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Tregenza T, Niemelä PT, Rodríguez-Muñoz R, Hopwood PE. Environment and mate attractiveness in a wild insect. Behav Ecol 2022; 33:999-1006. [PMCID: PMC9639583 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of female choice in sexual selection is well established, including the recognition that females choose their mates based on multiple cues. These cues may include intrinsic aspects of a male’s phenotype as well as aspects of the environment associated with the male. The role of the spatial location of a potential mate has been well studied in territorial vertebrates. However, despite their role as laboratory models for studies of sexual selection, the potential for insects to choose their mates on the basis of location has scarcely been studied. We studied a natural population of individually tagged crickets (Gryllus campestris) in a meadow in Northern Spain. Adults typically move between burrows every few days, allowing us to examine how pairing success of males can be predicted by the burrow they occupy, independent of their own characteristics. We observed the entirety of ten independent breeding seasons to provide replication and to determine whether the relative importance of these factors is stable across years. We find that both male ID and the ID his burrow affect the likelihood that he is paired with a female, but the burrow has a consistently greater influence. Furthermore, the two factors interact: the relative attractiveness of an individual male depends on which burrow he occupies. Our finding demonstrates a close interaction between naturally and sexually selected traits. It also demonstrates that mate choice studies may benefit from considering not only obvious secondary sexual traits, but also more cryptic traits such as microhabitat choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Tregenza
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter , Exeter , UK
| | - Petri T Niemelä
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki , Viikinkaari, Biocenter, Helsinki , Finland
| | - Rolando Rodríguez-Muñoz
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter , Exeter , UK
| | - Paul E Hopwood
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter , Exeter , UK
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2
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González-Tokman D. Effects of mating age and mate age on lifespan and reproduction in a horned beetle. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03206-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Promislow DEL, Flatt T, Bonduriansky R. The Biology of Aging in Insects: From Drosophila to Other Insects and Back. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2022; 67:83-103. [PMID: 34590891 PMCID: PMC8940561 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-061621-064341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
An enormous amount of work has been done on aging in Drosophila melanogaster, a classical genetic and molecular model system, but also in numerous other insects. However, these two extensive bodies of work remain poorly integrated to date. Studies in Drosophila often explore genetic, developmental, physiological, and nutrition-related aspects of aging in the lab, while studies in other insects often explore ecological, social, and somatic aspects of aging in both lab and natural populations. Alongside exciting genomic and molecular research advances in aging in Drosophila, many new studies have also been published on aging in various other insects, including studies on aging in natural populations of diverse species. However, no broad synthesis of these largely separate bodies of work has been attempted. In this review, we endeavor to synthesize these two semi-independent literatures to facilitate collaboration and foster the exchange of ideas and research tools. While lab studies of Drosophila have illuminated many fundamental aspects of senescence, the stunning diversity of aging patterns among insects, especially in the context of their rich ecology, remains vastlyunderstudied. Coupled with field studies and novel, more easily applicable molecular methods, this represents a major opportunity for deepening our understanding of the biology of aging in insects and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E L Promislow
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA;
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Thomas Flatt
- Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland;
| | - Russell Bonduriansky
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia;
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Segami JC, Lind MI, Qvarnström A. Should females prefer old males? Evol Lett 2021; 5:507-520. [PMID: 34621537 PMCID: PMC8484724 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Whether females should prefer to mate with old males is controversial. Old males may sire offspring of low quality because of an aging germline, but their proven ability to reach an old age can also be an excellent indicator of superior genetic quality, especially in natural populations. These genetic effects are, however, hard to study in nature, because they are often confounded with direct benefits offered by old males to the female, such as experience and high territory quality. We, therefore, used naturally occurring extra‐pair young to disentangle different aspects of male age on female fitness in a natural population of collared flycatchers because any difference between within‐ and extra‐pair young within a nest should be caused by paternal genetic effects only. Based on 18 years of long‐term data, we found that females paired with older males as social partners experienced an overall reproductive advantage. However, offspring sired by old males were of lower quality as compared to their extra‐pair half‐siblings, whereas the opposite was found in nests attended by young males. These results imply a negative genetic effect of old paternal age, given that extra‐pair males are competitive middle‐age males. Thus, offspring may benefit from being sired by young males but raised by old males, to maximize both genetic and direct effects. Our results show that direct and genetic benefits from pairing with old males may act in opposing directions and that the quality of the germline may deteriorate before other signs of senescence become obvious.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Carolina Segami
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Animal Ecology Uppsala University Uppsala SE-75236 Sweden
| | - Martin I Lind
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Animal Ecology Uppsala University Uppsala SE-75236 Sweden
| | - Anna Qvarnström
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Animal Ecology Uppsala University Uppsala SE-75236 Sweden
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Aich U, Bonnet T, Head ML, Jennions MD. Disentangling the effects of male age and mating history: Contrasting effects of mating history on precopulatory mating behavior and paternity success. Evolution 2021; 75:2867-2880. [PMID: 34598316 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Many studies ask whether young or older males are better at acquiring mates. Even so, how age affects reproductive success is still poorly understood because male age and mating history are confounded in most studies: older males usually have more mating experience. To what extent does mating history rather than age explain variation in male mating success? And how do mating history and male age determine paternity when there is also postcopulatory sexual selection? Here, we experimentally manipulated the mating history of old and young males in the eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). We then recorded male mating behavior and share of paternity (1259 offspring from 232 potential sires) when they competed for mates and fertilizations. Old males, and males with no mating experience, spent significantly more time approaching females, and attempting to mate, than did young males and those with greater mating experience. Male age and mating history interacted to affect paternity: old males benefited from having previous mating experience, but young males did not. Our results highlight that the age-related changes in male reproductive traits and in paternity that have been described in many taxa may be partly attributable to male mating history and not simply to age itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Upama Aich
