Santos, MauroSapage, ManuelMatos, MargaridaVarela, Susana A. M.2020-07-152020-07-152017-03-23SANTOS, M., SAPAGE, M., MATOS, M. & VARELA, S. A. M. 2017. Mate-choice copying: a fitness-enhancing behavior that evolves by indirect selection. Evolution 71(6): 1456-1464. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13235http://hdl.handle.net/10451/44014A spatially explicit, individual-based simulation model is used to study the spread of an allele for mate-choice copying (MCC) through horizontal cultural transmission when female innate preferences do or do not coevolve with a male viability-increasing trait. Evolution of MCC is unlikely when innate female preferences coevolve with the trait, as copier females cannot express a higher preference than noncopier females for high-fitness males. However, if a genetic polymorphism for innate preference persists in the population, MCC can evolve by indirect selection through hitchhiking: the copying allele hitchhikes on the male trait. MCC can be an adaptive behavior-that is, a behavior that increases a population's average fitness relative to populations without MCC-even though the copying allele itself may be neutral or mildly deleterious.engIndirect selectionIndividual-based simulationsMate-choice copyingSexual selectionSocial informationjournal article10.1111/evo.13235