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Crino OL, Head ML, Jennions MD, Noble DWA. Mitochondrial function and sexual selection: can physiology resolve the 'lek paradox'? J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb245569. [PMID: 38206324 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.245569] [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] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Across many taxa, males use elaborate ornaments or complex displays to attract potential mates. Such sexually selected traits are thought to signal important aspects of male 'quality'. Female mating preferences based on sexual traits are thought to have evolved because choosy females gain direct benefits that enhance their lifetime reproductive success (e.g. greater access to food) and/or indirect benefits because high-quality males contribute genes that increase offspring fitness. However, it is difficult to explain the persistence of female preferences when males only provide genetic benefits, because female preferences should erode the heritable genetic variation in fitness that sexually selected traits signal. This 'paradox of the lek' has puzzled evolutionary biologists for decades, and inspired many hypotheses to explain how heritable variation in sexually selected traits is maintained. Here, we discuss how factors that affect mitochondrial function can maintain variation in sexually selected traits despite strong female preferences. We discuss how mitochondrial function can influence the expression of sexually selected traits, and we describe empirical studies that link the expression of sexually selected traits to mitochondrial function. We explain how mothers can affect mitochondrial function in their offspring by (a) influencing their developmental environment through maternal effects and (b) choosing a mate to increase the compatibility of mitochondrial and nuclear genes (i.e. the 'mitonuclear compatibility model of sexual selection'). Finally, we discuss how incorporating mitochondrial function into models of sexual selection might help to resolve the paradox of the lek, and we suggest avenues for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ondi L Crino
- School of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
| | - Megan L Head
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
| | - Michael D Jennions
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
- Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), Wallenberg Centre, 10 Marais Street, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa
| | - Daniel W A Noble
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
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Kovalov V, Kokko H. Fertility signalling games: should males obey the signal? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210499. [PMID: 36934751 PMCID: PMC10024994 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0499] [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: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Game theory is frequently used to study conflicting interests between the two sexes. Males often benefit from a higher mating rate than females do. A temporal component of this conflict has rarely been modelled: females' interest in mating may depend on when females become fertile. This sets conditions for male-female coevolution, where females may develop fertility signals, and males may obey the signal, such that they only target signalling females. Modelling this temporal aspect to sexual conflict yields two equilibria: (i) a trivial equilibrium without signals and with males targeting all females, and (ii) a signalling equilibrium where all females signal before ovulation, and where either some, or all, males obey the signal. The 'all males obey the signal' equilibrium is more likely if we assume that discriminating males have an advantage in postcopulatory sperm competition, while in the absence of this benefit, we find the 'some males obey the signal' equilibrium. The history of game-theoretic models of sex differences often portrays one sex as the 'winner' and the opposite sex as the 'loser'. From early models emphasizing 'battle of the sexes'-style terminology, we recommend moving on to describe the situation as non-signalling equilibria having stronger unresolved sexual conflict than signalling equilibria. This article is part of the theme issue 'Half a century of evolutionary games: a synthesis of theory, application and future directions'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viktor Kovalov
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Hanna Kokko
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1160 Vienna, Austria
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, 00790 University of Helsinki, Finland
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Higher cortisol in muscle correlates with weaker strength of female mate preference in the swordtail fish Xiphophorus multilineatus. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.02.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Size Selective Harvesting Does Not Result in Reproductive Isolation among Experimental Lines of Zebrafish, Danio rerio: Implications for Managing Harvest-Induced Evolution. BIOLOGY 2021; 10:biology10020113. [PMID: 33557025 PMCID: PMC7913724 DOI: 10.3390/biology10020113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Mortality in fish populations is commonly size-selective. In fisheries, larger fish are preferentially caught while natural predators preferentially consume smaller fish. Removal of certain sized fish from populations and elevated fishing mortality constitute a selection pressure which may change life-history, behaviour and reduce adult body-size. Because behaviour and body-size are related and influence mating preferences and reproductive output, size-selective mortality may favour subpopulations that less readily mate with each other. Our aim is to test this possibility using three experimental lines of zebrafish (Danio rerio) generated in laboratory by removing large-sized, small-sized and random-sized fish for five generations. We tested mating preferences among males and females and tested if they spawned together. We found males and females of all subpopulations to reproduce among themselves. Females generally preferred large-sized males. Females of all lines spawned with males, and males of all lines fertilised eggs of females independent of the subpopulation origin. Our study shows that size-selective mortality typical of fisheries or in populations facing heavy predation does not result in evolution of reproductive barriers. Thus, when populations adapted to fishing pressure come in contact with populations unexposed to such pressures, interbreeding may happen thereby helping exploited populations recover from harvest-induced evolution. Abstract Size-selective mortality is common in fish stocks. Positive size-selection happens in fisheries where larger size classes are preferentially targeted while gape-limited natural predation may cause negative size-selection for smaller size classes. As body size and correlated behavioural traits are sexually selected, harvest-induced trait changes may promote prezygotic reproductive barriers among selection lines experiencing differential size-selective mortality. To investigate this, we used three experimental lines of zebrafish (Danio rerio) exposed to positive (large-harvested), negative (small-harvested) and random (control line) size-selective mortality for five generations. We tested prezygotic preferences through choice tests and spawning trials. In the preference tests without controlling for body size, we found that females of all lines preferred males of the generally larger small-harvested line. When the body size of stimulus fish was statistically controlled, this preference disappeared and a weak evidence of line-assortative preference emerged, but only among large-harvested line fish. In subsequent spawning trials, we did not find evidence for line-assortative reproductive allocation in any of the lines. Our study suggests that size-selection due to fisheries or natural predation does not result in reproductive isolation. Gene flow between wild-populations and populations adapted to size-selected mortality may happen during secondary contact which can speed up trait recovery.
