1
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Davidian E, Höner OP. Kinship and similarity drive coordination of breeding-group choice in male spotted hyenas. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20220402. [PMID: 36514956 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
When and where animals reproduce influences the social, demographic and genetic properties of the groups and populations they live in. We examined the extent to which male spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) coordinate their breeding-group choice. We tested whether their propensity to settle in the same group is shaped by passive processes driven by similarities in their socio-ecological background and genotype or by an adaptive process driven by kin selection. We compared the choices of 148 pairs of same-cohort males that varied in similarity and kinship. We found strong support for both processes. Coordination was highest (70% of pairs) for littermates, who share most cumulative similarity, lower (36%) among peers born in the same group to different mothers, and lowest (7%) among strangers originating from different groups and mothers. Consistent with the kin selection hypothesis, the propensity to choose the same group was density dependent for full siblings and close kin, but not distant kin. Coordination increased as the number of breeding females and male competitors in social groups increased, i.e. when costs of kin competition over mates decreased and benefits of kin cooperation increased. Our results contrast with the traditional view that breeding-group choice and dispersal are predominantly solitary processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eve Davidian
- Ngorongoro Hyena Project, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Oliver P Höner
- Ngorongoro Hyena Project, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha, Tanzania.,Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin 10315, Germany
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2
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Fracasso G, Heylen D, Matthysen E. Male mating preference in an ixodid tick. Parasit Vectors 2022; 15:316. [PMID: 36071436 PMCID: PMC9450281 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-022-05419-z] [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: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Mate choice is a fundamental element of sexual selection and has the potential to shape the evolution of traits. Mate choice based on body size has been shown to be a common trait in several arthropod species. In hard ticks, a taxon of medical and veterinary importance, engorgement weight is positively correlated with reproductive output but it is unknown whether adult males show mate choice. Here, we experimentally investigated whether males (i) use chemical cues to choose their mating partner, (ii) consistently choose for the same female individual and (iii) prefer females with highest weight after feeding. Methods We used two experimental setups which allowed chemical communication between ticks: (i) a horizontal tube preventing physical contact with the female and (ii) an arena where tactile cues were allowed. In total, we tested 62 different triads in 124 tests (66 tests in the horizontal tube and 58 in the arena) composed of one male that could choose between two engorged females. Specifically, we tested 42 triads in the tube and 46 in the arena; 24 triads were repeatedly tested in the tube while 38 triads were tested in both setups. Results We found no preference for individual or heavier females in either setup. However, in the horizontal tube setup, males significantly preferred females that were not visited by them in the previous test. Conclusions Our results suggest a lack of male mate choice despite heavier females having higher fecundity. However, future studies should take into account that males may recognize the potential mating partners they previously met. Graphical Abstract ![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo Fracasso
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium. .,Eco-Epidemiology Group, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium.
| | - Dieter Heylen
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.,Eco-Epidemiology Group, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium.,Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics, Hasselt University, 3590, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Erik Matthysen
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium
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3
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McLain DK, Pratt AE. The opportunity for and intensity of sexual selection in a seed bug depend on host plant dispersion. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2021.2024267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Denson K. McLain
- Department of Biological Sciences, Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8042, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA
| | - Ann E. Pratt
- Department of Biological Sciences, Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8042, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA
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4
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Churchill ER, Dytham C, Bridle JR, Thom MDF. Social and physical environment independently affect oviposition decisions in Drosophila. Behav Ecol 2021; 32:1391-1399. [PMID: 34949961 PMCID: PMC8691557 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
In response to environmental stimuli, including variation in the presence of conspecifics, genotypes show highly plastic responses in behavioral and physiological traits influencing reproduction. Although extensively documented in males, such female responses are rather less studied. We expect females to be highly responsive to environmental variation and to differentially allocate resources to increase offspring fitness, given the major contribution of mothers to offspring number, size, and developmental conditions. Using Drosophila melanogaster, we (a) manipulate exposure to conspecific females, which mothers could use to anticipate the number of potential mates and larval density, and; (b) test how this interacts with the spatial distribution of potential oviposition sites, with females from higher densities expected to prefer clustered resources that can support a larger number of larvae. We found that high density females were slower to start copulating and reduced their copulation duration, the opposite effect to that observed in males. There was a parallel, perhaps related, effect on egg production: females previously housed in groups laid fewer eggs than those housed in solitude. Resource patchiness also influenced oviposition behavior: females preferred aggregated substrate, which attracted more females to lay eggs. However, we found no interaction between prior housing conditions and resource patchiness, indicating that females did not perceive the value of different resource distributions differently when exposed to environments that could signal expected levels of larval competition. We show that, although exposure to consexual competition changes copulatory behaviors of females, the distribution of oviposition resources has a greater effect on oviposition decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily R Churchill
