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Pollo P, Lagisz M, Yang Y, Culina A, Nakagawa S. Synthesis of sexual selection: a systematic map of meta-analyses with bibliometric analysis. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024. [PMID: 38982618 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 06/16/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024]
Abstract
Sexual selection has been a popular subject within evolutionary biology because of its central role in explaining odd and counterintuitive traits observed in nature. Consequently, the literature associated with this field of study became vast. Meta-analytical studies attempting to draw inferences from this literature have now accumulated, varying in scope and quality, thus calling for a synthesis of these syntheses. We conducted a systematic literature search to create a systematic map with a report appraisal of meta-analyses on topics associated with sexual selection, aiming to identify the conceptual and methodological gaps in this secondary literature. We also conducted bibliometric analyses to explore whether these gaps are associated with the gender and origin of the authors of these meta-analyses. We included 152 meta-analytical studies in our systematic map. We found that most meta-analyses focused on males and on certain animal groups (e.g. birds), indicating severe sex and taxonomic biases. The topics in these studies varied greatly, from proximate (e.g. relationship of ornaments with other traits) to ultimate questions (e.g. formal estimates of sexual selection strength), although the former were more common. We also observed several common methodological issues in these studies, such as lack of detailed information regarding searches, screening, and analyses, which ultimately impairs the reliability of many of these meta-analyses. In addition, most of the meta-analyses' authors were men affiliated to institutions from developed countries, pointing to both gender and geographical authorship biases. Most importantly, we found that certain authorship aspects were associated with conceptual and methodological issues in meta-analytical studies. Many of our findings might simply reflect patterns in the current state of the primary literature and academia, suggesting that our study can serve as an indicator of issues within the field of sexual selection at large. Based on our findings, we provide both conceptual and analytical recommendations to improve future studies in the field of sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Pollo
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Gate 9 High St., Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Malgorzata Lagisz
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Gate 9 High St., Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Yefeng Yang
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Gate 9 High St., Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Antica Culina
- Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička Cesta 54, Zagreb, 10000, Croatia
| | - Shinichi Nakagawa
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Gate 9 High St., Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
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2
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Azad KN, Alam MNE, Nagata M, Tomano S, Ono H, Sugai K, Hirohashi N. Males conditionally inseminate at three female body locations according to female mating history and female maturity status in a squid. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11702. [PMID: 38777827 PMCID: PMC11111733 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62062-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
In some squids, such as those in the family Loliginidae, upon copulation, females receive and store male-delivered sperm capsules, spermatangia, at two different body locations: the buccal membrane and the distal end of the oviduct. This insemination site dimorphism is associated with alternative reproductive strategies. However, in Loliolus sumatrensis, a species of Loliginidae, the females possess three insemination sites: buccal membrane (BM), basal left IV arm (ARM) and lateral head behind the left eye (EYE), therefore we studied such the unusual phenomena. We developed microsatellite markers and genotyped the paternity of each spermatangium on three sites. We found multiple paternity at every single site and simultaneous usage of all three sites by a few males. The seasonal dynamics of a population in the Seto Inland Sea revealed a set priority for the initial use of insemination sites as BM, followed by ARM and then EYE, whereas the maximum number of stored spermatangia was greater in EYE > ARM > BM. Female maturity status was correlated with the usage pattern of insemination sites but not with the number of stored spermatangia at any insemination site. These results suggest that a male squid inseminates at different locations according to female mating history and female maturity status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamrun Naher Azad
- Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Shimane University, Matsue, Japan
- Department of Aquaculture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
| | - Md Nur E Alam
- Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Shimane University, Matsue, Japan
| | - Makoto Nagata
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Takatsuki, Japan
| | - Satoshi Tomano
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Hiroki Ono
- Marine Biological Science Section, Education and Research Center for Biological Resources, Faculty of Life and Environmental Science, Shimane University, Matsue, Japan
| | - Kyoko Sugai
- Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Shimane University, Matsue, Japan
| | - Noritaka Hirohashi
- Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Shimane University, Matsue, Japan.
- Marine Biological Science Section, Education and Research Center for Biological Resources, Faculty of Life and Environmental Science, Shimane University, Matsue, Japan.
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de Vries C, Lehtonen J. Sex-specific assumptions and their importance in models of sexual selection. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:927-935. [PMID: 37246084 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2022] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Sexual selection is a field coloured by tension and contrasting views. One contested claim is the causal link from the definition of the sexes (anisogamy) to divergent selection on the sexes. Does theory truly engage with this claim? We survey the extent to which theory makes sex-specific assumptions and engages with anisogamy, and discuss these issues in a broader context. The majority of theory in sexual selection makes sex-specific assumptions and does not engage with the definition of the sexes. While this does not invalidate existing results, debates and criticisms regarding sexual selection force us to think deeper about its logical foundations. We discuss ways to strengthen the foundations of sexual selection theory by relaxing central assumptions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte de Vries
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä 40014, Finland; Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Jussi Lehtonen
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä 40014, Finland.
