Before and after

Natural History, March, 2002 by Trevor E. Pitcher

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Robert M. Sapolsky's article "What Do Females Want?" ("Findings," 12/01-1/02), on female mate choice. But I wonder why he focused all of his attention on precopulatory choice, considering the fact that much recent research has revealed that female choice often occurs at the postcopulatory stage. For example, a recent study suggests that female crickets, having mated with many males, "choose" the sperm from males to whom they are least related (Nature 415:71, 2002). Females appear to have chemical and other cues, beyond secondary sexual characters, by which to assess mate quality.

Trevor E. Pitcher
Toronto, Ontario

THE EDITORS REPLY: Robert Sapolsky focused on some surprising new findings on "male advertising" and how it influences precopulatory female choice. Please see our November 2000 cover story ("Hidden Choices of Females"), in which author Tim Birkhead discusses postcopulatory female choice. And thanks for drawing our attention to the cricket study.