1
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Lymbery SJ, Tomkins JL, Buzatto BA, Hosken DJ. Kin-mediated plasticity in alternative reproductive tactics. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211069. [PMID: 34344179 PMCID: PMC8334832 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1069] [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: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Conditional strategies occur when the relative fitness pay-off from expressing a given phenotype is contingent upon environmental circumstances. This conditional strategy model underlies cases of alternative reproductive tactics, in which individuals of one sex employ different means to obtain reproduction. How kin structure affects the expression of alternative reproductive tactics remains unexplored. We address this using the mite Rhizoglyphus echinopus, in which large males develop into aggressive 'fighters' and small males develop into non-aggressive 'scramblers.' Because only fighters kill their rivals, they should incur a greater indirect fitness cost when competing with their relatives, and thus fighter expression could be reduced in the presence of relatives. We raised mites in full-sibling or mixed-sibship groups and found that fighters were more common at higher body weights in full-sibling groups, not less common as we predicted (small individuals were almost exclusively scramblers in both treatments). This result could be explained if relatedness and cue variability are interpreted signals of population density, since fighters are more common at low densities in this species. Alternatively, our results may indicate that males compete more intensely with relatives in this species. We provide the first evidence of kin-mediated plasticity in the expression of alternative reproductive tactics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J. Lymbery
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9EZ, Cornwall, UK
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Joseph L. Tomkins
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Bruno A. Buzatto
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, Western Australia, Australia
- Department of Biological Sciences (E8C 209), Macquarie University, Sydney 2109, New South Wales, Australia
| | - David J. Hosken
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9EZ, Cornwall, UK
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2
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Han CS, Brooks RC, Dingemanse NJ. Condition-Dependent Mutual Mate Preference and Intersexual Genetic Correlations for Mating Activity. Am Nat 2020; 195:997-1008. [PMID: 32469657 DOI: 10.1086/708497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Although mating represents a mutual interaction, the study of mate preferences has long focused on choice in one sex and preferred traits in the other. This has certainly been the case in the study of the costs and condition-dependent expression of mating preferences, with the majority of studies concerning female preference. The condition dependence and genetic architecture of mutual mate preferences remain largely unstudied, despite their likely relevance for the evolution of preferences and of mating behavior more generally. Here we measured (a) male and female mate preferences and (b) intersexual genetic correlations for the mating activity in pedigreed populations of southern field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) raised on a favorable (free-choice) or a stressful (protein-deprived) diet. In the favorable dietary environment, mutual mate preferences were strong, and the intersexual genetic covariance for mating activity was not different from one. However, in the stressful dietary environment, mutual mate preferences were weak, and the intersexual genetic covariance for mating activity was significantly smaller than one. Altogether, our results show that diet environments affect the expression of genetic variation in mating behaviors: when the environment is stressful, both (a) the strength of mutual mate preference and (b) intersexual genetic covariance for mating activity tend to be weaker. This implies that mating dynamics strongly vary across environments.
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3
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Heggeseth B, Sim D, Partida L, Maroja LS. Influence of female cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profile on male courtship behavior in two hybridizing field crickets Gryllus firmus and Gryllus pennsylvanicus. BMC Evol Biol 2020; 20:21. [PMID: 32019492 PMCID: PMC7001378 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-020-1587-9] [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: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The hybridizing field crickets, Gryllus firmus and Gryllus pennsylvanicus have several barriers that prevent gene flow between species. The behavioral pre-zygotic mating barrier, where males court conspecifics more intensely than heterospecifics, is important because by acting earlier in the life cycle it has the potential to prevent a larger fraction of hybridization. The mechanism behind such male mate preference is unknown. Here we investigate if the female cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profile could be the signal behind male courtship. Results While males of the two species display nearly identical CHC profiles, females have different, albeit overlapping profiles and some females (between 15 and 45%) of both species display a male-like profile distinct from profiles of typical females. We classified CHC females profile into three categories: G. firmus-like (F; including mainly G. firmus females), G. pennsylvanicus-like (P; including mainly G. pennsylvanicus females), and male-like (ML; including females of both species). Gryllus firmus males courted ML and F females more often and faster than they courted P females (p < 0.05). Gryllus pennsylvanicus males were slower to court than G. firmus males, but courted ML females more often (p < 0.05) than their own conspecific P females (no difference between P and F). Both males courted heterospecific ML females more often than other heterospecific females (p < 0.05, significant only for G. firmus males). Conclusions Our results suggest that male mate preference is at least partially informed by female CHC profile and that ML females elicit high courtship behavior in both species. Since ML females exist in both species and are preferred over other heterospecific females, it is likely that this female type is responsible for most hybrid offspring production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brianna Heggeseth
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, USA.,Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Danielle Sim
- Department of Biology, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, USA
| | - Laura Partida
- Department of Biology, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, USA
| | - Luana S Maroja
- Department of Biology, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, USA.