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Lev A, Pischedda A. Male size does not affect the strength of male mate choice for high-quality females in Drosophila melanogaster. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:1255-1265. [PMID: 37534751 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Theory predicts that the strength of male mate choice should vary depending on male quality when higher-quality males receive greater fitness benefits from being choosy. This pattern extends to differences in male body size, with larger males often having stronger pre- and post-copulatory preferences than smaller males. We sought to determine whether large males and small males differ in the strength (or direction) of their preference for large, high-fecundity females using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. We measured male courtship preferences and mating duration to show that male body size had no impact on the strength of male mate choice; all males, regardless of their size, had equally strong preferences for large females. To understand the selective pressures shaping male mate choice in males of different sizes, we also measured the fitness benefits associated with preferring large females for both large and small males. Male body size did not affect the benefits that males received: large and small males were equally successful at mating with large females, received the same direct fitness benefits from mating with large females, and showed similar competitive fertilization success with large females. These findings provide insight into why the strength of male mate choice was not affected by male body size in this system. Our study highlights the importance of evaluating the benefits and costs of male mate choice across multiple males to predict when differences in male mate choice should occur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avigayil Lev
- Department of Biology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Alison Pischedda
- Department of Biology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
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Are some species ‘robust’ to exploitation? Explaining persistence in deceptive relationships. Evol Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-022-10174-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
AbstractAnimals and plants trick others in an extraordinary diversity of ways to gain fitness benefits. Mimicry and deception can, for example, lure prey, reduce the costs of parental care or aid in pollination–in ways that impose fitness costs on the exploited party. The evolutionary maintenance of such asymmetric relationships often relies on these costs being mitigated through counter-adaptations, low encounter rates, or indirect fitness benefits. However, these mechanisms do not always explain the evolutionary persistence of some classic deceptive interactions.Sexually deceptive pollination (in which plants trick male pollinators into mating with their flowers) has evolved multiple times independently, mainly in the southern hemisphere and especially in Australasia and Central and South America. This trickery imposes considerable costs on the males: they miss out on mating opportunities, and in some cases, waste their limited sperm on the flower. These relationships appear stable, yet in some cases there is little evidence suggesting that their persistence relies on counter-adaptations, low encounter rates, or indirect fitness benefits. So, how might these relationships persist?Here, we introduce and explore an additional hypothesis from systems biology: that some species are robust to exploitation. Robustness arises from a species’ innate traits and means they are robust against costs of exploitation. This allows species to persist where a population without those traits would not, making them ideal candidates for exploitation. We propose that this mechanism may help inform new research approaches and provide insight into how exploited species might persist.
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Ma L, Versteegh MA, Hammers M, Komdeur J. Sex-specific influence of communal breeding experience on parenting performance and fitness in a burying beetle. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211179. [PMID: 35223054 PMCID: PMC8847889 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Communal breeding, wherein multiple conspecifics live and reproduce together, may generate short-term benefits in terms of defence and reproduction. However, its carry-over effects remain unclear. We experimentally tested the effects of communal breeding on parental care and reproduction in burying beetles (Nicrophorus vespilloides), which use carcasses as breeding resources and provide parental care to offspring. We subjected individuals to communal or non-communal breeding (i.e. pair breeding) during their first breeding event and to non-communal breeding during their second breeding event. We measured the parental care of individuals and of groups and the reproductive success of groups during both breeding events. In communal groups, large individuals became dominant and largely monopolized the carcass, whereas small individuals (i.e. subordinates) had restricted access to the carcass. At the first breeding event, large males in communal groups spent more time providing care than large males in non-communal groups, whereas such an effect was not observed for large females and small individuals. Reproductive successes were similar in communal and non-communal groups, indicating no short-term benefits of communal breeding in terms of reproduction. Compared with males from non-communal groups, males originating from communal groups produced a larger size of brood during their second breeding event, whereas such an effect was not observed for females. Our results demonstrate the sex-specific effects of communal breeding experience on parenting performance and fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long Ma
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Maaike A. Versteegh
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn Hammers
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands
- Aeres University of Applied Sciences, Arboretum West 98, 1325 WB Almere, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands
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Del Matto LA, Macedo-Rego RC, Santos ESA. Mate-guarding duration is mainly influenced by the risk of sperm competition and not by female quality in a golden orb-weaver spider. PeerJ 2021; 9:e12310. [PMID: 34733589 PMCID: PMC8544249 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Males are expected to mate with as many females as possible, but can maximize their reproductive success through strategic mating decisions. For instance, males can increase their own fitness by mating with high quality females that produce more offspring. Additionally, males can adjust mating effort based on the relative distribution of females and male competitors. To test factors that influence male mate choice, we assessed male mating decisions in the golden silk orb-weaver spider, Trichonephila clavipes (Nephilidae), a species in which females are polyandrous, males guard females before and after copulation occurs and large males are the most successful at guarding mates. We tested the hypothesis that males spend more time guarding high quality females that are spatially isolated, and when the risk of sperm competition is higher. We also hypothesized that this effect increases with male body size. We assessed solitary and aggregated female webs in the field and quantified female quality (i.e., female body condition), male size (i.e., male body size), the risk of sperm competition (i.e., number of males in each female web), and mate-guarding duration (i.e., number of days each male spent in each web). We found that mate-guarding behaviour is largely influenced by the presence of male competitors. In addition, male body size seems to moderately influence male guarding decisions, with larger males guarding for a longer time. Finally, female body condition and type of web (i.e., solitary or aggregated) seem to play small roles in mate-guarding behaviour. As mate-guarding duration increased by 0.718 day per each additional male competitor in the web, and guarding behaviour prevents males from seeking additional mates, it seems that guarding females can be considerably costly. We conclude that failing to guard a sexual partner promotes high costs derived from sperm competition, and a male cannot recover his relative loss in fertilization success by seeking and fertilizing more females. In addition, the search for more sexual partners can be constrained by possible high costs imposed by weight loss and fights against other males, which may explain why the type of web only moderately influenced male mate choice. Following the same rationale, if high-quality females are not easy to find and/or mating with a high-quality female demands much effort, males may search females and guard them regardless of female quality. In conclusion, the factor that most influences male mate-guarding behaviour among T. clavipes in the field is the risk of sperm competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lygia A Del Matto
