Mating behavior and sexual selection in relation to morphometric traits in a polygamous beetle, Glenea cantor （F.） （Coleoptera： Cerambycidae）, were investigated. Upon encounter, a male approached a female, mounte...Mating behavior and sexual selection in relation to morphometric traits in a polygamous beetle, Glenea cantor （F.） （Coleoptera： Cerambycidae）, were investigated. Upon encounter, a male approached a female, mounted her, grasped her terminal abdomen with his hind tarsi, and attempted to mate. Successful mating lasted about 3.5 h. Although all traits measured in females and half of traits in males were significantly correlated with mating success, the primary selection on virgin females was the genital trait, thebursa copulatrix length, and that on males was the body length and hind tarsal length. Longer bursa copulatrix accommodated a larger ejaculate, suggesting that this female trait benefits the male that first mates with the female in terms of in- creasing ejaculate size to beat subsequent males in sperm competition. Under a female-biased sex ratio, more than 20% of mat- ings failed within 20s after the male genitalia had been inserted into hers, suggesting that males assess genital features of the re- ：male before insemination and undertake cryptic male mate choice. Larger males were more capable of grasping females and achieving mating. During the premating struggle the male almost always used his hind tarsi to lift the female terminal abdomen to the position for his genitalia to insert, and as a result, males with longer hind tarsi achieved higher mating success [Current Zoolo- gy 59 （2）： 257-264, 2013].展开更多
Males of the nursery web spider Pisaura mirabil usually offer an insect prey wrapped in white silk as a nuptial gift to facilitate copulation. Males exploit female foraging preferences in a sexual context as females f...Males of the nursery web spider Pisaura mirabil usually offer an insect prey wrapped in white silk as a nuptial gift to facilitate copulation. Males exploit female foraging preferences in a sexual context as females feed on the gift during copula- tion. It is possible for males to copulate without a gift, however strong female preference for the gift leads to dramatically higher mating success for gift-giving males. Females are polyandrous, and gift-giving males achieve higher mating success, longer copulations, and increased sperm transfer that confer advantages in sperm competition. Intriguingly, field studies show that ap- proximately one third of males carry a worthless gift consisting of dry and empty insect exoskeletons or plant fragments wrapped in white silk. Silk wrapping disguises gift content and females are able to disclose gift content only after accepting and feeding on the gift, meanwhile males succeed in transferring sperm. The evolution of deceit by worthless gift donation may be favoured by strong intra-sexual competition and costs of gift-construction including prey capture, lost foraging opportunities and investment in silk wrapping. Females that receive empty worthless gifts terminate copulation sooner, which reduces sperm transfer and likely disadvantages males in sperm competition. The gift-giving trait may thus become a target of sexually antagonistic co-evolution, where deceit by worthless gifts leads to female resistance to the trait. We discuss factors such as female mating rate and intensity of sperm competition that may shape the evolution of male deception, and how ecological factors may influence the evolution and maintenance of worthless gifts as an evolutionarily stable alternative mating strategy by frequency dependent selection展开更多
Recent studies have revealed that sexually selected traits may signal sperm quality and hence male fertilisation ability. There is also evidence that the expression of male sexual ornamentation and associated sperm ch...Recent studies have revealed that sexually selected traits may signal sperm quality and hence male fertilisation ability. There is also evidence that the expression of male sexual ornamentation and associated sperm characteristics depend on an indi- vidual＇s ability to cope with oxidative stress. Carotenoids are known for their antioxidant properties and carotenoid-based orna- ments might represent honest signals as these pigments can be traded offbetween the investment in sexual ornamentation, sperm function as well as immune response. In this study, we examined the relationship between sexual ornamentation （breeding colo- ration） and sperm characteristics （e.g., velocity and morphology） in the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aeuleatus, an ex- ternally fertilising fish species, in which sperm competition commonly occurs. During the breeding season males are sperm limi- ted and develop a conspicuous carotenoid-based coloration, which is under strong pre-copulatory sexual selection due to female mate choice and male-male competition. The results of the present study show that the expression of stickleback male breeding coloration is significantly positively associated with the linearity of sperm movement, whereas sperm morphology （head length to tail length ratio） is significantly negatively related to the trajectory of sperm movement. Moreover, there is some support for the phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis as the intensity of male red breeding coloration is significantly positively correlated with sperm velocity, which is supposed to be an important determinant of fertilisation success in external fertilisers, indicating the honesty of the sexually selected nuptial red coloration.展开更多
