choice copying' and 'conspec ific cueing' remain viable explanations for the increase in a focal female quail's tendency to affiliate with a male she watched mate with another fem ale. (C) 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.