- BECO do Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Renato C Macedo-Rego
- BECO do Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Eduardo S A Santos
- BECO do Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.,RH Lab, Banco Santander, São Paulo, Brazil
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8
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Brunton‐Martin AL, Gaskett AC, Kokko H. Resilience of haplodiploids to being exploited by sexually deceptive plants. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Anne. C. Gaskett
- School of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Auckland Auckland New Zealand
| | - Hanna Kokko
- Dept of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, Univ. of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
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9
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Strategic adjustment of ejaculate quality in response to variation of the socio-sexual environment. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03032-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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10
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11
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Kondo Y, Kohda M, Koya Y, Awata S. Sperm Allocation Strategies Depending on Female Quality in Medaka ( Oryzias latipes). Zoolog Sci 2020; 37:203-209. [PMID: 32549534 DOI: 10.2108/zs190132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Sperm production is costly, and males are expected to strategically allocate this potentially limiting resource to maximize their fitness. Sperm allocation theory predicts that males should adjust their sperm expenditure in relation to female quality. However, the available empirical evidence is limited. In this study, we assessed whether wild male medaka (Oryzias latipes) would allocate their sperm depending on female quality under controlled conditions. Behavioral observations revealed that spawning behavior could be classified into four stages: male quivering, female quivering, sperm release, and stay. Of these behaviors, only the duration of sperm release was positively correlated with the number of sperm ejaculated in the aquarium, suggesting that males may adjust the sperm number expended for each mating by controlling the duration of sperm release. The estimated amount of sperm released per spawning was positively and significantly correlated with the body depth and weight of paired females. This result is consistent with the prediction arising from the sperm allocation hypothesis, and suggests that male medaka may allocate their sperm depending on paired female body depth and weight. However, the number of released sperm did not correlate with the number of spawned eggs, which was positively correlated with body depth and weight of females. These results imply that medaka females may have counter-strategies against sperm allocation by males, and consequently, males might not be able to adjust the number of sperm efficiently. We disscuss our results from the perspective of sexual conflict over sperm as a limited resource.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuki Kondo
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka 558-8585, Japan,
| | - Masanori Kohda
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka 558-8585, Japan
| | - Yasunori Koya
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Gifu University, Gifu 501-1193, Japan
| | - Satoshi Awata
- Laboratory of Animal Sociology, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka 558-8585, Japan
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12
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Parker GA. Conceptual developments in sperm competition: a very brief synopsis. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20200061. [PMID: 33070727 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The past half century has seen the development of the field of post-ejaculatory sexual selection, the sequel to sexual selection for mate-acquisition (pre-ejaculatory) described by Darwin. In richness and diversity of adaptations, post-ejaculatory selection rivals that of pre-ejaculatory sexual selection. Anisogamy-and hence two sexes-likely arose by primeval gamete competition, and sperm competition remains a major force maintaining high sperm numbers. The post-ejaculatory equivalent of male-male competition for matings, sperm competition was an intense ancestral form of sexual selection, typically weakening as mobility and internal fertilization developed in many taxa, when some expenditure became diverted into pre-ejaculatory competition. Sperm competition theory has been relatively successful in explaining variation in relative testes size and sperm numbers per ejaculate and is becoming more successful in explaining variation in sperm phenotype. Sperm competition has generated many other male adaptations such as seminal fluid proteins that variously modify female reproduction towards male interests, and copulatory plugs, prolonged copulations and post-ejaculatory guarding behaviour that reduce female remating probability, many of which result in sexual conflict. This short survey of conceptual developments is intended as a broad overview, mainly as a primer for new researchers. This article is part of the theme issue 'Fifty years of sperm competition'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoff A Parker
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, University of Liverpool, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
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López Galán A, Chung WS, Marshall NJ. Dynamic Courtship Signals and Mate Preferences in Sepia plangon. Front Physiol 2020; 11:845. [PMID: 32903768 PMCID: PMC7438932 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.00845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Communication in cuttlefish includes rapid changes in skin coloration and texture, body posture and movements, and potentially polarized signals. The dynamic displays are fundamental for mate choice and agonistic behavior. We analyzed the reproductive behavior of the mourning cuttlefish Sepia plangon in the laboratory. Mate preference was analyzed via choice assays (n = 33) under three sex ratios, 1 male (M): 1 female (F), 2M:1F, and 1M:2F. We evaluated the effect of modifying polarized light from the arms stripes and ambient light with polarized and unpolarized barriers between the cuttlefish. Additionally, to assess whether a particular trait was a determinant for mating, we used 3D printed cuttlefish dummies. The dummies had different sets of visual signals: two sizes (60 or 90 mm mantle length), raised or dropped arms, high or low contrast body coloration, and polarized or unpolarized filters to simulate the arms stripes. Frequency and duration (s) of courtship displays, mating, and agonistic behaviors were analyzed with GLM and ANOVAs. The behaviors, body patterns, and their components were integrated into an ethogram to describe the reproductive behavior of S. plangon. We identified 18 body patterns, 57 body patterns components, and three reproductive behaviors (mating, courtship, and mate guarding). Only sex ratio had a significant effect on courtship frequency, and the male courtship success rate was 80%. Five small (ML < 80 mm) males showed the dual-lateral display to access mates while avoiding fights with large males; this behavior is characteristic of male "sneaker" cuttlefish. Winner males showed up to 17 body patterns and 33 components, whereas loser males only showed 12 patterns and 24 components. We identified 32 combinations of body patterns and components that tended to occur in a specific order and were relevant for mating success in males. Cuttlefish were visually aware of the 3D-printed dummies; however, they did not start mating or agonistic behavior toward the dummies. Our findings suggest that in S. plangon, the dynamic courtship displays with specific sequences of visual signals, and the sex ratio are critical for mate choice and mating success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra López Galán
- Sensory Neurobiology Group, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Wen-Sung Chung
- Sensory Neurobiology Group, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