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4
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Lymbery SJ, Simmons LW. Gustatory cues to kinship among males moderate the productivity of females. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractMales of many species harm females as a byproduct of intrasexual competition, but this harm can be reduced if males are less competitive in the presence of familiar relatives. We determined the cue males use to identify competitors in this context. We assessed genetic variance in a putative kin recognition trait (cuticular hydrocarbons) in male seed beetles Callosobruchus maculatus and found that five hydrocarbons had significant components of additive genetic variance and could serve as relatedness cues. Next, we tested whether hydrocarbons were the mechanism males use to distinguish the social identities of competitors when strategically adjusting their competitiveness/harmfulness. Pairs of female and male C. maculatus were mated in the presence of hydrocarbons extracted from males that differed in their relatedness and familiarity to the focal male. Females were more productive after mating in the presence of extracts from the focal male’s nonrelatives, if those extracts were also unfamiliar to the focal male. Relatedness had no effect on productivity when extracts were familiar to the focal male. These results may be reconciled with those of previous studies that manipulated the relatedness and familiarity of competing males if the difference between the effect of harmfulness on productivity following a single mating and the effect on lifetime reproductive fitness after multiple matings is accounted for. This study provides a novel demonstration of the mechanism of social recognition in the moderation of sexual conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J Lymbery
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Leigh W Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
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5
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Hosken DJ, Wilson AJ. The problem of measuring trait-preference correlations without disrupting them. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
A key element at the heart of the Fisher–Lande–Kirkpatrick model of the sexual selection process is the genetic correlation between (male) trait and (female) preference. The strength of this association is critical in determining a population’s evolutionary trajectory, which is why estimating its magnitude is so important. In the Lande model, the trait-preference correlation is solely established and maintained by mate choice, and although it is unclear how exclusively mate choice does this in nature, the experimental designs typically employed to measure trait-preference genetic correlations could be systematically weakening estimates by not allowing free mate choice (similarly with husbandry practices). The precise impact of the problem is unknown, and possibly unknowable, but simple solutions can be applied to ensure the accuracy of trait-preference correlation estimates is maximized.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Hosken
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall, Penryn, UK
| | - Alastair J Wilson
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall, Penryn, UK
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6
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Hawkes MF, Duffy E, Joag R, Skeats A, Radwan J, Wedell N, Sharma MD, Hosken DJ, Troscianko J. Sexual selection drives the evolution of male wing interference patterns. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20182850. [PMID: 31138076 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The seemingly transparent wings of many insects have recently been found to display unexpected structural coloration. These structural colours (wing interference patterns: WIPs) may be involved in species recognition and mate choice, yet little is known about the evolutionary processes that shape them. Furthermore, to date investigations of WIPs have not fully considered how they are actually perceived by the viewers' colour vision. Here, we use multispectral digital imaging and a model of Drosophila vision to compare WIPs of male and female Drosophila simulans from replicate populations forced to evolve with or without sexual selection for 68 generations. We show that WIPs modelled in Drosophila vision evolve in response to sexual selection and provide evidence that WIPs correlate with male sexual attractiveness. These findings add a new element to the otherwise well-described Drosophila courtship display and confirm that wing colours evolve through sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- M F Hawkes
- 1 Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter , Tremough, Penryn TR10 9FE , UK
| | - E Duffy
- 1 Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter , Tremough, Penryn TR10 9FE , UK.,2 Institute of Environmental Science, Jagiellonian University , Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Krakow , Poland
| | - R Joag
- 1 Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter , Tremough, Penryn TR10 9FE , UK.,2 Institute of Environmental Science, Jagiellonian University , Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Krakow , Poland
| | - A Skeats
- 1 Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter , Tremough, Penryn TR10 9FE , UK
| | - J Radwan
- 2 Institute of Environmental Science, Jagiellonian University , Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Krakow , Poland.,3 Evolutionary Biology Group, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University , Umultowska 7, 61-614 Poznan , Poland
| | - N Wedell
- 1 Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter , Tremough, Penryn TR10 9FE , UK
| | - M D Sharma
- 1 Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter , Tremough, Penryn TR10 9FE , UK
| | - D J Hosken
- 1 Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter , Tremough, Penryn TR10 9FE , UK
| | - J Troscianko
- 1 Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter , Tremough, Penryn TR10 9FE , UK
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7
