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Abstract Influential models of speciation by sexual selection posit either a single shared preference for a universal display, expressed only when males are locally adapted and hence in high condition, or that shared loci evolve population‐specific alleles for displays and preferences. However, many closely related species instead show substantial differences across categorically different traits. We present a model of secondary contact whereby females maintain preferences for distinct displays that indicate both male condition and their match to distinct environments, fostering reproductive isolation among diverging species. This occurs even with search costs and with independent preference loci targeting independent displays. Such preferences can also evolve from standing variation. Divergence occurs because condition‐dependent display and female preference depend on local ecology, and females obtain different benefits of choice. Given the ubiquity of ecological differences among environments, our model could help explain the evolution of striking radiations of displays seen in nature.
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This content will become publicly available on April 11, 2026
Checking Consistency of CP-Theory Preferences in Polynomial Time
We investigate the problem of checking the consistency of qualitative preferences expressed in CP-theory. This problem is PSPACE-Complete even when the preferences are locally consistent or the preference variables have binary domain. We present a new sufficient condition for consistency of preferences and show that the condition can be checked in polynomial time in settings of practical relevance (locally consistent or binary domain preference variables). We further show how the resulting sufficient condition can be used to efficiently identify a subset of outcomes that are non-dominated with respect to a set of qualitative preferences.
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- PAR ID:
- 10638795
- Publisher / Repository:
- AAAI
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence
- Volume:
- 39
- Issue:
- 14
- ISSN:
- 2159-5399
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 15126 to 15133
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Consistency checking qualitative preferences CP-theory
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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