Positive allometry of sexually selected traits: Do metabolic maintenance costs play an important role?

BioEssays ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 2000183
Author(s):  
Ummat Somjee
Keyword(s):  
Positive Allometry ◽  
Maintenance Costs ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Selected Traits

scholarly journals SEXUALLY SELECTED TRAITS EVOLVE POSITIVE ALLOMETRY WHEN SOME MATINGS OCCUR IRRESPECTIVE OF THE TRAIT

Evolution ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 1332-1338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lutz Fromhage ◽  
Hanna Kokko
Keyword(s):  
Positive Allometry ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Selected Traits

scholarly journals Why the Static Allometry of Sexually-Selected Traits Is So Variable: The Importance of Function

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 1290-1302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Lucas Rodríguez ◽  
William G Eberhard
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Part ◽  
Positive Allometry ◽  
Large Structures ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Selected Traits ◽  
Courtship Signals ◽  
Aggressive Signals ◽  
Static Allometry

AbstractSexually-selected traits often show positive static allometry, with large individuals bearing disproportionately large structures. But many other sexually-selected traits show isometry or even negative allometry, with trait size varying relatively little with body size. We recently proposed that the functions of these traits (as aggressive signals, weapons, courtship signals, and contact courtship devices) determine their allometries. Positive allometry is generally favored for aggressive signals because aggressive signals are selected to emphasize body size (and thus fighting prowess). In contrast, the biomechanics of force application in weapons only sometimes select for positive allometry; the content of courtship signals is even less often related to body size; and contact courtship devices are selected to be relatively invariant across body sizes. Here we summarize the arguments in favor of this “functional allometry” hypothesis and expand a comparative test of its predictions. Our results indicate that sexual traits have the allometric slopes predicted by our hypothesis, regardless of which body part bears the structure.

scholarly journals The hidden cost of sexually selected traits: the metabolic expense of maintaining a sexually selected weapon

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1891) ◽  
pp. 20181685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ummat Somjee ◽  
H. Arthur Woods ◽  
Meghan Duell ◽  
Christine W. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Rate ◽  
Resting Metabolic Rate ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Maintenance Costs ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Hidden Cost ◽  
Sexual Selection Theory ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Selected Traits

Sexually selected weapons are among the most exaggerated traits in nature. Sexual selection theory frequently assumes a high cost of this exaggeration; yet, those costs are rarely measured. We know very little about the energetic resources required to maintain these traits at rest and the difference in energetic costs for the largest individuals relative to the smallest individuals. Knowledge in this area is crucial; resting metabolic rate can account for 30–40% of daily energy expenditure in wild animals. Here, we capitalized on the phenomenon of autotomy to take a unique look at weapon maintenance costs. Using Leptoscelis tricolor (Hemiptera: Coreidae), we measured CO 2 production rates before and after a weapon was shed. Males in this insect species use enlarged hind femora as weapons in male–male combat, and yet can shed them readily, without regeneration, upon entrapment. We found that metabolic rate decreased by an average of 23.5% in males after leg loss and by 7.9% in females. Notably, larger males had less of a drop in metabolic rate per gram of weapon lost. Our findings suggest that sexually selected weapons contribute to a large portion of resting metabolic rate in males, but these costs do not scale in direct proportion to size; larger males can have larger weapons for a reduced metabolic cost. These energetic maintenance costs may be integral to the evolution of the allometries of sexually selected weapons, and yet they remain largely unexplored.

Tests of the positive and functional allometry hypotheses for sexually selected traits in the Jamaican field cricket

2021 ◽  
pp. 104413
Author(s):  
Susan M. Bertram ◽  
Danya D. Yaremchuk ◽  
Mykell L. Reifer ◽  
Amy Villareal ◽  
Matthew J. Muzzatti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Cricket ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Selected Traits

scholarly journals Sexually Selected Traits: A Fundamental Framework for Studies on Behavioral Epigenetics

ILAR Journal ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 53 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 253-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Jasarevic ◽  
D. C. Geary ◽  
C. S. Rosenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Selected Traits

scholarly journals Defense against outside competition is linked to cooperation in male–male partnerships

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 432-439
Author(s):  
Jennifer K Hellmann ◽  
Kelly A Stiver ◽  
Susan Marsh-Rollo ◽  
Suzanne H Alonzo
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Dominant Male ◽  
Spawning Activity ◽  
Conflict And Cooperation ◽  
Behavioral Dynamics ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Selected Traits

Abstract Male–male competition is a well-known driver of reproductive success and sexually selected traits in many species. However, in some species, males work together to court females or defend territories against male competitors. Dominant (nesting) males sire most offspring, but subordinate (satellite) males are better able to obtain fertilizations relative to unpartnered males. Because satellites only gain reproductive success by sneaking, there has been much interest in identifying the mechanisms enforcing satellite cooperation (defense) and reducing satellite sneaking. One such potential mechanism is outside competition: unpartnered satellites can destabilize established male partnerships and may force partnered satellites to restrain from cheating to prevent the dominant male from replacing them with an unpartnered satellite. Here, we manipulated perceived competition in the Mediterranean fish Symphodus ocellatus by presenting an “intruding” satellite male to established nesting and satellite male pairs. Focal satellite aggression to the intruder was higher when focal satellites were less cooperative, suggesting that satellites increase aggression to outside competitors when their social position is less stable. In contrast, nesting male aggression to the intruder satellite increased as spawning activity increased, suggesting that nesting males increase their defense toward outside competitors when their current relationship is productive. We found no evidence of altered spawning activity or nesting/satellite male interactions before and after the presentation. These results collectively suggest that response to outside competition is directly linked to behavioral dynamics between unrelated male partners and may be linked to conflict and cooperation in ways that are similar to group-living species.

Relationships among male sexually selected traits in the bean bug,Riptortus pedestris(Heteroptera: Alydidae)

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yû Suzaki ◽  
Masako Katsuki ◽  
Takahisa Miyatake ◽  
Yasukazu Okada
Keyword(s):  
Riptortus Pedestris ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Bean Bug ◽  
Selected Traits
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