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Plesnar-Bielak A, Skwierzyńska AM, Hlebowicz K, Radwan J. Relative costs and benefits of alternative reproductive phenotypes at different temperatures - genotype-by-environment interactions in a sexually selected trait. BMC Evol Biol 2018; 18:109. [PMID: 29996775 PMCID: PMC6042425 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-018-1226-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2018] [Accepted: 06/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The maintenance of considerable genetic variation in sexually selected traits (SSTs) is puzzling given directional selection expected to act on these traits. A possible explanation is the existence of a genotype-by-environment (GxE) interaction for fitness, by which elaborate SSTs are favored in some environments but selected against in others. In the current study, we look for such interactions for fitness-related traits in the bulb mite, a male-dimorphic species with discontinuous expression of a heritable SST in the form of enlarged legs that are used as weapons. Results We show that evolution at 18 °C resulted in populations with a higher prevalence of this SST compared to evolution at 24 °C. We further demonstrate that temperature modified male reproductive success in a way that was consistent with these changes. There was a genotype-by-environment interaction for reproductive success – at 18 °C the relative reproductive success of armored males competing with unarmored ones was higher than at the moderate temperature of 24 °C. However, male morph did not have interactive effects with temperature with respect to other life history traits (development time and longevity). Conclusions A male genotype that is associated with the expression of a SST interacted with temperature in determining male reproductive success. This interaction caused an elaborate SST to evolve in different directions (more or less prevalent) depending on the thermal environment. The implication of this finding is that seasonal temperature fluctuations have the potential to maintain male polymorphism within populations. Furthermore, spatial heterogeneity in thermal conditions may cause differences among populations in SST selection. This could potentially cause selection against male immigrants from populations in different environments and thus strengthen barriers to gene flow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agata Plesnar-Bielak
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387, Kraków, Poland.
| | - Anna Maria Skwierzyńska
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387, Kraków, Poland
| | - Kasper Hlebowicz
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387, Kraków, Poland
| | - Jacek Radwan
- Evolutionary Biology Group, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
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8
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Butterworth NJ, Byrne PG, Keller PA, Wallman JF. Body Odor and Sex: Do Cuticular Hydrocarbons Facilitate Sexual Attraction in the Small Hairy Maggot Blowfly? J Chem Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10886-018-0943-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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9
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Chapman NC, Siriwat P, Howie J, Towlson A, Bellamy L, Fowler K, Pomiankowski A. The complexity of mating decisions in stalk-eyed flies. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:6659-6668. [PMID: 28904748 PMCID: PMC5587473 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2017] [Revised: 06/12/2017] [Accepted: 06/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
All too often, studies of sexual selection focus exclusively on the responses in one sex, on single traits, typically those that are exaggerated and strongly sexually dimorphic. They ignore a range of less obvious traits and behavior, in both sexes, involved in the interactions leading to mate choice. To remedy this imbalance, we analyze a textbook example of sexual selection in the stalk-eyed fly (Diasemopsis meigenii). We studied several traits in a novel, insightful, and efficient experimental design, examining 2,400 male-female pairs in a "round-robin" array, where each female was tested against multiple males and vice versa. In D. meigenii, females exhibit strong mate preference for males with highly exaggerated eyespan, and so we deliberately constrained variation in male eyespan to reveal the importance of other traits. Males performing more precopulatory behavior were more likely to attempt to mate with females and be accepted by them. However, behavior was not a necessary part of courtship, as it was absent from over almost half the interactions. Males with larger reproductive organs (testes and accessory glands) did not make more mating attempts, but there was a strong tendency for females to accept mating attempts from such males. How females detect differences in male reproductive organ size remains unclear. In addition, females with larger eyespan, an indicator of size and fecundity, attracted more mating attempts from males, but this trait did not alter female acceptance. Genetic variation among males had a strong influence on male mating attempts and female acceptance, both via the traits we studied and other unmeasured attributes. These findings demonstrate the importance of assaying multiple traits in males and females, rather than focusing solely on prominent and exaggerated sexually dimorphic traits. The approach allows a more complete understanding of the complex mating decisions made by both males and females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine C. Chapman
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and EnvironmentUniversity College LondonLondonUK
- School of Life and Environmental ScienceUniversity of SydneySydneyNSWAustralia
| | - Penthai Siriwat
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and EnvironmentUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - James Howie
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and EnvironmentUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Aaron Towlson
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and EnvironmentUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Lawrence Bellamy
