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House CM, Duffield K, Rapkin J, Sakaluk SK, Hunt J. The transfer of male cuticular hydrocarbons provides a reliable cue of the risk and intensity of sperm competition in decorated crickets. Evolution 2024; 78:1606-1618. [PMID: 38864438 DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpae088] [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: 02/27/2024] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Theoretically, males should increase their ejaculate expenditure when the probability of sperm competition occurring (or risk) is high but decrease ejaculate expenditure as the number of competing ejaculates (or intensity) increases. Here we examine whether male decorated crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) use cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) transferred to females by rival males at mating to assess the risk and intensity of sperm competition and adjust their ejaculate accordingly. Unmated females and those perfumed with CHCs extracted from one, three, or five males could be distinguished chemically, providing a reliable cue of the risk and intensity of sperm competition. In agreement with theory, males mating with these females increased sperm number with the risk of sperm competition and decreased sperm number with the intensity of sperm competition. Similarly, as the risk of sperm competition increased, males produced a larger and more attractive spermatophylax (an important non-sperm component of the ejaculate) but these traits did not vary with the intensity of sperm competition. Our results therefore demonstrate that both sperm and non-sperm components of the male ejaculate respond to the risk and intensity of sperm competition in different ways and that CHCs provide males with an important cue to strategically tailor their ejaculate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clarissa M House
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Hawkesbury Campus, Locked Bag 1797, Richmond, NSW 2753, Australia
| | - Kristin Duffield
- Crop Bioprotection Research Unit, National Centre for Agricultural Utilization Research, USDA-ARS, Peoria, IL 61604, United States
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790, United States
| | - James Rapkin
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn TR10 9EZ, United Kingdom
| | - Scott K Sakaluk
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790, United States
| | - John Hunt
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Hawkesbury Campus, Locked Bag 1797, Richmond, NSW 2753, Australia
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn TR10 9EZ, United Kingdom
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2
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Steurer M, Ruther J, Pokorny T. Behavioural consequences of intraspecific variability in a mate recognition signal. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232518. [PMID: 38444335 PMCID: PMC10915540 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2518] [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: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Mate recognition is paramount for sexually reproducing animals, and many insects rely on cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) for close-range sexual communication. To ensure reliable mate recognition, intraspecific sex pheromone variability should be low. However, CHCs can be influenced by several factors, with the resulting variability potentially impacting sexual communication. While intraspecific CHC variability is a common phenomenon, the consequences thereof for mate recognition remain largely unknown. We investigated the effect of CHC variability on male responses in a parasitoid wasp showing a clear-cut within-population CHC polymorphism (three distinct female chemotypes, one thereof similar to male profiles). Males clearly discriminated between female and male CHCs, but not between female chemotypes in no-choice assays. When given a choice, a preference hierarchy emerged. Interestingly, the most attractive chemotype was the one most similar to male profiles. Mixtures of female CHCs were as attractive as chemotype-pure ones, while a female-male mixture negatively impacted male responses, indicating assessment of the entire, complex CHC profile composition. Our study reveals that the evaluation of CHC profiles can be strict towards 'undesirable' features, but simultaneously tolerant enough to cover a range of variants. This reconciles reliable mate recognition with naturally occurring variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian Steurer
- Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstrasse 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Joachim Ruther
- Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstrasse 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Tamara Pokorny
- Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstrasse 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
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Groot AT, Blankers T, Halfwerk W, Burdfield Steel E. The Evolutionary Importance of Intraspecific Variation in Sexual Communication Across Sensory Modalities. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2024; 69:21-40. [PMID: 37562048 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-030223-111608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of sexual communication is critically important in the diversity of arthropods, which are declining at a fast pace worldwide. Their environments are rapidly changing, with increasing chemical, acoustic, and light pollution. To predict how arthropod species will respond to changing climates, habitats, and communities, we need to understand how sexual communication systems can evolve. In the past decades, intraspecific variation in sexual signals and responses across different modalities has been identified, but never in a comparative way. In this review, we identify and compare the level and extent of intraspecific variation in sexual signals and responses across three different modalities, chemical, acoustic, and visual, focusing mostly on insects. By comparing causes and possible consequences of intraspecific variation in sexual communication among these modalities, we identify shared and unique patterns, as well as knowledge needed to predict the evolution of sexual communication systems in arthropods in a changing world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Astrid T Groot
