Egg rejection and egg recognition mechanisms in Oriental Reed Warblers

Background Nest parasitism by cuckoos (Cuculus spp.) results in enormous reproductive failure and forces hosts to evolve antiparasitic strategies, i.e., recognition of own eggs and rejection of cuckoo eggs. There are often sexual conflicts between male and female individuals in the expression of antiparasitic behavior due to the differences in reproductive inputs and division of labor. Methods By adding a foreign egg made of blue soft clay to the host nest during early incubation period in the field, and by removing several host eggs and adding experimental eggs to control the proportion of two egg types in the nest, we examined egg rejection ability, egg recognition mechanism and sexual difference in egg rejection of the Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis), one of the major hosts of Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus). Results Our results indicated that Oriental Reed Warblers can recognize and reject nearly 100% (73/75) of the non-mimetic eggs made of blue soft clay, and they could reject foreign eggs with 100% accuracy, regardless of the ratio of experimental eggs and its own eggs in the nest. Furthermore, all cases of egg rejections recorded by videos were only carried out by females. Conclusions Oriental Reed Warblers have a high egg recognition ability and show a true recognition mechanism. Only female warblers perform egg rejection, suggesting that the sex for host egg incubation seems to play an important role in the evolution of egg recognition mechanisms.

Masculinization of the X-chromosome in aphid soma and gonads

Males and females share essentially the same genome but differ in their optimal values for many phenotypic traits, which can result in intra-locus conflict between the sexes. Aphids display XX/X0 sex chromosomes and combine unusual X chromosome inheritance with cyclical parthenogenesis. Theoretical and empirical works support the hypothesis that the large excess of male-biased genes observed on the aphid X chromosome compared to autosomes has evolved in response to sexual conflicts, by restricting the product of a sexually antagonistic allele to the sex it benefits. However, whether such masculinization of the X affects all tissues (as expected if it evolved in response to sexual conflicts) or reflects tissue specificities (which would contradict the sexual conflict hypothesis) remains an open question. To address it, we measured gene expression in different somatic and gonadic tissues of males, sexual females and parthenogenetic females of the pea aphid. We observed a masculinization of the X at the tissue-level, with male-biased genes being 2.5 to 3.5 more frequent on the X than expected. We also tested the hypothesis that gene duplication can facilitate the attenuation of conflicts by allowing gene copies to neo- or sub-functionalize and reach sex-specific optima. As predicted, X-linked copies of duplicated genes having their other copies on autosomes were more frequently male-biased (40.5% of the genes) than duplicated autosomal genes (6.6%) or X-linked single-copy genes (32.5%). These results highlight a peculiar pattern of expression of X-linked genes in aphids at the tissue level and provides further support for sex-biased expression as a mechanism to attenuate intra-locus sexual conflicts.

Fitness consequences of divorce in the azure-winged magpie depends on the breeding experience of a new mate

Sexual conflict in producing and raising offspring is a critical issue in evolutionary ecology research. Individual experience affects their breeding performance, as measured by such traits of provisioning of offspring and engagement in extra-pair copulations, and may cause an imbalance in sexual conflict. Thus, divorce is hypothesized to occur within aged social pairs, irrespective of current reproductive success. This concept was explored in the azure-winged magpie Cyanopica cyanus by investigating the divorce of a social pair and its relationship to their changes in breeding performance with prior experience. Females engaging in extra-pair copulation may intensify sexual conflicts and may be the main reason for divorce. Once divorced, females repairing with an inexperienced male realized higher reproductive success than that repairing with an experienced male; males repairing with an experienced female realized higher reproductive success than that repairing with an inexperienced female. This finding indicates that the fitness consequence of divorce depends on the breeding experience of new mates. Divorced females can obtain more extra-pair copulations, whereas divorced males cannot, when they repair with inexperienced breeders. Divorced females provisioned a brood at lower rates than inexperienced females whereas divorced males had no such difference. It appears that divorced females can obtain an advantage in sexual conflicts with inexperienced mates in future reproduction. Consequently, females are probably more active than males in divorcing their aged mates so as to select an inexperienced male as a new mate. Azure-winged magpies thus provide novel insights into the implications of sexual conflict in birds.