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López Juri G, Rossi N, Chiaraviglio M, Cardozo G. Phenotypic diversity and its relationship to reproductive potential in changing social contexts in a lizard model. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Phenotype in lizards is related to reproductive function, and hence to reproductive output. Besides the intraspecific diversity in phenotypes, their temporal variation throughout the reproductive season in relation to the variation of social contexts builds extra complexity into sexual selection scenarios. One useful model for understanding phenotypic diversity dynamics is Tropidurus spinulosus because it presents sexual dimorphism in different phenotypic traits, dichromatism in regions related to reproductive behaviour, and it has intense social reproductive interactions. We aimed to evaluate how the reproductive and phenotypic traits of individuals vary with changing social contexts, and how intrasexual phenotypic diversity and reproductive potential are explained by the phenotypic traits. In this study, we used data obtained during four consecutive breeding seasons (2015–2018) in a wild population. The social context, characterized according to the operational sex ratio, varied between months and, therefore, some phenotypic and reproductive traits also varied. We found that body robustness and chromatic diversity were the main sources of phenotypic diversity and were related to reproductive traits in both sexes. Our results help to understand the dynamics and reproductive implications of phenotypic diversity in changing social contexts in a lizard social model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guadalupe López Juri
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Laboratorio de Biología del Comportamiento, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Nicola Rossi
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Laboratorio de Biología del Comportamiento, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Margarita Chiaraviglio
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Laboratorio de Biología del Comportamiento, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Gabriela Cardozo
- Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Laboratorio de Biología del Comportamiento, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), Córdoba, Argentina
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Abraham S, Moyano A, Murillo Dasso S, Van Nieuwenhove G, Ovruski S, Pérez-Staples D. Male accessory gland depletion in a tephritid fly affects female fecundity independently of sperm depletion. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02835-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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16
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Brunton Martin AL, O'Hanlon JC, Gaskett AC. Orchid sexual deceit affects pollinator sperm transfer. Funct Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Amy L. Brunton Martin
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Auckland Auckland Central New Zealand
| | - James C. O'Hanlon
- School of Environmental and Rural Science The University of New England Armidale NSW Australia
| | - Anne C. Gaskett
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Auckland Auckland Central New Zealand
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Chung MHJ, Jennions MD, Fox RJ. Novel ablation technique shows no sperm priming response by male eastern mosquitofish to cues of female availability. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2779-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Morse P, Huffard CL. Tactical Tentacles: New Insights on the Processes of Sexual Selection Among the Cephalopoda. Front Physiol 2019; 10:1035. [PMID: 31496951 PMCID: PMC6712556 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.01035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 07/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The cephalopods (Mollusca: Cephalopoda) are an exceptional class among the invertebrates, characterised by the advanced development of their conditional learning abilities, long-term memories, capacity for rapid colour change and extremely adaptable hydrostatic skeletons. These traits enable cephalopods to occupy diverse marine ecological niches, become successful predators, employ sophisticated predator avoidance behaviours and have complex intraspecific interactions. Where studied, observations of cephalopod mating systems have revealed detailed insights to the life histories and behavioural ecologies of these animals. The reproductive biology of cephalopods is typified by high levels of both male and female promiscuity, alternative mating tactics, long-term sperm storage prior to spawning, and the capacity for intricate visual displays and/or use of a distinct sensory ecology. This review summarises the current understanding of cephalopod reproductive biology, and where investigated, how both pre-copulatory behaviours and post-copulatory fertilisation patterns can influence the processes of sexual selection. Overall, it is concluded that sperm competition and possibly cryptic female choice are likely to be critical determinants of which individuals' alleles get transferred to subsequent generations in cephalopod mating systems. Additionally, it is emphasised that the optimisation of offspring quality and/or fertilisation bias to genetically compatible males are necessary drivers for the proliferation of polyandry observed among cephalopods, and potential methods for testing these hypotheses are proposed within the conclusion of this review. Further gaps within the current knowledge of how sexual selection operates in this group are also highlighted, in the hopes of prompting new directions for research of the distinctive mating systems in this unique lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Morse
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, Crawley, WA, Australia.,College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia
| | - Christine L Huffard
- Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, CA, United States.,California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, United States
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19
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Meade LC, Dinneen D, Kad R, Lynch DM, Fowler K, Pomiankowski A. Ejaculate sperm number compensation in stalk-eyed flies carrying a selfish meiotic drive element. Heredity (Edinb) 2019; 122:916-926. [PMID: 30467401 PMCID: PMC6781104 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-018-0166-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2018] [Revised: 10/19/2018] [Accepted: 11/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Meiotic drive genes cause the degeneration of non-carrier sperm to bias transmission in their favour. Males carrying meiotic drive are expected to suffer reduced fertility due to the loss of sperm and associated harmful side-effects of the mechanisms causing segregation distortion. However, sexual selection should promote adaptive compensation to overcome these deleterious effects. We investigate this using SR, an X-linked meiotic drive system in the stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni. Despite sperm destruction caused by drive, we find no evidence that SR males transfer fewer sperm to the female's spermathecae (long-term storage organs). Likewise, migration from the spermathecae to the ventral receptacle for fertilisation is similar for SR and wildtype male sperm, both over short and long time-frames. In addition, sperm number in storage is similar even after males have mated multiple times. Our study challenges conventional assumptions about the deleterious effects of drive on male fertility. This suggests that SR male ejaculate investment per ejaculate has been adjusted to match sperm delivery by wildtype males. We interpret these results in the light of recent theoretical models that predict how ejaculate strategies evolve when males vary in the resources allocated to reproduction or in sperm fertility. Adaptive compensation is likely in species where meiotic drive has persisted over many generations and predicts a higher stable frequency of drive maintained in wild populations. Future research must determine exactly how drive males compensate for failed spermatogenesis, and how such compensation may trade-off with investment in other fitness traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara C Meade
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Deidre Dinneen
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Ridhima Kad
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Dominic M Lynch
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Kevin Fowler
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Andrew Pomiankowski
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
- CoMPLEX, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
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20