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and EnvironmentUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Kevin Fowler
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and EnvironmentUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Andrew Pomiankowski
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and EnvironmentUniversity College LondonLondonUK
- CoMPLEXUniversity College LondonLondonUK
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10
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Archer CR, Stephens RM, Sharma MD, Hosken DJ. The Drosophila simulans Y chromosome interacts with the autosomes to influence male fitness. J Evol Biol 2017; 30:1821-1825. [PMID: 28703322 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2017] [Revised: 06/09/2017] [Accepted: 07/08/2017] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The Y chromosome should degenerate because it cannot recombine. However, male-limited transmission increases selection efficiency for male-benefit alleles on the Y, and therefore, Y chromosomes should contribute significantly to variation in male fitness. This means that although the Drosophila Y chromosome is small and gene-poor, Y-linked genes are vital for male fertility in Drosophila melanogaster and the Y chromosome has large male fitness effects. It is unclear whether the same pattern is seen in the closely related Drosophila simulans. We backcrossed Y chromosomes from three geographic locations into five genetic backgrounds and found strong Y and genetic background effects on male fertility. There was a significant Y-background interaction, indicating substantial epistasis between the Y and autosomal genes affecting male fertility. This supports accumulating evidence that interactions between the Y chromosome and the autosomes are key determinants of male fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- C R Archer
- Science and Engineering Research Support Facility Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - R M Stephens
- Science and Engineering Research Support Facility Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - M D Sharma
- Science and Engineering Research Support Facility Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - D J Hosken
- Science and Engineering Research Support Facility Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
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11
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12
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Travers LM, Garcia-Gonzalez F, Simmons LW. Genetic variation but weak genetic covariation between pre- and post-copulatory episodes of sexual selection in Drosophila melanogaster. J Evol Biol 2016; 29:1535-52. [PMID: 27159063 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2016] [Revised: 04/20/2016] [Accepted: 04/29/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
When females mate polyandrously, male reproductive success depends both on the male's ability to attain matings and on his ability to outcompete rival males in the fertilization of ova post-copulation. Increased investment in ejaculate components may trade off with investment in precopulatory traits due to resource allocation. Alternatively, pre- and post-copulatory traits could be positively related if individuals can afford to invest heavily in traits advantageous at both episodes of selection. There is empirical evidence for both positive and negative associations between pre- and post-copulatory episodes, but little is known about the genetic basis of these correlations. In this study, we measured morphological, chemical and behavioural precopulatory male traits and investigated their relationship with measures of male fitness (male mating success, remating inhibition and offensive sperm competitiveness) across 40 isofemale lines of Drosophila melanogaster. We found significant variation among isofemale lines, indicating a genetic basis for most of the traits investigated. However, we found weak evidence for genetic correlations between precopulatory traits and our indices of male fitness. Moreover, pre- and post-copulatory episodes of selection were uncorrelated, suggesting selection may act independently at the different episodes to maximize male reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- L M Travers
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - F Garcia-Gonzalez
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.,Doñana Biological Station, Spanish Research Council CSIC, Isla de la Cartuja, Seville, Spain
| | - L W Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
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13
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Ala-Honkola O, Manier MK. Multiple mechanisms of cryptic female choice act on intraspecific male variation in Drosophila simulans. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2069-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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14
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Insect Cuticular Hydrocarbons as Dynamic Traits in Sexual Communication. INSECTS 2015; 6:732-42. [PMID: 26463413 PMCID: PMC4598662 DOI: 10.3390/insects6030732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2015] [Revised: 07/10/2015] [Accepted: 07/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Recent research has demonstrated extensive within-species variation in pheromone expression in insect species, contrary to the view that pheromones are largely invariant within species. In fact, many studies on insect cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) show that pheromones can be highly dynamic traits that can express significant short-term plasticity across both abiotic and social environments. It is likely that this variability in CHC expression contributes to their important role in sexual signaling and mate choice. In this review, I discuss CHC plasticity and how this might influence sexual communication. I also highlight two important avenues for future research: examining plasticity in how individuals respond to CHC signals, and testing how sexual communication varies across abiotic and social environments.
