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Douhard M, Geffroy B. Males can adjust offspring sex ratio in an adaptive fashion through different mechanisms. Bioessays 2021; 43:e2000264. [PMID: 33594712 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202000264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Revised: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Sex allocation research has primarily focused on offspring sex-ratio adjustment by mothers. Yet, fathers also benefit from producing more of the sex with greater fitness returns. Here, we review the state-of-the art in the study of male-driven sex allocation and, counter to the current paradigm, we propose that males can adaptively influence offspring sex ratio through a wide variety of mechanisms. This includes differential production and motility of X- versus Y-bearing sperms in mammals, variation in seminal fluid composition in haplo-diploid invertebrates, and epigenetic mechanisms in some fish and lizards exhibiting environmental sex determination. Conflicts of interest between mothers and fathers over offspring sex ratios can emerge, although many more studies are needed in this area. While many studies of sex allocation have focused on adaptive explanations with little attention to mechanisms, and vice versa, the integration of these two topics is essential for understanding male-driven sex allocation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Douhard
- Laboratoire de Biométrie & Biologie Evolutive, Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Benjamin Geffroy
- MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, Ifremer, CNRS, IRD, Palavas-Les-Flots, France
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Wittman TN, Miller KA, King BH. Finding Prospective Mates by the Parasitoid Wasp Urolepis rufipes (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY 2016; 45:1489-1495. [PMID: 28028096 DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvw136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2016] [Accepted: 09/10/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Cues from emergence sites may be predictive of mating opportunities if potential mates are slow to disperse after emergence, and particularly if emergence sites are clumped, as in the solitary parasitoid wasp Urolepis rufipes Ashmead. Males emerge before females, and the present study suggests that males may use emergence sites of conspecific males to locate mates. In choice experiments, virgin males spent more time on a male-emerged host (a host from which a male had recently emerged) than on a female-emerged host. Relative to when no host was present, virgin males also marked more in the presence of a male-emerged host, but did not mark more in the presence of a female-emerged host. Females, but not other males, are known to be attracted to male marks. Unlike for males, there was no evidence that females distinguished between male-emerged and female-emerged hosts. Virgin females preferred areas where multiple males had marked over areas where a single male had marked. Such areas had more total marks, yet marks per male did not differ between aggregated and solitary males. Thus, through his own attraction to male-emerged hosts and by marking near other males a male may find and attract females, and with no apparent increase in the cost of attraction.
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Affiliation(s)
- T N Wittman
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115 (; ; )
- Current address: Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904
| | - K A Miller
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115 (; ; )
- Current address: Entomology Department, Monsanto, 8350 Minnegans Rd., Waterman, IL 60556
| | - B H King
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115 (; ; )
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Cooper JL, King BH. Substrate-Borne Marking in the Parasitoid Wasp Urolepis rufipes (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY 2015; 44:680-688. [PMID: 26313974 DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvv017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2014] [Accepted: 01/30/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Many animals use pheromone marking as a way to identify their territory or other resources. Among insects, substrate-borne marking is frequently reported for females, which in many species make marks containing oviposition-deterring pheromone, which other females avoid. However, there are fewer reports of substrate-borne marking for males. Here, marking in males of the parasitoid wasp Urolepis rufipes (Ashmead) is described. The conditions under which males mark and whether males and females respond to the males' marks were examined using behavioral observations. Males marked by dragging the tips of their abdomens across a substrate. They marked much more after mating and after consuming honey. They also marked more when with a female, irrespective of copulation, although not when with a male. Females spent more time on or near marked substrates, and males also responded to their own marks. Although males aggressively and successfully defended areas that they had marked against other males, males did not respond to another male's marks in the conspecific's absence. In contrast to males, females did not mark, either on the surface of hosts or on other surfaces, and males showed no detectable response to surfaces which females had recently occupied.
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Affiliation(s)
- J L Cooper
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115-2861.
| | - B H King
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115-2861.