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Fox RJ, Gearing EE, Jennions MD, Head ML. Variation in the condition-dependence of individual sexual traits in male eastern mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca J Fox
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | | | - Michael D Jennions
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Megan L Head
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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21
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Hare RM, Simmons LW. Sexual selection and its evolutionary consequences in female animals. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2018; 94:929-956. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Revised: 10/31/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Robin M. Hare
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, 6009 Australia
| | - Leigh W. Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, 6009 Australia
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22
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Yoshizawa K, Ferreira RL, Yao I, Lienhard C, Kamimura Y. Independent origins of female penis and its coevolution with male vagina in cave insects (Psocodea: Prionoglarididae). Biol Lett 2018; 14:rsbl.2018.0533. [PMID: 30463921 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2018.0533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 10/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The cave-dwelling psocid tribe Sensitibillini (Afrotrogla, Neotrogla and Sensitibilla) is of special morphological and evolutionary interest because of its possession of reversed copulatory organs: i.e. females of Afrotrogla and Neotrogla have a penis-like organ. The female penis structure is highly variable among taxa, as is the case of the male penis in animals with normal copulatory organs. Here, we present the first molecular phylogeny of Sensitibillini and analyse the evolutionary pattern of their genitalia. Afrotrogla and Neotrogla did not form a monophyletic clade, and their female penis structures are significantly different, suggesting two independent origins of the female penis within Sensitibillini. In Neotrogla, the species that has a simple female penis is embedded among species that have an elaborate penis, and detailed structures of the female penis elaborations are in exact agreement among species, suggesting a secondary simplification of the female penis. A correlated evolutionary pattern between male and female genitalia was also detected. This coevolution of genitalia may suggest that sexual conflict or cryptic 'male' choice drove the diversity of the female penis, as is the case of male penile diversity in animals with conventional genitalia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazunori Yoshizawa
- Systematic Entomology, School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8589, Japan
| | - Rodrigo L Ferreira
- Biology Department, Federal University of Lavras, CEP 37200-000 Lavras (MG), Brazil
| | - Izumi Yao
- Systematic Entomology, School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8589, Japan
| | - Charles Lienhard
- Geneva Natural History Museum, CP 6434, 1211 Geneva 6, Switzerland
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23
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24
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Couchoux C, Dechaume-Moncharmont FX, Rigaud T, Bollache L. Male Gammarus roeseli provide smaller ejaculates to females infected with vertically transmitted microsporidian parasites. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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25
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Belliure J, Fresnillo B, Cuervo JJ. Male mate choice based on female coloration in a lizard: the role of a juvenile trait. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Josabel Belliure
- Department of Life Sciences, Ecology Section, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Belén Fresnillo
- Department of Life Sciences, Ecology Section, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - José J Cuervo
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
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26
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Shahandeh MP, Pischedda A, Turner TL. Male mate choice via cuticular hydrocarbon pheromones drives reproductive isolation between Drosophila species. Evolution 2018; 72:123-135. [PMID: 29098691 PMCID: PMC5760347 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2017] [Revised: 10/16/2017] [Accepted: 10/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Mate discrimination is a key mechanism restricting gene flow between species. While studied extensively with respect to female mate choice, mechanisms of male mate choice between species are far less studied. Thus, we have little knowledge of the relative frequency, importance, or overall contribution of male mate discrimination to reproductive isolation. In the present study, we estimated the relative contributions of male and female choice to reproductive isolation between Drosophila simulans and D. sechellia, and show that male mate discrimination accounts for the majority of the current isolation between these species. We further demonstrate that males discriminate based on female cuticular hydrocarbon pheromones, and collect evidence supporting the hypothesis that male mate discrimination may alleviate the costs associated with heterospecific courtship and mating. Our findings highlight the potentially significant contribution of male mate choice to the formation of reproductive isolating barriers, and thus the speciation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael P. Shahandeh
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara
| | - Alison Pischedda
- Department of Biology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York NY 10027
| | - Thomas L. Turner
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara
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27
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Bertram SM, Loranger MJ, Thomson IR, Harrison SJ, Ferguson GL, Reifer ML, Corlett DH, Gowaty PA. Choosy males in Jamaican field crickets. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.09.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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28
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Bertram SM, Harrison SJ, Ferguson GL, Thomson IR, Loranger MJ, Reifer ML, Corlett DH, Gowaty PA. What is driving male mate preference evolution in Jamaican field crickets? Ethology 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Ian R. Thomson
- Department of Biology; Carleton University; Ottawa ON Canada
| | | | | | | | - Patricia Adair Gowaty
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Institute of Environment and Sustainability; University of California Los Angeles; Los Angeles CA USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Panamá; República de Panamá
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29
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Balaban-Feld J, Valone TJ. Identifying individual male reproductive consistency in Drosophila melanogaster: The importance of controlling female behaviour. Behav Processes 2017. [PMID: 28624606 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2017.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Work on the repeatability of reproductive behaviour has mainly focused on the consistency of female preferences. We characterised the consistency of individual male Drosophila melanogaster reproductive behaviour in two experiments. In the first experiment, we allowed males to interact with a pair of live females that differed in body size. We then controlled female behaviour in a second experiment by examining the courtship behaviour of individual males interacting with a pair of decapitated females that varied in body size. In both experiments, we examined the consistency of individual male reproductive behaviour across two repeated trials on the same day. Males did not exhibit a courtship preference for the larger female in either experiment, but, in experiment 1, males did exhibit post-copulatory choice by copulating for longer durations with the large female, and males that mated with the same type of female in both trials exhibited repeatable behaviour. In general, we found weak evidence of consistent male courtship behaviour in the presence of behaving females. However, when female behaviour was controlled in experiment 2, we found that male courtship behaviour was highly repeatable. These results indicate that individual male D. melanogaster exhibit consistent reproductive behaviour and demonstrate the importance of controlling female behaviour when attempting to characterise the repeatability of male reproductive behaviour.