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15
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Stamps JA. Individual differences in behavioural plasticities. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2015; 91:534-67. [PMID: 25865135 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 153] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2014] [Revised: 03/14/2015] [Accepted: 03/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Interest in individual differences in animal behavioural plasticities has surged in recent years, but research in this area has been hampered by semantic confusion as different investigators use the same terms (e.g. plasticity, flexibility, responsiveness) to refer to different phenomena. The first goal of this review is to suggest a framework for categorizing the many different types of behavioural plasticities, describe examples of each, and indicate why using reversibility as a criterion for categorizing behavioural plasticities is problematic. This framework is then used to address a number of timely questions about individual differences in behavioural plasticities. One set of questions concerns the experimental designs that can be used to study individual differences in various types of behavioural plasticities. Although within-individual designs are the default option for empirical studies of many types of behavioural plasticities, in some situations (e.g. when experience at an early age affects the behaviour expressed at subsequent ages), 'replicate individual' designs can provide useful insights into individual differences in behavioural plasticities. To date, researchers using within-individual and replicate individual designs have documented individual differences in all of the major categories of behavioural plasticities described herein. Another important question is whether and how different types of behavioural plasticities are related to one another. Currently there is empirical evidence that many behavioural plasticities [e.g. contextual plasticity, learning rates, IIV (intra-individual variability), endogenous plasticities, ontogenetic plasticities) can themselves vary as a function of experiences earlier in life, that is, many types of behavioural plasticity are themselves developmentally plastic. These findings support the assumption that differences among individuals in prior experiences may contribute to individual differences in behavioural plasticities observed at a given age. Several authors have predicted correlations across individuals between different types of behavioural plasticities, i.e. that some individuals will be generally more plastic than others. However, empirical support for most of these predictions, including indirect evidence from studies of relationships between personality traits and plasticities, is currently sparse and equivocal. The final section of this review suggests how an appreciation of the similarities and differences between different types of behavioural plasticities may help theoreticians formulate testable models to explain the evolution of individual differences in behavioural plasticities and the evolutionary and ecological consequences of individual differences in behavioural plasticities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judy A Stamps
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A
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16
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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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17
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Greenfield MD, Alem S, Limousin D, Bailey NW. The dilemma of Fisherian sexual selection: Mate choice for indirect benefits despite rarity and overall weakness of trait-preference genetic correlation. Evolution 2014; 68:3524-36. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.12542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2014] [Accepted: 10/02/2014] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael D. Greenfield
- Institut de recherche sur la biologie de l'insecte (IRBI); CNRS UMR 7261, Université François; Rabelais de Tours, Parc de Grandmont 37200 Tours France
| | - Sylvain Alem
- Research Centre for Psychology; School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Queen Mary University of London; Mile End Road London E1 4NS United Kingdom
| | - Denis Limousin
- UPMC Univ Paris 06; UMR 1272, Physiologie de l’Insecte Signalisation et Communication; F-78026 Versailles France
- INRA; UMR 1272, Physiologie de l’Insecte Signalisation et Communication, F-78026; Versailles France
| | - Nathan W. Bailey
- Centre for Biological Diversity; School of Biology; University of St. Andrews; Fife KY16 9TH United Kingdom
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18
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Ingleby FC, Hosken DJ, Flowers K, Hawkes MF, Lane SM, Rapkin J, House CM, Sharma MD, Hunt J. Environmental heterogeneity, multivariate sexual selection and genetic constraints on cuticular hydrocarbons in Drosophila simulans. J Evol Biol 2014; 27:700-13. [PMID: 24779049 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Sexual selection is responsible for the evolution of many elaborate traits, but sexual trait evolution could be influenced by opposing natural selection as well as genetic constraints. As such, the evolution of sexual traits could depend heavily on the environment if trait expression and attractiveness vary between environments. Here, male Drosophila simulans were reared across a range of diets and temperatures, and we examined differences between these environments in terms of (i) the expression of male cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) and (ii) which male CHC profiles were most attractive to females. Temperature had a strong effect on male CHC expression, whereas the effect of diet was weaker. Male CHCs were subject to complex patterns of directional, quadratic and correlational sexual selection, and we found differences between environments in the combination of male CHCs that were most attractive to females, with clearer differences between diets than between temperatures. We also show that genetic covariance between environments is likely to cause a constraint on independent CHC evolution between environments. Our results demonstrate that even across the narrow range of environmental variation studied here, predicting the outcome of sexual selection can be extremely complicated, suggesting that studies ignoring multiple traits or environments may provide an over-simplified view of the evolution of sexual traits.