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de la Filia AG, Bain SA, Ross L. Haplodiploidy and the reproductive ecology of Arthropods. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2015; 9:36-43. [PMID: 32846706 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2015.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2014] [Revised: 04/11/2015] [Accepted: 04/29/2015] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Approximately 15% of all arthropods reproduce through haplodiploidy. Yet it is unclear how this mode of reproduction affects other aspects of reproductive ecology. In this review we outline predictions on how haplodiploidy might affect mating system evolution, the evolution of traits under sexual or sexual antagonistic selection, sex allocation decisions and the evolution of parental care. We also give an overview of the phylogenetic distribution of haplodiploidy. Finally, we discuss how comparisons between different types of haplodiploidy (arrhenotoky, PGE with haploid vs somatically diploid males) might help to discriminate between the effects of virgin birth, haploid gene expression and those of haploid gene transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrés G de la Filia
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK
| | - Stevie A Bain
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK
| | - Laura Ross
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK.
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Boulton RA, Collins LA, Shuker DM. Beyond sex allocation: the role of mating systems in sexual selection in parasitoid wasps. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2015; 90:599-627. [PMID: 24981603 PMCID: PMC4409842 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2013] [Revised: 05/19/2014] [Accepted: 05/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Despite the diverse array of mating systems and life histories which characterise the parasitic Hymenoptera, sexual selection and sexual conflict in this taxon have been somewhat overlooked. For instance, parasitoid mating systems have typically been studied in terms of how mating structure affects sex allocation. In the past decade, however, some studies have sought to address sexual selection in the parasitoid wasps more explicitly and found that, despite the lack of obvious secondary sexual traits, sexual selection has the potential to shape a range of aspects of parasitoid reproductive behaviour and ecology. Moreover, various characteristics fundamental to the parasitoid way of life may provide innovative new ways to investigate different processes of sexual selection. The overall aim of this review therefore is to re-examine parasitoid biology with sexual selection in mind, for both parasitoid biologists and also researchers interested in sexual selection and the evolution of mating systems more generally. We will consider aspects of particular relevance that have already been well studied including local mating structure, sex allocation and sperm depletion. We go on to review what we already know about sexual selection in the parasitoid wasps and highlight areas which may prove fruitful for further investigation. In particular, sperm depletion and the costs of inbreeding under chromosomal sex determination provide novel opportunities for testing the role of direct and indirect benefits for the evolution of mate choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca A Boulton
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St AndrewsDyers Brae, Greenside place, Fife KY16 9TH, U.K.
| | - Laura A Collins
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St AndrewsDyers Brae, Greenside place, Fife KY16 9TH, U.K.
| | - David M Shuker
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St AndrewsDyers Brae, Greenside place, Fife KY16 9TH, U.K.
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Visser B, Le Lann C, Snaas H, Hardy ICW, Harvey JA. Consequences of resource competition for sex allocation and discriminative behaviors in a hyperparasitoid wasp. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1627-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Bügler M, Rempoulakis P, Shacham R, Keasar T, Thuijsman F. Sex allocation in a polyembryonic parasitoid with female soldiers: an evolutionary simulation and an experimental test. PLoS One 2013; 8:e64780. [PMID: 23755142 PMCID: PMC3670893 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2013] [Accepted: 04/18/2013] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasitoid wasps are convenient subjects for testing sex allocation theory. However, their intricate life histories are often insufficiently captured in simple analytical models. In the polyembryonic wasp Copidosoma koehleri, a clone of genetically identical offspring develops from each egg. Male clones contain fewer individuals than female clones. Some female larvae develop into soldiers that kill within-host competitors, while males do not form soldiers. These features complicate the prediction of Copidosoma's sex allocation. We developed an individual-based simulation model, where numerous random starting strategies compete and recombine until a single stable sex allocation evolves. Life-history parameter values (e.g., fecundity, clone-sizes, larval survival) are estimated from experimental data. The model predicts a male-biased sex allocation, which becomes more extreme as the probability of superparasitism (hosts parasitized more than once) increases. To test this prediction, we reared adult parasitoids at either low or high density, mated them, and presented them with unlimited hosts. As predicted, wasps produced more sons than daughters in all treatments. Males reared at high density (a potential cue for superparasitism) produced a higher male bias in their offspring than low-density males. Unexpectedly, female density did not affect offspring sex ratios. We discuss possible mechanisms for paternal control over offspring sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Bügler
- Chair of Computational Modeling and Simulation, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Roei Shacham
- Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Tamar Keasar
- Biology and Environment, University of Haifa, Tivon, Israel
| | - Frank Thuijsman
- Knowledge Engineering, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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