A sedução da Psicanálise nas páginas das Revistas Femininas Cláudia e Nova de 1970-1990

O presente trabalho visa captar os processos psicológicos subjetivos do movimento de modernização, a partir de uma pesquisa em artigos recolhidos nas Revistas Cláudia e Nova, entre as décadas de 1970-1990, tendo em vista as transformações ocorridas quanto aos valores ético-morais, nessa fase de grandes mudanças sociais. Trata-se de perceber como os discursos das Psicologias e da Psicanálise entram no campo constituído pela mídia, especificamente direcionados para orientar o comportamento feminino, erigindo-se como guia norteador na resolução dos conflitos pessoais e sexuais e da crise da identidade feminina. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Revistas Femininas. Modernização. Subjetivação. ABSTRACT The presente work aims at capturing the subjective psychological processes of the modernization movement, based on a research on articles collected in the Cláudia and Nova Magazines between the 1970s and 1990s, in view of the transformations that have occurred regarding ethical and moral values social change. It is a question of perceiving how the discourses of Psychology and Psychoanalysis enter into the field constituted by the media, specifically directed to orient the female behavior, erecting itself as guiding guide in the resolution of the personal and sexual conflicts and the crisis of the feminine identity. KEYWORDS: Women´s Magazines. Modernization. Subjectivation.

Conflicts in sperm: how do genitalia coevolve with elaborate sperm?

Some sperm traits are now recognized as ornaments akin to peacock’s tails evolving under cryptic female choice or weapons in sexual conflicts, but there are still few studies addressing patterns and process in sperm-female evolution. We are studying sperm-female evolution in ground beetles of the genus Dyschirius. Male Dyschirius make groups of sperm, termed conjugates, by pairing sperm to non-cellular rods, or spermatostyles. This pairing creates a conflict for storage space in the female’s reproductive tract between sperm and the spermatostyle, which is incapable of fertilizing eggs. We speculate that the conjugates of some Dyschirius that include large spermatostyles with few sperm are ornaments. We hypothesize that increased spermathecal storage volume is positively correlated with larger spermatostyles and that male genitalic complexity is negatively correlated with elaboration of sperm. We gathered morphological trait data on sperm conjugates and male and female genitalia from several species of Dyschirius. We analyzed these data in a phylogenetic framework using a robust Dyschirius species tree derived from DNA sequence data. We present preliminary results from this ongoing study and solicit feedback from the ECM community.

Electra Complex and the Confusion of Albee’s Martha’s Sexual Identity: A Psychoanalytic Study

According to the Freudian psychoanalytic theory, earlier traumatic experiences highly influence the psychological development of personality. Freud also affirms that the earlier years of childhood development play a crucial role in the formation of personality. He states that all normal infants go through specific stages of psychosexual development that are naturally progressive, namely: oral, anal and phallic stages. Any disruption of or delay in the progress of any of the psychosexual stages or failure to cope with them causes the fixation of the libido at a particular stage. Martha, the central figure in Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, suffered from painful emotional experiences during childhood which gave her an unbalanced personality and a fragile ego. She lived a lonely and troubled childhood because she was abandoned and rejected by her father, a matter that has left a deep scar on her psyche. Martha also has a phallic fixation owing to the unresolved sexual conflicts during the phallic phase of the psychosexual development, a matter that negatively influences her personality. Applying Freudian psychanalytic theory, the aim of this study is to investigate the influence of past traumatic experiences of childhood on Martha’s behaviour and her psychological wellbeing. The study also seeks to uncover the impact of the unresolved Electra Complex on the development of Martha’s personality and her sexual maturity.