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | | | - Jon R Bridle
- Department for Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Michael D F Thom
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
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5
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Stratman KD, Oldehoeft EA, Höbel G. Woe is the loner: Female treefrogs prefer clusters of displaying males over single "hotshot" males. Evolution 2021; 75:3026-3036. [PMID: 34626427 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Communal displays such as leks and choruses are puzzling phenomena, as it is not obvious why signalers or choosers should aggregate. It has been hypothesized that signalers in leks enjoy higher per-capita reproductive success because choosers prefer to sample among dense configurations ("clusters") that are easier to compare. Although female preferences as well as the signal features of attractive males are well characterized in many chorusing species, we know little about how mate sampling is influenced by the spatial dynamics within communal displays. Here, we ask how female Eastern Gray Treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) respond to isolated and clustered call stimuli in a simple one versus three playback design. We explored (i) whether females exhibit a general preference for call clusters, (ii) whether spatial preference is robust to call-feature preference, and (iii) how this affects the relative success of attractive and unattractive males in different spatial combinations. We found generalized spatial discrimination against lone callers but did observe fine-scale assessment of call features within clusters. The prominence of the spatial preference impacts the attractiveness of males, conferring particular advantage to attractive callers within clusters, while reducing attractiveness of isolated males regardless of their acoustic features. Our findings indicate that female frogs navigate complex choruses by initially orientating toward clusters of calling males, and then assess call features within them. This study provides novel insight into the mate choice heuristics involved in animal choruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kane D Stratman
- Behavioral and Molecular Ecology Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201
| | - Emma A Oldehoeft
- Behavioral and Molecular Ecology Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201
| | - Gerlinde Höbel
- Behavioral and Molecular Ecology Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201
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6
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Appearance matters: multiple functional signals of body colours in a weevil. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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7
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Rebrina F, Anichini M, Reinhold K, Lehmann GUC. Allometric scaling in two bushcricket species (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) suggests sexual selection on song-generating structures. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
AbstractIn acoustically communicating bushcrickets (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae), most signal properties are influenced by the dimensions of the stridulatory apparatus, which in turn reflects body size and condition of the signaller. Females can assess male quality based on acoustic signals, suggesting that male stridulatory structures may be under sexual selection. We investigated scaling relationships between stridulatory structures, body size and body mass in males of the bushcricket Poecilimon veluchianus veluchianus, in comparison to the congeneric Poecilimon ampliatus. Stridulatory structures in P. v. veluchianus exhibited strong left–right correlation and coupling with body size and mass, indicating stabilizing selection for functional integration. In addition, sound-generating (the width of stridulatory teeth) and sound-radiating (mirror area on the right tegmen) structures scaled hyperallometrically to tegmen area, suggesting that both are under sexual selection. Finally, interspecies comparison revealed a steeper slope in tegmen area and stridulatory file length in relation to body size in P. ampliatus than in P. v. veluchianus, implying stronger sexual selection in the former, smaller species. Our study emphasizes the significance of a comparative allometric approach in elucidating evolutionary patterns of sound-generating and -radiating structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fran Rebrina
- University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Marianna Anichini
- Humboldt University Berlin, Department of Biology, Evolutionary Ecology, Berlin, Germany
| | - Klaus Reinhold
- Bielefeld University, Faculty of Biology, Evolutionary Biology, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Gerlind U C Lehmann
- Humboldt University Berlin, Department of Biology, Evolutionary Ecology, Berlin, Germany
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8
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Scott CE, McCann S, Andrade MCB. Black widows as plastic wallflowers: female choosiness increases with indicators of high mate availability in a natural population. Sci Rep 2020; 10:8981. [PMID: 32488193 PMCID: PMC7265538 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-65985-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Female choice is an important driver of sexual selection, but can be costly, particularly when choosy females risk remaining unmated or experience delays to reproduction. Thus, females should reduce choosiness when mate encounter rates are low. We asked whether choosiness is affected by social context, which may provide reliable information about the local availability of mates. This has been demonstrated in the lab, but rarely under natural conditions. We studied western black widow spiders (Latrodectus hesperus) in the field, placing experimental final-instar immature females so they were either ‘isolated’ or ‘clustered’ near naturally occurring conspecifics (≥10 m or ≤1 m, respectively, from a microhabitat occupied by at least one other female). Upon maturity, females in both treatments were visited by similar numbers of males, but clustered females were visited by males earlier and in more rapid succession than isolated females, confirming that proximity to conspecifics reduces the risk of remaining unmated. As predicted, isolated females were less choosy in staged mating trials, neither rejecting males nor engaging in pre-copulatory cannibalism, in contrast to clustered females. These results demonstrate that exposure of females to natural variation in demography in the field can alter choosiness of adults. Thus, female behaviour in response to cues of local population density can affect the intensity of sexual selection on males in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine E Scott
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, M1C1A4, Toronto, Canada. .,Department of Biology, Acadia University, 33 Westwood Ave. Wolfville, NS, B4P 2R6, Wolfville, Canada.