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands; , ,
| | - Thomas Blankers
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands; , ,
| | - Wouter Halfwerk
- Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment (A-LIFE), VU Amsterdam, Netherlands;
| | - Emily Burdfield Steel
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands; , ,
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Mitchell C, Wylde Z, Del Castillo E, Rapkin J, House CM, Hunt J. Beauty or function? The opposing effects of natural and sexual selection on cuticular hydrocarbons in male black field crickets. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:1266-1281. [PMID: 37534753 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14198] [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: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Although many theoretical models of male sexual trait evolution assume that sexual selection is countered by natural selection, direct empirical tests of this assumption are relatively uncommon. Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are known to play an important role not only in restricting evaporative water loss but also in sexual signalling in most terrestrial arthropods. Insects adjusting their CHC layer for optimal desiccation resistance is often thought to come at the expense of successful sexual attraction, suggesting that natural and sexual selection are in opposition for this trait. In this study, we sampled the CHCs of male black field crickets (Teleogryllus commodus) using solid-phase microextraction and then either measured their evaporative water loss or mating success. We then used multivariate selection analysis to quantify the strength and form of natural and sexual selection targeting male CHCs. Both natural and sexual selection imposed significant linear and stabilizing selection on male CHCs, although for very different combinations. Natural selection largely favoured an increase in the total abundance of CHCs, especially those with a longer chain length. In contrast, mating success peaked at a lower total abundance of CHCs and declined as CHC abundance increased. However, mating success did improve with an increase in a number of specific CHC components that also increased evaporative water loss. Importantly, this resulted in the combination of male CHCs favoured by natural selection and sexual selection being strongly opposing. Our findings suggest that the balance between natural and sexual selection is likely to play an important role in the evolution of male CHCs in T. commodus and may help explain why CHCs are so divergent across populations and species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Mitchell
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Zachariah Wylde
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Hawkesbury Campus, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Enrique Del Castillo
- Department of Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering and Department of Statistics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - James Rapkin
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Clarissa M House
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Hawkesbury Campus, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
| | - John Hunt
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, UK
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Hawkesbury Campus, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
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Hare RM, Larsdotter-Mellström H, Simmons LW. Sexual dimorphism in cuticular hydrocarbons and their potential use in mating in a bushcricket with dynamic sex roles. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Berson JD, Zuk M, Simmons LW. Natural and sexual selection on cuticular hydrocarbons: a quantitative genetic analysis. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 286:20190677. [PMID: 31064302 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
While the reproductive benefits of sexual displays have been widely studied, we have relatively limited evidence of the fitness costs associated with most display traits. Insect cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles are sexually selected traits that also protect against desiccation. These two functions are thought to oppose each other, with investment in particular compounds believed to increase attractiveness at the expense of compounds that protect against water loss. We investigated this potential trade-off in a quantitative genetic framework using the Australian field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus. Several compounds were significantly genetically correlated with either attractiveness or desiccation resistance. Of these compounds, one was negatively genetically correlated with attractiveness but positively genetically correlated with desiccation resistance. Furthermore, scoring each individual's overall CHC profile for its level of attractiveness and desiccation resistance indicated a negative genetic correlation between these multivariate phenotypes. Together, our results provide evidence for a genetic trade-off between sexually and naturally selected functions of the CHC profile. We suggest that the production of an attractive CHC profile may be costly for males, but highlight the need for further work to support this finding experimentally. Genetic covariation between the CHC profile and attractiveness suggests that females can gain attractive sons through female choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob D Berson
- 1 Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia , Crawley, Western Australia 6009 , Australia
| | - Marlene Zuk
- 2 Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, and Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota , Twin Cities, St Paul, MN 55108 , USA
| | - Leigh W Simmons