Sexual Conflict through Mother’s Curse and Father’s Curse

In contrast with autosomes, lineages of sex chromosomes reside for different amounts of time in males and females, and this transmission asymmetry makes them hotspots for sexual conflict. Similarly, the maternal inheritance of the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) means that mutations that are beneficial in females can spread in a population even if they are deleterious in males, a form of sexual conflict known as Mother’s Curse. While both Mother’s Curse and sex chromosome induced sexual conflict have been well studied on their own, the interaction between mitochondrial genes and genes on sex chromosomes is poorly understood. Here, we use analytical models and computer simulations to perform a comprehensive examination of how transmission asymmetries of nuclear, mitochondrial, and sex chromosome-linked genes may both cause and resolve sexual conflicts. For example, the accumulation of male-biased Mother’s Curse mtDNA mutations will lead to selection in males for compensatory nuclear modifier loci that alleviate the effect. We show how the Y chromosome, being strictly paternally transmitted provides a particularly safe harbor for such modifiers. This analytical framework also allows us to discover a novel kind of sexual conflict, by which Y chromosome-autosome epistasis may result in the spread of male beneficial but female deleterious mutations in a population. We christen this phenomenon Father’s Curse. Extending this analytical framework to ZW sex chromosome systems, where males are the heterogametic sex, we also show how W-autosome epistasis can lead to a novel kind of nuclear Mother’s Curse. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive framework to understand how genetic transmission asymmetries may both cause and resolve sexual conflicts.

Macroevolutionary consequences of sexual conflict

Intralocus sexual conflicts arise whenever the fitness optima for a trait expressed in both males and females differ between the sexes and shared genetic architecture constrains the sexes from evolving independently towards their respective optima. Such sexual conflicts are commonplace in nature, yet their long-term evolutionary consequences remain unexplored. Using a Bayesian phylogenetic comparative framework, we studied the macroevolutionary dynamics of intersexual trait integration in stalk-eyed flies (Diopsidae) spanning a time frame of more than 25 Myr. We report that increased intensity of sexual selection on male eyestalks is associated with reduced intersexual eyestalk integration, as well as sex-specific rates of eyestalk evolution. Despite this, lineages where males have been under strong sexual selection for millions of years still exhibit high levels of intersexual trait integration. This low level of decoupling between the sexes may indicate that exaggerated female eyestalks are in fact adaptive—or alternatively, that there are strong constraints on reducing trait integration between the sexes. Future work should seek to clarify the relative roles of constraints and selection in contributing to the varying levels of intersexual trait integration in stalk-eyed flies, and in this way clarify whether sexual conflicts can act as constraints on adaptive evolution even on macroevolutionary time scales.

Sexual conflicts in panic disorder: a multi-case study

Purpose Problems related to sexual functioning have been reported in patients with anxiety disorders in general and panic disorder in particular. The past literature has shown the association of sexual conflicts of panic disorder patients with sadomasochism, and revealed the themes of: guilt, self-punishment, role of unconscious conflicts about sexuality, anger and separation. The purpose of this paper is to explore sexual conflicts in patients with panic disorder and their beliefs regarding guilt around sexual fantasies and dreams. Design/methodology/approach Interpretative paradigm and case study method was employed. For collecting data, semi-structured interviews were recorded, transcribed and subjected to within and cross-case analyses. Clarifying researcher’s bias and rich thick description were used for verification of data. Findings Cross-case analyses revealed themes of negative emotions, positive emotions and ambivalence. Negative emotions (i.e. guilt and anger) were experienced as threatening and harmful and caused distress to participants. Positive emotions, such as, satisfaction, pleasure and happiness were revealed in response to questions related to sexual fantasies, thoughts dreams, emotional attachment and sexual relations. Ambivalence was shown in response to questions related with reactions toward sexual fantasies, masturbatory practices, sexual relations and/or emotional attachment. Research limitations/implications The participants of this study consisted of two self-selected individuals who had diagnosis of panic disorder with agoraphobia. The main limitation of the study is a small sample size comprising of men only. This research can provide grounds for more Asian studies in future especially by including females. Practical implications The findings point toward addressing sexual conflict in therapeutic intervention of panic disorder. Social implications The findings have implications in society in expanding the awareness and knowledge about sexual conflicts in clinical population and general population suffering from anxiety symptoms. Originality/value This research study adds understanding of psychological issues in Pakistan’s socio-cultural context.