| | - Sean McCann
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, M1C1A4, Toronto, Canada.,Department of Biology, Acadia University, 33 Westwood Ave. Wolfville, NS, B4P 2R6, Wolfville, Canada
| | - Maydianne C B Andrade
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, M1C1A4, Toronto, Canada
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9
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Lehmann GUC, Lakes-Harlan R. Adaptive Strategies in Life-History of Bushcrickets (Orthoptera) and Cicadas (Homoptera) to Parasitoids Pressure on Their Acoustic Communication Systems—A Case for Sociality? Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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10
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Crocker KC, Hunter MD. Social density, but not sex ratio, drives ecdysteroid hormone provisioning to eggs by female house crickets ( Acheta domesticus). Ecol Evol 2018; 8:10257-10265. [PMID: 30397463 PMCID: PMC6206184 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Revised: 07/26/2018] [Accepted: 07/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Social environment profoundly influences the fitness of animals, affecting their probability of survival to adulthood, longevity, and reproductive output. The social conditions experienced by parents at the time of reproduction can predict the social environments that offspring will face. Despite clear challenges in predicting future environmental conditions, adaptive maternal effects provide a mechanism of passing environmental information from parent to offspring and are now considered pervasive in natural systems. Maternal effects have been widely studied in vertebrates, especially in the context of social environment, and are often mediated by steroid hormone (SH) deposition to eggs. In insects, although many species dramatically alter phenotype and life-history traits in response to social density, the mechanisms of these alterations, and the role of hormone deposition by insect mothers into their eggs, remains unknown. In the experiments described here, we assess the effects of social environment on maternal hormone deposition to eggs in house crickets (Acheta domesticus). Specifically, we tested the hypotheses that variable deposition of ecdysteroid hormones (ESH) to eggs is affected by both maternal (a) social density and (b) social composition. We found that while maternal hormone deposition to eggs does not respond to social composition (sex ratio), it does reflect social density; females provision their eggs with higher ESH doses under low-density conditions. This finding is consistent with the interpretation that variable ESH provisioning is an adaptive maternal response to social environment and congruent with similar patterns of variable maternal provisioning across the tree of life. Moreover, our results confirm that maternal hormone provisioning may mediate delayed density dependence by introducing a time lag in the response of offspring phenotype to population size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine C Crocker
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University New York New York
| | - Mark D Hunter
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan
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11
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Anichini M, Frommolt KH, Lehmann GU. To compete or not to compete: bushcricket song plasticity reveals male body condition and rival distance. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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12
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Kelly CD. The causes and evolutionary consequences of variation in female mate choice in insects: the effects of individual state, genotypes and environments. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2018; 27:1-8. [PMID: 30025624 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Revised: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 01/29/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Sexual selection generally involves males evolving secondary sexual characters that satisfy the mating preferences of females. Behavioral ecologists have spent considerable research effort on identifying how variation in sexually-selected traits in insects is maintained among males at the expense of investigating the proximate and ultimate causes of variation in female mating preferences for those male traits. The past decade has witnessed improved effort in redressing this bias in insects with researchers identifying a host of factors intrinsic and extrinsic to the female as mediating flexibility in female mating behavior. Evidence is mounting that a female's social environment, whether experienced during development or as an adult, is key to shaping her mating preferences. Others have extended these observations to show that the genetic identity of the conspecific individuals comprising the social environment can have profound effects on female mating preferences via indirect genetic effects (IGEs), or through interspecific indirect genetic effects (IIGEs) if the genotype of heterospecifics influences plasticity in mating preferences. Considerably more work is needed to not only expand our list of mediating intrinsic and extrinsic factors but also to identify how their interaction influences individual variation in male and female mating preferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clint D Kelly
- Département des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888 succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, QC H3C 3P8, Canada.