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Culumber ZW, Engel N, Travis J, Hughes KA. Larger female brains do not reduce male sexual coercion. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.11.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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Lemieux V, Garant D, Reale D, Bergeron P. Spatio-temporal variation in oxidative status regulation in a small mammal. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7801. [PMID: 31608176 PMCID: PMC6788435 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2019] [Accepted: 08/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Life-history allocation trade-offs are dynamic over time and space according to the ecological and demographical context. Fluctuations in food availability can affect physiological trade-offs like oxidative status regulation, reflecting the balance between pro-oxidant production and antioxidant capacity. Monitoring the spatio-temporal stability of oxidative status in natural settings may help understanding its importance in ecological and evolutionary processes. However, few studies have yet conducted such procedures in wild populations. Here, we monitored individual oxidative status in a wild eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) population across the 2017 summer active period and over three study sites. Oxidative damage (MDA: Malondialdehyde levels) and non-enzymatic antioxidant levels (FRAP: Ferric reducing antioxidant power and HASC: Hypochlorous acid shock capacity) were quantified across time and space using assays optimized for small blood volumes. Our results showed an increase in oxidative damage mirrored by a decrease in FRAP throughout the season. We also found different antioxidant levels among our three study sites for both markers. Our results also revealed the effects of sex and body mass on oxidative status. Early in the active season, females and individuals with a greater body mass had higher oxidative damage. Males had higher HASC levels than females throughout the summer. This study shows that oxidative status regulation is a dynamic process that requires a detailed spatial and temporal monitoring to yield a complete picture of possible trade-offs between pro-oxidant production and antioxidant capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Lemieux
- Départment de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada
- Biological Sciences, Bishop’s University, Sherbrooke, Canada
| | - Dany Garant
- Départment de biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada
| | - Denis Reale
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Canada
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Giery ST, Layman CA. Ecological Consequences Of Sexually Selected Traits: An Eco-Evolutionary Perspective. QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1086/702341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Gedir JV, Law PR, du Preez P, Linklater WL. Effects of age and sex ratios on offspring recruitment rates in translocated black rhinoceros. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2018; 32:628-637. [PMID: 28940809 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2017] [Revised: 08/11/2017] [Accepted: 09/16/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Success of animal translocations depends on improving postrelease demographic rates toward establishment and subsequent growth of released populations. Short-term metrics for evaluating translocation success and its drivers, like postrelease survival and fecundity, are unlikely to represent longer-term outcomes. We used information theory to investigate 25 years of data on black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) translocations. We used the offspring recruitment rate (ORR) of translocated females-a metric integrating survival, fecundity, and offspring recruitment at sexual maturity-to detect determinants of success. Our unambiguously best model (AICω = 0.986) predicted that ORR increases with female age at release as a function of lower postrelease adult rhinoceros sex ratio (males:females). Delay of first postrelease reproduction and failure of some females to recruit any calves to sexual maturity most influenced the pattern of ORRs, and the leading causes of recruitment failure were postrelease female death (23% of all females) and failure to calve (24% of surviving females). We recommend translocating older females (≥6 years old) because they do not exhibit the reproductive delay and low ORRs of juveniles (<4 years old) or the higher rates of recruitment failure of juveniles and young adults (4-5.9 years old). Where translocation of juveniles is necessary, they should be released into female-biased populations, where they have higher ORRs. Our study offers the unique advantage of a long-term analysis across a large number of replicate populations-a science-by-management experiment as a proxy for a manipulative experiment, and a rare opportunity, particularly for a large, critically endangered taxon such as the black rhinoceros. Our findings differ from previous recommendations, reinforce the importance of long-term data sets and comprehensive metrics of translocation success, and suggest attention be shifted from ecological to social constraints on population growth and species recovery, particularly when translocating species with polygynous breeding systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jay V Gedir
- Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand
| | - Peter R Law
- Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa
| | - Pierre du Preez
- Directorate of Wildlife and National Parks, Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Etosha National Park, Namibia
| | - Wayne L Linklater
- Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand
- Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Jerry
- Department of Biological Sciences; Macquarie University; Sydney NSW Australia
| | - Culum Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences; Macquarie University; Sydney NSW Australia