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30
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Mahoney PC, Tatarnic NJ, O’Hanlon JC, Umbers KDL. Mate guarding and male mate choice in the chameleon grasshopper Kosciuscola tristis (Orthoptera: Acrididae). J ETHOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-017-0509-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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31
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32
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Bocedi G, Reid JM. Coevolutionary Feedbacks between Female Mating Interval and Male Allocation to Competing Sperm Traits Can Drive Evolution of Costly Polyandry. Am Nat 2016; 187:334-50. [PMID: 26913946 DOI: 10.1086/684746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Complex coevolutionary feedbacks between female mating interval and male sperm traits have been hypothesized to explain the evolution and persistence of costly polyandry. Such feedbacks could potentially arise because polyandry creates sperm competition and consequent selection on male allocation to sperm traits, while the emerging sperm traits could create female sperm limitation and, hence, impose selection for increased polyandry. However, the hypothesis that costly polyandry could coevolve with male sperm dynamics has not been tested. We built a genetically explicit individual-based model to simulate simultaneous evolution of female mating interval and male allocation to sperm number versus longevity, where these two sperm traits trade off. We show that evolution of competing sperm traits under polyandry can indeed cause female sperm limitation and, hence, promote further evolution and persistence of costly polyandry, particularly when sperm are costly relative to the degree of female sperm limitation. These feedbacks were stronger, and greater polyandry evolved, when postcopulatory competition for paternity followed a loaded rather than fair raffle and when sperm traits had realistically low heritability. We therefore demonstrate that the evolution of allocation to sperm traits driven by sperm competition can prevent males from overcoming female sperm limitation, thereby driving ongoing evolution of costly polyandry.
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33
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34
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García-Navas V, Bonnet T, Waldvogel D, Camenisch G, Postma E. Consequences of natal philopatry for reproductive success and mate choice in an Alpine rodent. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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35
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Burger D, Meroni G, Thomas S, Sieme H. Effects of ground semen collection on weight bearing on hindquarters, libido, and semen parameters in stallions. Theriogenology 2015; 84:687-92.e1. [PMID: 26050613 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2015.04.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2014] [Revised: 04/29/2015] [Accepted: 04/29/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Collection of semen on the ground from the standing stallion represents an alternative method to dummy mount semen collection and is of increasing popularity for sport stallions, males suffering from health problems, or in studs without a dummy or suitable mare at disposal. Our aim was to collect and compare spermatological and physiological data associated with traditional and ground semen collection. Twelve of 23 Franches-Montagnes stallions were selected to carry out semen collection on a dummy and while standing in a crossed experimental protocol. Semen quantity and quality parameters, weight bearing on hindquarters, and behavioral and libido data were recorded. Ground versus dummy mount semen collection was accompanied by lower seminal volume (15.9 ± 14.6 vs. 22.0 ± 13.3 mL; P < 0.01) and lower total sperm count (4.913 ± 2.721 × 10(9) vs. 6.544 ± 2.856 × 10(9) sperm; P < 0.001). No significant differences were found concerning sperm motility and viability. Time to ejaculation was longer, and the number of attempts to ejaculation was higher (P = 0.053) in the standing position compared with the mount on the dummy. A higher (P < 0.01) amount of tail flagging was manifested by the stallions during ejaculation on the dummy compared to when standing. There was no difference in weight bearing on hindquarters when comparing dummy collection (51.2 ± 2.5%) and standing collection (48.9 ± 5.5%). Ground semen collection can be considered as a viable option for stallions that cannot mount a dummy or a mare. However, it requires training and may be not easily accepted by all stallions. Owners should be advised that ground semen collection is associated with significantly lower sperm numbers than with dummy mount semen collection.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Burger
- Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine, Agroscope and University of Berne, Avenches, Switzerland.
