Geographic variation of sexually selected male traits is common in animals. Female choice also varies geographically and several studies found female preference for local males, which is assumed to lead to local adaptation and, therefore, increases fitness. As females are the nondispersing sex in most mammalian taxa, this preference for local males might be explained by the learning of male characteristics. Studies on the preference of females in female-dispersing species are lacking so far. To find out whether such females would also show preferences for local males, we conducted a study on greater sac-winged bats (Saccopteryx bilineata), a species where females disperse and males stay in their natal colony. Male greater sac-winged bats possess a wing pouch that is filled with odoriferous secretion and fanned toward females during courtship display. In a combination of chemical analysis and behavioral preference tests, we analyzed whether the composition of wing sac secretion varies between two geographically distinct populations (300 km), and whether females show a preference for local or distant male scent. Using gas chromatography, we found significant differences in the composition of the wing sac odors between the two geographically distinct populations. In addition, the behavioral preference experiments revealed that females of both populations preferred the scent of geographically distant males over local males. The wing sac odor might thus be used to guarantee optimal outbreeding when dispersing to a new colony. This is—to our knowledge—the first study on odor preference of females of a species with female-biased dispersal.

中文翻译：

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在雌性散布的蝙蝠中，雌性偏爱远方雄性气味的证据

性选择的雄性特征的地理变异在动物中很常见。女性的选择也因地域而异，一些研究发现女性偏爱当地男性，这被认为会导致当地适应，因此会增加健康。由于雌性是大多数哺乳动物分类群中的非分散性别，因此对当地雄性的这种偏好可能是通过对雄性特征的学习来解释的。目前还缺乏关于雌性分散物种中雌性偏好的研究。为了弄清楚这些雌性是否也会表现出对当地雄性的偏好，我们对更大的囊翅蝙蝠（Saccopteryx bilineata）进行了一项研究，这是一种雌性分散而雄性留在其出生地的物种。雄性大囊翅蝙蝠拥有一个充满气味分泌物的翼袋，并在求偶时向雌性扇形扇形。结合化学分析和行为偏好测试，我们分析了两个地理上不同的种群（300 公里）之间翼囊分泌物的组成是否不同，以及雌性是否表现出对本地或远方雄性气味的偏好。使用气相色谱法，我们发现两个地理上不同的种群之间的翼囊气味组成存在显着差异。此外，行为偏好实验表明，两个种群的女性都更喜欢地理上遥远的男性的气味，而不是当地的男性。因此，当分散到新的殖民地时，翼囊的气味可能被用来保证最佳的近亲繁殖。