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Greenway R, Drexler S, Arias‐Rodriguez L, Tobler M. Adaptive, but not condition‐dependent, body shape differences contribute to assortative mating preferences during ecological speciation. Evolution 2016; 70:2809-2822. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.13087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2016] [Revised: 09/26/2016] [Accepted: 09/27/2016] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Greenway
- Division of Biology Kansas State University Manhattan Kansas 66506
| | - Shannon Drexler
- Department of Biology University of Wisconsin‐Platteville 1 University Plaza Platteville Wisconsin 53818
| | - Lenin Arias‐Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco Villahermosa Tabasco México
| | - Michael Tobler
- Division of Biology Kansas State University Manhattan Kansas 66506
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Dadda M. Female social response to male sexual harassment in poeciliid fish: a comparison of six species. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1453. [PMID: 26483719 PMCID: PMC4586586 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2015] [Accepted: 09/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual harassment is common among poeciliid fish. In some fishes, males show a high frequency of sneak copulation; such sexual activity is costly to the females in terms of foraging efficiency. In mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki), when males are present, the distance between females tends to decrease, and this behavior has been interpreted as an adaptive strategy to dilute the costs of male sexual activity. In this study, the tendency to reduce distance in the presence of a male has been investigated in females of six poeciliid species (Girardinus metallicus, Girardinus falcatus, G. holbrooki, Poecilia reticulata, Xiphophorus hellerii, and Xiphophorus mayae) that exhibit different male mating strategies and different levels of sexual activity. Results revealed large interspecific differences in the pattern of female aggregation. Females of species with a high frequency of sneak copulations tended to reduce their social distance in the presence of a male. By contrast, species that rely mainly on courtship showed little or no variation in social distance. The proportion of sneak copulations predicts the degree of variation in female social response, but the amount of total sexual activity does not, suggesting that the change in females' social distance when a male is present may indeed serve to reduce the costs of male sexual harassment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Dadda
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova Padova, Italy ; Centro di Neuroscienze Cognitive, Università di Padova Padova, Italy
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Uccheddu S, Body G, Weladji RB, Holand Ø, Nieminen M. Foraging competition in larger groups overrides harassment avoidance benefits in female reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). Oecologia 2015; 179:711-8. [PMID: 26188521 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3392-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2014] [Accepted: 07/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Male harassment toward females during the breeding season may have a negative effect on their reproductive success by disturbing their foraging activity, thereby inducing somatic costs. Accordingly, it is predicted that females will choose mates based on their ability to provide protection or will aggregate into large groups to dilute per capita harassment level. Conversely, increasing group size may also lead to a decrease in foraging activity by increasing foraging competition, but this effect has rarely been considered in mating tactic studies. This study examined the importance of two non-exclusive hypotheses in explaining the variations of the female activity budget during the breeding season: the male harassment hypothesis, and the female foraging competition hypothesis. We used focal observations of female activity from known mating groups collected during the breeding season from a long-term (15 years) study on reindeer Rangifer tarandus. We found that females were more disturbed (i.e., spent less time feeding) in the presence of young dominant males, and marginally disturbed in the presence of satellite males, which supports the male harassment hypothesis. We also found that female disturbance level increased with group size, being independent of the adult sex ratio. Consequently, these results rejected the dilution effect, but strongly supported the foraging competition hypothesis. This study therefore highlights a potential conflict in female behaviour. Indeed, any gains from harassment protection were negated by an increase of 6-7 females, since adult males lead larger groups than young males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefania Uccheddu
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Guillaume Body
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Robert B Weladji
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H4B 1R6, Canada.
| | - Øystein Holand
- Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
| | - Mauri Nieminen
- Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, Reindeer Research Station, Kaamanen, Finland
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Wey TW, Chang AT, Montiglio PO, Fogarty S, Sih A. Linking short-term behavior and personalities to feeding and mating rates in female water striders. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
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Severns PM, Breed GA. Behavioral consequences of exotic host plant adoption and the differing roles of male harassment on female movement in two checkerspot butterflies. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1693-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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Johnson SL, Brockmann HJ. Alternative reproductive tactics in female horseshoe crabs. Behav Ecol 2012. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ars063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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