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13
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Bose APH, Cogliati KM, Luymes N, Bass AH, Marchaterre MA, Sisneros JA, Bolker BM, Balshine S. Phenotypic traits and resource quality as factors affecting male reproductive success in a toadfish. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Aneesh P H Bose
- Aquatic Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience, & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Karen M Cogliati
- Aquatic Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience, & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nick Luymes
- Aquatic Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience, & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andrew H Bass
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | | | - Joseph A Sisneros
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Benjamin M Bolker
- Department of Mathematics & Statistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sigal Balshine
- Aquatic Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience, & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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14
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van Wijk M, Heath J, Lievers R, Schal C, Groot AT. Proximity of signallers can maintain sexual signal variation under stabilizing selection. Sci Rep 2017; 7:18101. [PMID: 29273813 PMCID: PMC5741759 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-17327-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2017] [Accepted: 11/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
How sexual communication systems can evolve under stabilizing selection is still a paradox in evolutionary biology. In moths, females emit a species-specific sex pheromone, consisting of a blend of biochemically related components, to which males are attracted. Although males appear to exert strong stabilizing selection on female pheromone, these blends seem to have evolved rapidly, as evidenced by ~120,000 moth species. Here we propose and test a “proximity model” wherein two females that vary in their relative attractiveness to males, can both benefit from calling in close proximity to each other. In a field study, we show that (1) artificially selected unattractive females can achieve mating rates comparable to attractive females if they signal in close proximity to attractive females, and (2) attractive females benefit from higher mating rates when signalling in close proximity to unattractive females. We propose that frequency-dependent behavioural and spatial interactions can sustain signal variation within populations even when these signals are under stabilizing selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michiel van Wijk
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, 100 Derieux Place, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA. .,Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Jeremy Heath
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, 100 Derieux Place, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Rik Lievers
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Coby Schal
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, 100 Derieux Place, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Astrid T Groot
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, 100 Derieux Place, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.,Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Entomology, Hans Knoell strasse 8, 07745, Jena, Germany
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15
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Male genital titillators and the intensity of post-copulatory sexual selection across bushcrickets. Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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16
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Wulff NC, van de Kamp T, Dos Santos Rolo T, Baumbach T, Lehmann GUC. Copulatory courtship by internal genitalia in bushcrickets. Sci Rep 2017; 7:42345. [PMID: 28169372 PMCID: PMC5294567 DOI: 10.1038/srep42345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2016] [Accepted: 01/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Male genital organs are among the fastest evolving morphological structures. However, large parts of the male's genitalia are often hidden inside the female during mating. In several bushcricket species, males bear a pair of sclerotized genital appendices called titillators. By employing synchrotron-based in vivo X-ray cineradiography on mating couples, we were able to visualize titillator movement and spermatophore attachment inside the female. Titillators are inserted and retracted rhythmically. During insertion the titillator processes tap the soft and sensillae-covered dorsal side of the female's flap-like genital fold, which covers the opening of the female's genitalia, without tissue penetration. Titillators thus appear to be initially used for stimulation; later they may apply pressure that forces the female's genital fold to stay open, thereby aiding mechanically in spermatophore transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadja C Wulff
- Humboldt University Berlin, Department of Biology, Behavioral Physiology, Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas van de Kamp
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Laboratory for Applications of Synchrotron Radiation (LAS), Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany.,Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute for Photon Science and Synchrotron Radiation (IPS), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Tomy Dos Santos Rolo
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute for Photon Science and Synchrotron Radiation (IPS), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Tilo Baumbach
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Laboratory for Applications of Synchrotron Radiation (LAS), Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany.,Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute for Photon Science and Synchrotron Radiation (IPS), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Gerlind U C Lehmann
- Humboldt University Berlin, Department of Biology, Behavioral Physiology, Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
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17