| | - G Meroni
- Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine, Agroscope and University of Berne, Avenches, Switzerland; School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, Zollikofen, Switzerland
| | - S Thomas
- Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine, Agroscope and University of Berne, Avenches, Switzerland
| | - H Sieme
- Clinic for Horses, Unit for Reproductive Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover, Hanover, Germany
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36
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Jayaweera A, Barry KL. The effect of female quality on male ejaculatory expenditure and reproductive success in a praying mantid. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0124209. [PMID: 25970459 PMCID: PMC4430211 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2014] [Accepted: 03/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Strategic ejaculation is a behavioural strategy shown by many animals as a response to sperm competition and/or as a potential mechanism of cryptic male choice. Males invest more mating resources when the risk of sperm competition increases or they invest more in high quality females to maximize their reproductive output. We tested this hypothesis in the false garden mantid Pseudomantis albofimbriata, where females are capable of multiply mating and body condition is an indicator of potential reproductive fitness. We predicted male mantids would ejaculate strategically by allocating more sperm to high quality females. To determine if and how males alter their ejaculate in response to mate quality, we manipulated female food quantity so that females were either in good condition with many eggs (i.e. high quality) or poor condition with few eggs (i.e. low quality). Half of the females from each treatment were used in mating trials in which transferred sperm was counted before fertilisation occurred and the other half of females were used in mating trials where fertilisation occurred and ootheca mass and total eggs in the ootheca were recorded. Opposed to our predictions, the total number of sperm and the proportion of viable sperm transferred did not vary significantly between female treatments. Male reproductive success was entirely dependent on female quality/fecundity, rather than on the number of sperm transferred. These results suggest that female quality is not a major factor influencing postcopulatory male mating strategies in P. albofimbriata, and that sperm number has little effect on male reproductive success in a single mating scenario.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anuradhi Jayaweera
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
- * E-mail:
| | - Katherine L. Barry
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
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37
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Fritzsche K, Arnqvist G. The effects of male phenotypic condition on reproductive output in a sex role-reversed beetle. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.01.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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38
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Myers SS, Buckley TR, Holwell GI. Mate detection and seasonal variation in stick insect mating behaviour (Phamatodea: Clitarchus hookeri). BEHAVIOUR 2015. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
For animals that exhibit a scramble competition mating system, sexual selection pressures on mate searching ability are expected to be strong. Scramble competition mating systems evolve when populations provide females with equal accessibility to all male competitors, yet sex ratio and population density influences mating systems and varies seasonally. The stick insect species,Clitarchus hookeri, is frequently found in copula, yet very little is known about it’s mating behaviour. We preformed behavioural tests and assayed antennal sensory morphology to determine whether males used chemosensory cues to detect females. Through natural field observations we found populations to be significantly male-biased earlier in the season, while later, populations began to display equal sex ratios. With increasing female availability mating pair proportions steadily increased, while copulation duration declined. These results supportC. hookerias a scramble competitor, and demonstrate males may alter their behaviour in response to the seasonal variation in female density.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelley S. Myers
- Landcare Research, Private Bag 92170, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
- The School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, 1142, New Zealand
- Allan Wilson Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Thomas R. Buckley
- Landcare Research, Private Bag 92170, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
- The School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, 1142, New Zealand
- Allan Wilson Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Gregory I. Holwell
- The School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, 1142, New Zealand
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39
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Male mate preferences in mutual mate choice: finches modulate their songs across and within male-female interactions. Anim Behav 2014; 97:1-12. [PMID: 25242817 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Male songbirds use song to advertise their attractiveness as potential mates, and the properties of those songs have a powerful influence on female mate preferences. One idea is that males may exert themselves maximally in each song performance, consistent with female evaluation and formation of mate preferences being the primary contributors to mate choice. Alternatively, males may modulate their song behaviour to different degrees in the presence of different females, consistent with both male and female mate preferences contributing to mutual mate choice. Here we consider whether male Bengalese finches, Lonchura striata domestica, express mate preferences at the level of individual females, and whether those preferences are manifest as changes in song behaviour that are sufficient to influence female mate choice. We tested this idea by recording songs performed by individual unmated males during a series of 1 h interactions with each of many unmated females. Across recording sessions, males systematically varied both the quantity and the quality of the songs that they performed to different females. Males also varied their song properties throughout the course of each interaction, and behavioural tests using female birds revealed that songs performed at the onset of each interaction were significantly more attractive than songs performed by the same male later during the same interaction. This demonstration of context-specific variation in the properties of male reproductive signals and a role for that variation in shaping female mate preference reveals that male mate preferences play an important role in mutual mate choice in this species. Because these birds thrive so well in the laboratory and are so amenable to observation and experimentation across generations, these results yield a new model system that may prove especially advantageous in disentangling the role of male and female mate preferences in shaping mutual mate choice and its long-term benefits or consequences.
