Female remating inDrosophila ananassae: shorter duration of copulation during second mating as compared to first mating

1999 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. N. Singh ◽  
S. R. Singh
Author(s):  
Lough-Stevens Michael ◽  
Caleb Ghione ◽  
Matthew Urness ◽  
Adelaide Hobbs ◽  
Colleen Sweeney ◽  
...  

Abstract Among a wide diversity of sexually reproducing species, male ejaculates coagulate to form what has been termed a copulatory plug. A number of functions have been attributed to copulatory plugs, including, but not limited to, the inhibition of female remating and the promotion of ejaculate movement. Here we demonstrate that copulatory plugs also influence the likelihood of implantation, which occurs roughly four days after copulation in mice. Using a bead transfer method to control for differences in ejaculate retention and fertilization rates, we show that implantation rates significantly drop among females mated to genetically engineered males incapable of forming plugs (because they lack functional TGM4, the main enzyme responsible for its formation). Surprisingly, this result does not correlate with differences in circulating progesterone levels among females, an important hormone involved in implantation. In this paper we discuss three models that connect male-derived copulatory plugs to implantation success, including the hypothesis that plugs contribute to a threshold amount of stimulation required for females to become receptive to implantation.


1975 ◽  
Vol 107 (9) ◽  
pp. 967-977 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Sanders

AbstractLaboratory and field experiments indicate that the female spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) pupal stadium requires approximately 122C degree-days above a threshold of 7.2 °C (45°F), the male 124. Emergence time on any given day depends on temperature but is independent of photoperiod. Under field conditions male and female budworm mate only once per 24-h period. In the laboratory under continuous illumination females mate repeatedly and males readily mate a second time within a few hours, but the duration of the second copulation is abnormally long. The probability of multiple matings under field conditions is reduced by the restricted period of sexual activity coupled with the duration of copulation and the lower competitiveness of mated insects. Antennae are essential to the male for successful copulation.


1986 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marli Maria Lima ◽  
Pedro Jurberg ◽  
Josimar Ribeiro de Almeida

A study of the courship and copulation behaviour of Panstrongylus megistus was carried out in the laboratory. fifty-five newly-fed virgin couples were used. Experiments were performed during the day (9:00 to 12:00 a.m.) and at night (7:00 to 10:00 p.m). Behaviour was recorded by direct observation and was found to consist of the following sequence of behavioral patterns: the male approached the female and jumped on her or mounted her; he took on a dorsolateral position and immobilized the female dorsally and ventrally with his three pairs of legs; the male genital was placed below those of the female; the paramers of the male immobilized the female's genitals; copulation started. The couple joined by the iniciative of the male. The female could be receptive and accept copulation, or nonreceptive and reject the male. Copulation occurred more often on the occasion of the first attempt by the male. Duration of copulation was X = 29.3 ± 9.3 min (CV = 83%). No behavioral differences were observed couples tested during the day or at night.


2011 ◽  
Vol 65 (11) ◽  
pp. 2037-2047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panu Välimäki ◽  
Sami M. Kivelä ◽  
Maarit I. Mäenpää

Behaviour ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 73 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 175-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald L. Rutowski ◽  
John Alcock

Abstract1. Females of the solitary bee, Nomadopsis puellae, foraging for pollen at flowers will copulate with any male that can reach them but the duration of copulation is not constant over the daily foraging-mating period (which lasts from about 0900-1300). Early on, copulations are brief (usually less than 1 min). As the morning progresses, males tend not to release their mates spontaneously but remain in copula for as long as it takes a female to collect a full pollen load and return to her nest. In addition, late in the mating period males that have not secured a single female may begin to assault pairs in attempts to usurp a female from a copulating male. 2. We propose that males control the duration of mating in ways that reflect a change in the genetic gains associated with brief versus prolonged copulations over the course of the morning. We assume that sperm precedence occurs in this species and that females are more likely to oviposit at the end of the foraging period than at the beginning. If these assumptions are correct, guarding a mate through prolonged copulation could become increasingly advantageous as the mating period draws to a close each day. Given a high degree of competition for mates, a male that secured a female on her last trip of the morning could greatly improve the chance that his mate would use his sperm for fertilization if he prevented other males from reaching her until she was safely back inside her nest burrow. 3. An alternative hypothesis that the variation in copulation length is due to changes in the readiness of females to receive sperm from a male over the mating period is considered. Limited data suggest that females do not signal degrees of sperm receptivity to males. Males probably determine how long they will copulate, switching from the tactic of securing many short (unguarded) copulations to a few lengthy (guarded) matings in the course of a morning.


Behaviour ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 94 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 183-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Drosopoulos

AbstractSome data on acoustic communication and mating behavior of two biparentally reproducing species and the clonally reproducing pseudogamous "species" of the genus Muellerianella are reported. Although bioacoustic differences were found in the calling songs between the species, these did not prevent pairforming. Also, differences in mating behavior, such as pre-copulation behavior, courtship activities, frequency and duration of copulation were not sufficient to prevent successful hybridization between both the two biparentally reproducing species and between each of these two species and the pseudogamous "species". The data reported here are related to other biological differences reported previously. According to these data there is some evidence that differences in acoustic communication and mating behavior between the two species are established by ecological influences which in turn have established analogous physiological requirements. These differences are rather weak isolating mechanisms. Regarding the behavioral relation of the pseudogamous species with males of the two parental species it was found that these females behave exactly as the females of M. fairmairei with which they coexist in the field. In interspecific crosses mechanical barriers to copulation are more efficient than courtship differences. Finally it is assumed that pseudogamy is a strong isolation mechanism between the not yet fully genetically differentiated bisexual species of Muellerianella.


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