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Ah-King M, Gowaty PA. A conceptual review of mate choice: stochastic demography, within-sex phenotypic plasticity, and individual flexibility. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:4607-42. [PMID: 27547301 PMCID: PMC4979695 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2015] [Revised: 03/11/2016] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Mate choice hypotheses usually focus on trait variation of chosen individuals. Recently, mate choice studies have increasingly attended to the environmental circumstances affecting variation in choosers' behavior and choosers' traits. We reviewed the literature on phenotypic plasticity in mate choice with the goal of exploring whether phenotypic plasticity can be interpreted as individual flexibility in the context of the switch point theorem, SPT (Gowaty and Hubbell 2009). We found >3000 studies; 198 were empirical studies of within‐sex phenotypic plasticity, and sixteen showed no evidence of mate choice plasticity. Most studies reported changes from choosy to indiscriminate behavior of subjects. Investigators attributed changes to one or more causes including operational sex ratio, adult sex ratio, potential reproductive rate, predation risk, disease risk, chooser's mating experience, chooser's age, chooser's condition, or chooser's resources. The studies together indicate that “choosiness” of potential mates is environmentally and socially labile, that is, induced – not fixed – in “the choosy sex” with results consistent with choosers' intrinsic characteristics or their ecological circumstances mattering more to mate choice than the traits of potential mates. We show that plasticity‐associated variables factor into the simpler SPT variables. We propose that it is time to complete the move from questions about within‐sex plasticity in the choosy sex to between‐ and within‐individual flexibility in reproductive decision‐making of both sexes simultaneously. Currently, unanswered empirical questions are about the force of alternative constraints and opportunities as inducers of individual flexibility in reproductive decision‐making, and the ecological, social, and developmental sources of similarities and differences between individuals. To make progress, we need studies (1) of simultaneous and symmetric attention to individual mate preferences and subsequent behavior in both sexes, (2) controlled for within‐individual variation in choice behavior as demography changes, and which (3) report effects on fitness from movement of individual's switch points.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malin Ah-King
- Centre for Gender Research Uppsala University Box 527 SE-751 20 Uppsala Sweden; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 621 Charles E. Young Dr. S.Los Angeles California 90095; Department of Ethnology History of Religions and Gender Studies Stockholm University Universitetsvägen 10 ESE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Patricia Adair Gowaty
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 621 Charles E. Young Dr. S.Los Angeles California 90095; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Box 0948, DPOAA 34002-9998 Washington, D.C; Institute of the Environment and Sustainability University of California Los Angeles California 90095
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Priklopil T, Kisdi E, Gyllenberg M. Evolutionarily stable mating decisions for sequentially searching females and the stability of reproductive isolation by assortative mating. Evolution 2015; 69:1015-26. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.12618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2012] [Accepted: 01/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tadeas Priklopil
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics; University of Helsinki; P.O. Box 68 (Gustaf Hallstromin katu 2b) FI-00014 Helsinki Finland
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria; Am Campus 1 A-3400 Klosterneuburg Austria
| | - Eva Kisdi
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics; University of Helsinki; P.O. Box 68 (Gustaf Hallstromin katu 2b) FI-00014 Helsinki Finland
| | - Mats Gyllenberg
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics; University of Helsinki; P.O. Box 68 (Gustaf Hallstromin katu 2b) FI-00014 Helsinki Finland
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19
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Atwell A, Wagner WE. Female mate choice plasticity is affected by the interaction between male density and female age in a field cricket. Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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20
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Dougherty LR, Shuker DM. The effect of experimental design on the measurement of mate choice: a meta-analysis. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
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21
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Deb R, Balakrishnan R. The opportunity for sampling: the ecological context of female mate choice. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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22
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Lehmann GUC. Weighing costs and benefits of mating in bushcrickets (Insecta: Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae), with an emphasis on nuptial gifts, protandry and mate density. Front Zool 2012; 9:19. [PMID: 22894685 PMCID: PMC3480873 DOI: 10.1186/1742-9994-9-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2012] [Accepted: 06/08/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection is a major force driving evolution and is intertwined with ecological factors. Differential allocation of limited resources has a central role in the cost of reproduction. In this paper, I review the costs and benefits of mating in tettigoniids, focussing on nuptial gifts, their trade-off with male calling songs, protandry and how mate density influences mate choice. Tettigoniids have been widely used as model systems for studies of mating costs and benefits; they can provide useful general insights. The production and exchange of large nuptial gifts by males for mating is an important reproductive strategy in tettigoniids. As predicted by sexual selection theory spermatophylax size is condition dependent and is constrained by the need to invest in calling to attract mates also. Under some circumstances, females benefit directly from the nuptial gifts by an increase in reproductive output. However, compounds in the nuptial gift can also benefit the male by prolonging the period before the female remates. There is also a trade-off between adult male maturation and mating success. Where males mature before females (protandry) the level of protandry varies in the direction predicted by sperm competition theory; namely, early male maturation is correlated with a high level of first inseminations being reproductively successful. Lastly, mate density in bushcrickets is an important environmental factor influencing the behavioural decisions of individuals. Where mates are abundant, individuals are more choosey of mates; when they are scarce, individuals are less choosey. This review reinforces the view that tettigoniids provide excellent models to test and understand the economics of matings in both sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerlind U C Lehmann
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Physiology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 43, Berlin 10115, Germany.