文摘Mating behavior and sexual selection in relation to morphometric traits in a polygamous beetle, Glenea cantor （F.） （Coleoptera： Cerambycidae）, were investigated. Upon encounter, a male approached a female, mounted her, grasped her terminal abdomen with his hind tarsi, and attempted to mate. Successful mating lasted about 3.5 h. Although all traits measured in females and half of traits in males were significantly correlated with mating success, the primary selection on virgin females was the genital trait, thebursa copulatrix length, and that on males was the body length and hind tarsal length. Longer bursa copulatrix accommodated a larger ejaculate, suggesting that this female trait benefits the male that first mates with the female in terms of in- creasing ejaculate size to beat subsequent males in sperm competition. Under a female-biased sex ratio, more than 20% of mat- ings failed within 20s after the male genitalia had been inserted into hers, suggesting that males assess genital features of the re- ：male before insemination and undertake cryptic male mate choice. Larger males were more capable of grasping females and achieving mating. During the premating struggle the male almost always used his hind tarsi to lift the female terminal abdomen to the position for his genitalia to insert, and as a result, males with longer hind tarsi achieved higher mating success [Current Zoolo- gy 59 （2）： 257-264, 2013].
文摘Males of the nursery web spider Pisaura mirabil usually offer an insect prey wrapped in white silk as a nuptial gift to facilitate copulation. Males exploit female foraging preferences in a sexual context as females feed on the gift during copula- tion. It is possible for males to copulate without a gift, however strong female preference for the gift leads to dramatically higher mating success for gift-giving males. Females are polyandrous, and gift-giving males achieve higher mating success, longer copulations, and increased sperm transfer that confer advantages in sperm competition. Intriguingly, field studies show that ap- proximately one third of males carry a worthless gift consisting of dry and empty insect exoskeletons or plant fragments wrapped in white silk. Silk wrapping disguises gift content and females are able to disclose gift content only after accepting and feeding on the gift, meanwhile males succeed in transferring sperm. The evolution of deceit by worthless gift donation may be favoured by strong intra-sexual competition and costs of gift-construction including prey capture, lost foraging opportunities and investment in silk wrapping. Females that receive empty worthless gifts terminate copulation sooner, which reduces sperm transfer and likely disadvantages males in sperm competition. The gift-giving trait may thus become a target of sexually antagonistic co-evolution, where deceit by worthless gifts leads to female resistance to the trait. We discuss factors such as female mating rate and intensity of sperm competition that may shape the evolution of male deception, and how ecological factors may influence the evolution and maintenance of worthless gifts as an evolutionarily stable alternative mating strategy by frequency dependent selection
文摘Recent studies have revealed that sexually selected traits may signal sperm quality and hence male fertilisation ability. There is also evidence that the expression of male sexual ornamentation and associated sperm characteristics depend on an indi- vidual＇s ability to cope with oxidative stress. Carotenoids are known for their antioxidant properties and carotenoid-based orna- ments might represent honest signals as these pigments can be traded offbetween the investment in sexual ornamentation, sperm function as well as immune response. In this study, we examined the relationship between sexual ornamentation （breeding colo- ration） and sperm characteristics （e.g., velocity and morphology） in the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aeuleatus, an ex- ternally fertilising fish species, in which sperm competition commonly occurs. During the breeding season males are sperm limi- ted and develop a conspicuous carotenoid-based coloration, which is under strong pre-copulatory sexual selection due to female mate choice and male-male competition. The results of the present study show that the expression of stickleback male breeding coloration is significantly positively associated with the linearity of sperm movement, whereas sperm morphology （head length to tail length ratio） is significantly negatively related to the trajectory of sperm movement. Moreover, there is some support for the phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis as the intensity of male red breeding coloration is significantly positively correlated with sperm velocity, which is supposed to be an important determinant of fertilisation success in external fertilisers, indicating the honesty of the sexually selected nuptial red coloration.