- 1 Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia , Crawley, Western Australia 6009 , Australia
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7
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Vedenina VY, Shestakov LS. Loser in Fight but Winner in Love: How Does Inter-Male Competition Determine the Pattern and Outcome of Courtship in Cricket Gryllus bimaculatus? Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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8
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Berson JD, Simmons LW. A costly chemical trait: phenotypic condition dependence of cuticular hydrocarbons in a dung beetle. J Evol Biol 2018; 31:1772-1781. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Revised: 08/08/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob D. Berson
- School of Biological Sciences Centre for Evolutionary Biology The University of Western Australia Crawley WA Australia
| | - Leigh W. Simmons
- School of Biological Sciences Centre for Evolutionary Biology The University of Western Australia Crawley WA Australia
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9
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Berson JD, Simmons LW. Sexual selection across sensory modalities: female choice of male behavioral and gustatory displays. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob D Berson
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Leigh W Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
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Rapkin J, Jensen K, House CM, Sakaluk SK, Sakaluk JK, Hunt J. The complex interplay between macronutrient intake, cuticular hydrocarbon expression and mating success in male decorated crickets. J Evol Biol 2017; 30:711-727. [PMID: 28029711 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2016] [Revised: 11/30/2016] [Accepted: 12/22/2016] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The condition dependence of male sexual traits plays a central role in sexual selection theory. Relatively little, however, is known about the condition dependence of chemical signals used in mate choice and their subsequent effects on male mating success. Furthermore, few studies have isolated the specific nutrients responsible for condition-dependent variation in male sexual traits. Here, we used nutritional geometry to determine the effect of protein (P) and carbohydrate (C) intake on male cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) expression and mating success in male decorated crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus). We show that both traits are maximized at a moderate-to-high intake of nutrients in a P:C ratio of 1 : 1.5. We also show that female precopulatory mate choice exerts a complex pattern of linear and quadratic sexual selection on this condition-dependent variation in male CHC expression. Structural equation modelling revealed that although the effect of nutrient intake on mating success is mediated through condition-dependent CHC expression, it is not exclusively so, suggesting that other traits must also play an important role. Collectively, our results suggest that the complex interplay between nutrient intake, CHC expression and mating success plays an important role in the operation of sexual selection in G. sigillatus.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Rapkin
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
| | - K Jensen
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK.,Department of Bioscience, Terrestrial Ecology, Aarhus University, Silkeborg, Denmark
| | - C M House
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK.,School of Science and Health, and Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
| | - S K Sakaluk
- Behaviour, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
| | - J K Sakaluk
- Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | - J Hunt
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK.,School of Science and Health, and Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
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11
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Lane SM, Dickinson AW, Tregenza T, House CM. Sexual Selection on male cuticular hydrocarbons via male-male competition and female choice. J Evol Biol 2016; 29:1346-55. [PMID: 27037514 PMCID: PMC4999037 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2015] [Accepted: 03/31/2016] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Traditional views of sexual selection assumed that male–male competition and female mate choice work in harmony, selecting upon the same traits in the same direction. However, we now know that this is not always the case and that these two mechanisms often impose conflicting selection on male sexual traits. Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) have been shown to be linked to both social dominance and male attractiveness in several insect species. However, although several studies have estimated the strength and form of sexual selection imposed on male CHCs by female mate choice, none have established whether these chemical traits are also subject to sexual selection via male–male competition. Using a multivariate selection analysis, we estimate and compare sexual selection exerted by male–male competition and female mate choice on male CHC composition in the broad‐horned flour beetle Gnatocerus cornutus. We show that male–male competition exerts strong linear selection on both overall CHC abundance and body size in males, while female mate choice exerts a mixture of linear and nonlinear selection, targeting not just the overall amount of CHCs expressed but the relative abundance of specific hydrocarbons as well. We discuss the potential implications of this antagonistic selection with regard to male reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- S M Lane
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall, UK
| | - A W Dickinson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall, UK
| | - T Tregenza
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall, UK
| | - C M House
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall, UK
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