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23
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Computational mate choice: Theory and empirical evidence. Behav Processes 2012; 90:261-77. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2012.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2011] [Revised: 02/17/2012] [Accepted: 02/26/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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24
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Bailey NW, Zuk M. Socially flexible female choice differs among populations of the Pacific field cricket: geographical variation in the interaction coefficient psi (Ψ). Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:3589-96. [PMID: 22648156 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.0631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Indirect genetic effects (IGEs) occur when genes expressed in one individual affect the phenotype of a conspecific. Theoretical models indicate that the evolutionary consequences of IGEs critically depend on the genetic architecture of interacting traits, and on the strength and direction of phenotypic effects arising from social interactions, which can be quantified by the interaction coefficient Ψ. In the context of sexually selected traits, strong positive Ψ tends to exaggerate evolutionary change, whereas negative Ψ impedes sexual trait elaboration. Despite its theoretical importance, whether and how Ψ varies among geographically distinct populations is unknown. Such information is necessary to evaluate the potential for IGEs to contribute to divergence among isolated or semi-isolated populations. Here, we report substantial variation in Ψ for a behavioural trait involved in sexual selection in the field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus: female choosiness. Both the strength and direction of Ψ varied among geographically isolated populations. Ψ also changed over time. In a contemporary population of crickets from Kauai, experience of male song increased female choosiness. In contrast, experience of male song decreased choosiness in an ancestral population from the same location. This rapid change corroborates studies examining the evolvability of Ψ and demonstrates how interpopulation variation in the interaction coefficient might influence sexual selection and accelerate divergence of traits influenced by IGEs that contribute to reproductive isolation in nascent species or subspecies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan W Bailey
- School of Biology, Dyers Brae House, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.
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25
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Vahed K, Lehmann AW, Gilbert JDJ, Lehmann GUC. Increased copulation duration before ejaculate transfer is associated with larger spermatophores, and male genital titillators, across bushcricket taxa. J Evol Biol 2011; 24:1960-8. [PMID: 21658143 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02325.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Copulation duration varies considerably across species, but few comparative studies have examined factors that might underlie such variation. We examined the relationship between copulation duration (prior to spermatophore transfer), the complexity of titillators (sclerotized male genital contact structures), spermatophore mass and male body mass across 54 species of bushcricket. Using phylogenetic comparative analyses, we found that copulation duration was much longer in species with titillators than those without, but it was not longer in species with complex compared with simple titillators. A positive relationship was found between spermatophore size and copulation duration prior to ejaculate transfer, which supports the hypothesis that this represents a period of mate assessment. The slope of this relationship was steeper in species with simple rather than complex titillators. Although the data suggest that the presence of titillators is necessary to maintain long copulation prior to ejaculate transfer, mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Vahed
- Faculty of Education, Health & Sciences, University of Derby, Derby, UK.
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26
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KASUMOVIC MM, HALL MD, TRY H, BROOKS RC. The importance of listening: juvenile allocation shifts in response to acoustic cues of the social environment. J Evol Biol 2011; 24:1325-34. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02267.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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27
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Hoefler CD, Moore JA, Reynolds KT, Rypstra AL. The Effect of Experience on Male Courtship and Mating Behaviors in a Cellar Spider. AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 2010. [DOI: 10.1674/0003-0031-163.2.255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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28
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Mabry K, Stamps J. Searching for a New Home: Decision Making by Dispersing Brush Mice. Am Nat 2008; 172:625-34. [DOI: 10.1086/591682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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29
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Bailey NW. Love will tear you apart: different components of female choice exert contrasting selection pressures on male field crickets. Behav Ecol 2008. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arn054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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