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Timothee Bonnet
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Megan L Head
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Michael D Jennions
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
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Tregenza T, Rodríguez-Muñoz R, Boonekamp JJ, Hopwood PE, Sørensen JG, Bechsgaard J, Settepani V, Hegde V, Waldie C, May E, Peters C, Pennington Z, Leone P, Munk EM, Greenrod STE, Gosling J, Coles H, Gruffydd R, Capria L, Potter L, Bilde T. Evidence for genetic isolation and local adaptation in the field cricket Gryllus campestris. J Evol Biol 2021; 34:1624-1636. [PMID: 34378263 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Understanding how species can thrive in a range of environments is a central challenge for evolutionary ecology. There is strong evidence for local adaptation along large-scale ecological clines in insects. However, potential adaptation among neighbouring populations differing in their environment has been studied much less. We used RAD sequencing to quantify genetic divergence and clustering of ten populations of the field cricket Gryllus campestris in the Cantabrian Mountains of northern Spain, and an outgroup on the inland plain. Our populations were chosen to represent replicate high and low altitude habitats. We identified genetic clusters that include both high and low altitude populations indicating that the two habitat types do not hold ancestrally distinct lineages. Using common-garden rearing experiments to remove environmental effects, we found evidence for differences between high and low altitude populations in physiological and life-history traits. As predicted by the local adaptation hypothesis, crickets with parents from cooler (high altitude) populations recovered from periods of extreme cooling more rapidly than those with parents from warmer (low altitude) populations. Growth rates also differed between offspring from high and low altitude populations. However, contrary to our prediction that crickets from high altitudes would grow faster, the most striking difference was that at high temperatures, growth was fastest in individuals from low altitudes. Our findings reveal that populations a few tens of kilometres apart have independently evolved adaptations to their environment. This suggests that local adaptation in a range of traits may be commonplace even in mobile invertebrates at scales of a small fraction of species' distributions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Tregenza
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | | | - Jelle J Boonekamp
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK.,Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Paul E Hopwood
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Jesper Givskov Sørensen
- Genetics, Ecology & Evolution Section, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Jesper Bechsgaard
- Genetics, Ecology & Evolution Section, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Virginia Settepani
- Genetics, Ecology & Evolution Section, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Vinayaka Hegde
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Callum Waldie
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Emma May
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Caleb Peters
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Zinnia Pennington
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Paola Leone
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Emil M Munk
- Genetics, Ecology & Evolution Section, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Samuel T E Greenrod
- Genetics, Ecology & Evolution Section, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Joe Gosling
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Harry Coles
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Rhodri Gruffydd
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Loris Capria
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Laura Potter
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Trine Bilde
- Genetics, Ecology & Evolution Section, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
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Aich U, Bonnet T, Fox RJ, Jennions MD. An experimental test to separate the effects of male age and mating history on female mate choice. Behav Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Should females prefer older males as mates? Male survival to old age might indicate the presence of fitness-enhancing genes that increase offspring fitness. However, many correlational studies show that mating with older males can lower female fecundity and even reduce offspring fitness due to epigenetic or germline mutation effects. One problem in quantifying female choice based on male age is that age is usually confounded with mating history. This begs a question: Do females choose males based on their age or their mating history? The answer requires an experimental approach, but few such studies exist. Here, we test if experimentally induced variation in the mating history of old and young males (12-week difference in postmaturity age) affects female choice in the eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). To vary mating history, adult males were either allowed to freely mate with females for 3 weeks or they only had visual contact with females. Immediately thereafter, we ran four-choice mating trials, using association time, to test the effects of male age and mating history (2 × 2 design) on male attractiveness. Females did not show a clear preference for males based on either characteristic. This was not due to a lack of female choice: females spent significantly more time with larger males. In addition, female choice was significantly repeatable across four trials: twice as a virgin and twice as a nonvirgin. Finally, female mating status (virgin or nonvirgin) did not affect her choice of mate, although virgin females spent significantly more time associating with test males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Upama Aich
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Timothee Bonnet
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Rebecca J Fox
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Michael D Jennions
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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Makai G, Rodríguez-Muñoz R, Boonekamp JJ, Hopwood P, Tregenza T. Males and females differ in how their behaviour changes with age in wild crickets. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Okada K, Katsuki M, Kiyose K, Okada Y. Older males are more competitive in male fights and more aggressive toward females in the broad-horned flour beetle Gnatocerus cornutus. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-2815-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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