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Stamps JA, Krishnan VV. Individual differences in the potential and realized developmental plasticity of personality traits. Front Ecol Evol 2014. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2014.00069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
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Ingleby FC, Innocenti P, Rundle HD, Morrow EH. Between-sex genetic covariance constrains the evolution of sexual dimorphism in Drosophila melanogaster. J Evol Biol 2014; 27:1721-32. [PMID: 24893565 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2013] [Revised: 04/29/2014] [Accepted: 05/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Males and females share much of their genome, and as a result, intralocus sexual conflict is generated when selection on a shared trait differs between the sexes. This conflict can be partially or entirely resolved via the evolution of sex-specific genetic variation that allows each sex to approach, or possibly achieve, its optimum phenotype, thereby generating sexual dimorphism. However, shared genetic variation between the sexes can impose constraints on the independent expression of a shared trait in males and females, hindering the evolution of sexual dimorphism. Here, we examine genetic constraints on the evolution of sexual dimorphism in Drosophila melanogaster cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) expression. We use the extended G matrix, which includes the between-sex genetic covariances that constitute the B matrix, to compare genetic constraints on two sets of CHC traits that differ in the extent of their sexual dimorphism. We find significant genetic constraints on the evolution of further dimorphism in the least dimorphic traits, but no such constraints for the most dimorphic traits. We also show that the genetic constraints on the least dimorphic CHCs are asymmetrical between the sexes. Our results suggest that there is evidence both for resolved and ongoing sexual conflict in D. melanogaster CHC profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- F C Ingleby
- Evolution, Behaviour and Environment Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, John Maynard Smith Building, Falmer, Brighton, UK
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Hemiclonal analysis of interacting phenotypes in male and female Drosophila melanogaster. BMC Evol Biol 2014; 14:95. [PMID: 24884361 PMCID: PMC4101844 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-14-95] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2013] [Accepted: 03/31/2014] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Identifying the sources of variation in mating interactions between males and females is important because this variation influences the strength and/or the direction of sexual selection that populations experience. While the origins and effects of variation in male attractiveness and ornamentation have received much scrutiny, the causes and consequences of intraspecific variation in females have been relatively overlooked. We used cytogenetic cloning techniques developed for Drosophila melanogaster to create “hemiclonal” males and females with whom we directly observed sexual interaction between individuals of different known genetic backgrounds and measured subsequent reproductive outcomes. Using this approach, we were able to quantify the genetic contribution of each mate to the observed phenotypic variation in biologically important traits including mating speed, copulation duration, and subsequent offspring production, as well as measure the magnitude and direction of intersexual genetic correlation between female choosiness and male attractiveness. Results We found significant additive genetic variation contributing to mating speed that can be attributed to male genetic identity, female genetic identity, but not their interaction. Furthermore we found that phenotypic variation in copulation duration had a significant male-associated genetic component. Female genetic identity and the interaction between male and female genetic identity accounted for a substantial amount of the observed phenotypic variation in egg size. Although previous research predicts a trade-off between egg size and fecundity, this was not evident in our results. We found a strong negative genetic correlation between female choosiness and male attractiveness, a result that suggests a potentially important role for sexually antagonistic alleles in sexual selection processes in our population. Conclusion These results further our understanding of sexual selection because they identify that genetic identity plays a significant role in phenotypic variation in female behaviour and fecundity. This variation may be potentially due to ongoing sexual conflict found between the sexes for interacting phenotypes. Our unexpected observation of a negative correlation between female choosiness and male attractiveness highlights the need for more explicit theoretical models of genetic covariance to investigate the coevolution of female choosiness and male attractiveness.
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