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40
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Liu XP, He HM, Xue FS. The influence of female age on male mating preference and reproductive success in cabbage beetle, Colaphellus bowringi. INSECT SCIENCE 2014; 21:515-522. [PMID: 23955897 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/26/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The influence of female age on male mating preference and reproductive success has been studied using a promiscuous cabbage beetle, Colaphellus bowringi Baly (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). In a simultaneous choice test, middle-aged females had significantly greater mating success than young and old females. In single pair trials, when paired with middle-aged virgin males, middle-aged females mated faster, copulated longer, and had greater fecundity and fertility than young or old females, while the longevity of males was not significantly affected by female age. This study on C. bowringi suggests that middle-aged females are more receptive to mating, which can result in the highest male reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing-Ping Liu
- Institute of Entomology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang
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41
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Uma R, Sevgili H. Spermatophore allocation strategy over successive matings in the bushcricketIsophya sikorai(Orthoptera Phaneropterinae). ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2014.896830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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42
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Smith C, Warren M, Rouchet R, Reichard M. The function of multiple ejaculations in bitterling. J Evol Biol 2014; 27:1819-29. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2014] [Revised: 05/04/2014] [Accepted: 05/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- C. Smith
- School of Biology; University of St Andrews; St Andrews UK
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology; Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; Brno Czech Republic
| | - M. Warren
- School of Biology; University of St Andrews; St Andrews UK
| | - R. Rouchet
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology; Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; Brno Czech Republic
- Institute of Botany; Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; Brno Czech Republic
| | - M. Reichard
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology; Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; Brno Czech Republic
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43
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Abstract
Researchers studying the adaptive significance of behaviour typically assume that genetic mechanisms will not inhibit evolutionary trajectories, an assumption commonly known as the 'phenotypic gambit'. Although the phenotypic gambit continues to be a useful heuristic for behavioural ecology, here we discuss how genomic methods provide new tools and conceptual approaches that are relevant to behavioural ecology. We first describe how the concept of a genetic toolkit for behaviour can allow behavioural ecologists to synthesize both genomic and ecological information when assessing behavioural adaptation. Then we show how gene expression profiles can be viewed as complex phenotypic measurements, used to (1) predict behaviour, (2) evaluate phenotypic plasticity and (3) devise methods to manipulate behaviour in order to test adaptive hypotheses. We propose that advances in genomics and bioinformatics may allow researchers to overcome some of the logistical obstacles that motivated the inception of the phenotypic gambit. Behavioural ecology and genomics are mutually informative, providing potential synergy that could lead to powerful advances in the field of animal behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare C Rittschof
- Department of Entomology and Institute for Genomic Biology, Urbana, IL, U.S.A
| | - Gene E Robinson
- Department of Entomology and Institute for Genomic Biology, Urbana, IL, U.S.A
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Barrett LT, Evans JP, Gasparini C. The effects of perceived mating opportunities on patterns of reproductive investment by male guppies. PLoS One 2014; 9:e93780. [PMID: 24705713 PMCID: PMC3976321 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2014] [Accepted: 03/07/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Males pay considerable reproductive costs in acquiring mates (precopulatory sexual selection) and in producing ejaculates that are effective at fertilising eggs in the presence of competing ejaculates (postcopulatory sexual selection). Given these costs, males must balance their reproductive investment in a given mating to optimise their future reproductive potential. Males are therefore expected to invest in reproduction prudently according to the likelihood of obtaining future matings. In this study we tested this prediction by determining whether male reproductive investment varies with expected future mating opportunities, which were experimentally manipulated by visually exposing male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) to high or low numbers of females in the absence of competing males. Our experiment did not reveal consistent effects of perceived future mating opportunity on either precopulatory (male mate choice and mating behaviour) or postcopulatory (sperm quality and quantity) investment. However, we did find that male size and female availability interacted to influence mating behaviour; large males visually deprived of females during the treatment phase became more choosy and showed greater interest in their preferred female than those given continuous visual access to females. Overall, our results suggest males tailor pre- rather than postcopulatory traits according to local female availability, but critically, these effects depend on male size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke T. Barrett
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Jonathan P. Evans
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Clelia Gasparini
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
- * E-mail:
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Leivers S, Simmons LW. Human Sperm Competition. ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-800286-5.00001-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2023]
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Zizzari ZV, van Straalen NM, Ellers J. Male-male competition leads to less abundant but more attractive sperm. Biol Lett 2013; 9:20130762. [PMID: 24307528 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Males employ complex strategies to optimize their reproductive success when faced with male-male competition; for instance, they can adjust the ejaculate characteristics. In copulating species, a male may also strategically adjust his ejaculate expenditure according to female quality. Quantifying the relative contribution of ejaculate plasticity in male reproductive success is often difficult, especially when females exert postcopulatory cryptic choice. One way to quantify the functional significance of ejaculate plasticity is offered by mating systems in which the reproductive partners do not meet each other during insemination. In the collembolan Orchesella cincta, males deposit their ejaculates (spermatophores) irrespective of the presence of females. We tested whether Orchesella males adjust spermatophore number when exposed to the presence of another male and whether changes in spermatophore production influence female choice. We found that Orchesella males display plasticity in spermatophore allocation. Males decreased the spermatophore number when exposed to a rival male. Moreover, females preferentially took up spermatophores of males that were exposed to a competitor. The reduction in spermatophore number suggests, besides an adaptive response to the risk of ejaculate removal by rival males, an optimization strategy owing to the costs of more attractive spermatophores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z Valentina Zizzari
- Department of Ecological Science, Animal Ecology, VU University Amsterdam, , De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Kimura K, Chiba S. Strategic ejaculation in simultaneously hermaphroditic land snails: more sperm into virgin mates. BMC Evol Biol 2013; 13:264. [PMID: 24304518 PMCID: PMC4235035 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-13-264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2013] [Accepted: 11/27/2013] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background It has been theorised that sperm competition promotes the strategic usage of costly sperm. Although sperm competition is thought to be an important driving force of reproductive traits in simultaneous hermaphrodites as well as in species with separate sexes, empirical studies on strategic ejaculation in simultaneous hermaphrodites are scarce. Results In the present study, we tested whether the simultaneously hermaphroditic land snail Euhadra quaesita adjusts the number of sperm donated according to the condition of the mate and whether the pattern of strategic ejaculation is in line with previously suggested theories. We found that individuals donated much more sperm when they copulated with a virgin mate than when they copulated with a non-virgin. Conclusion The virgin-biased pattern of ejaculation matches the theoretical prediction and suggests that sperm competition significantly influence the reproductive traits of simultaneously hermaphroditic land snails.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuki Kimura
- Department of Environmental Life Sciences, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Kawauchi 41, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8576, Japan.
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Worthington AM, Gress BE, Neyer AA, Kelly CD. Do male crickets strategically adjust the number and viability of their sperm under sperm competition? Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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50
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Experience affects mating behavior, but does not impact parental reproductive allocation in a lizard. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1523-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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