scholarly journals Sexual Transmission of Disease and Host Mating Systems: Within-Season Reproductive Success

1997 ◽  
Vol 149 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. Thrall ◽  
Janis Antonovics ◽  
James D. Bever
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Sexual Transmission ◽  
Transmission Of Disease

scholarly journals Mating systems and predictors of relative reproductive success in a Cutthroat Trout subspecies of conservation concern

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John S. Hargrove ◽  
Jesse McCane ◽  
Curtis J. Roth ◽  
Brett High ◽  
Matthew R. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Conservation Concern

Low reproductive success of hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) regardless of inbreeding level or time since disturbance

Botany ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (12) ◽  
pp. 911-915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn M. Flinn ◽  
Matthew M. Loiacono ◽  
Hannah E. Groff
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Single Individual ◽  
Dennstaedtia Punctilobula ◽  
Self Fertilization ◽  
Sporophyte Production ◽  
Inbreeding Level ◽  
Native Invasive ◽  
Selfing Ability

Self-fertilization can facilitate the colonization of new habitats because it allows a single individual to found a population. Here we investigated the relationship between mating systems and colonization in hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula (Michx.) T.Moore). Throughout eastern North America, this species has been called a “native invasive” for its tendency to dominate forest understories disturbed by logging, inhibiting tree regeneration. Thus, it is important to understand the mechanisms of its spread. We hypothesized that if populations were founded through selfing, then populations disturbed more recently would retain higher selfing ability; this pattern would demonstrate an important link between mating systems and colonization. For four populations logged at different times in the past, we compared the sporophyte production of gametophytes at different levels of inbreeding (intragametophytic selfing, intergametophytic selfing, and outcrossing) using laboratory crosses. Across all treatments, only 9.8% of gametophytes formed sporophytes (N = 400 gametophytes). Neither inbreeding level nor time since disturbance affected sporophyte production. Selfing ability did not differ across populations logged at different times; there was no interaction between inbreeding level and time since disturbance. The low reproductive success of D. punctilobula, regardless of inbreeding level or time since disturbance, suggests that population establishment and expansion via sexual reproduction may be relatively rare in this clonal species.

Beyond the One-Male Group

Behaviour ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 104 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 189-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.E. Rowell
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Biochemical Tests ◽  
Behavioural Determinants ◽  
Social Theories ◽  
The One ◽  
Certainty Of Paternity ◽  
Good Visibility

AbstractSocial systems are not necessarily equivalent to mating systems. Observation is prerequisite for control of one animal by another. It is not possible without extremely good visibility, which is rare. Nonetheless most social theories assume such control. Neither social position nor copulation guarantee paternity. It is important that biochemical tests provide certainty of paternity in as many studies as possible, so that assumptions about behavioural determinants of reproductive success can be tested. The function of fighting is discussed. Males spend more of their time cooperating than competing, and it is suggested that differences between these may not be so clear. To understand the behaviour of adult males it is necessary to consider behaviour throughout lifetimes, behaviour in all seasons, and behaviour throughout demes. Scepticism towards facile explanations is recommended.

scholarly journals Male–male competition leads to less abundant but more attractive sperm

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 20130762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Valentina Zizzari ◽  
Nico M. van Straalen ◽  
Jacintha Ellers
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Adaptive Response ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Male Competition ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Optimization Strategy ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Rival Male ◽  
Spermatophore Production

Males employ complex strategies to optimize their reproductive success when faced with male–male competition; for instance, they can adjust the ejaculate characteristics. In copulating species, a male may also strategically adjust his ejaculate expenditure according to female quality. Quantifying the relative contribution of ejaculate plasticity in male reproductive success is often difficult, especially when females exert postcopulatory cryptic choice. One way to quantify the functional significance of ejaculate plasticity is offered by mating systems in which the reproductive partners do not meet each other during insemination. In the collembolan Orchesella cincta , males deposit their ejaculates (spermatophores) irrespective of the presence of females. We tested whether Orchesella males adjust spermatophore number when exposed to the presence of another male and whether changes in spermatophore production influence female choice. We found that Orchesella males display plasticity in spermatophore allocation. Males decreased the spermatophore number when exposed to a rival male. Moreover, females preferentially took up spermatophores of males that were exposed to a competitor. The reduction in spermatophore number suggests, besides an adaptive response to the risk of ejaculate removal by rival males, an optimization strategy owing to the costs of more attractive spermatophores.

scholarly journals Mating Systems, Reproductive Success, and Sexual Selection in Secretive Species: A Case Study of the Western Diamond-Backed Rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox

PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. e90616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rulon W. Clark ◽  
Gordon W. Schuett ◽  
Roger A. Repp ◽  
Melissa Amarello ◽  
Charles F. Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Crotalus Atrox

Mating strategies dictate the importance of insect visits to native plants in urban fragments

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
E. L. Eakin-Busher ◽  
P. G. Ladd ◽  
J. B. Fontaine ◽  
R. J. Standish
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Mixed Mating ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Native Woodland ◽  
Plant Mating Systems ◽  
Plant Mating

Plant species conservation relies on their reproductive success and likelihood of population persistence. Knowledge of plant mating systems, particularly the relationship between plants and their pollinators, is fundamental to inform conservation efforts. This knowledge could be critical for prioritising efforts in human-dominated fragmented landscapes such as the world’s biodiversity hotspots, where reproductive success can be compromised due to habitat loss, limited access to pollinators or other factors. Yet, fundamental data on plant mating systems are lacking for many Australian plants. Here we determined the mating systems of native plant species growing in native woodland fragments within Perth’s urban landscape in south-western Australia. We manipulated insect access to flowers and pollen transfer on five locally common native species, then observed floral visitors and examined reproductive success. Hemiandra pungens and Patersonia occidentalis had mixed mating systems with some ability to self-pollinate, whereas Dianella revoluta and Jacksonia sericea were reliant on insects for outcross pollination. The fruits and seeds produced by Tricoryne elatior were too low to draw conclusions about its mating system. The introduced honey bee (Apis mellifera) was the sole visitor to the mixed mating species, whereas native bees visited D. revoluta and J. sericea (one bee species each). Overall, our data suggest that D. revoluta and J. sericea are more vulnerable to fragmentation than H. pungens and P. occidentalis. Although insects contributed significantly to the reproductive output of the two former plant species, our observations suggested low frequency and richness of insect visitors to these urban fragments. More research is required to determine the generality of our findings. A comparative study in larger native woodland fragments would help estimate the effect of fragmentation on insect pollinators and consequences for the insect-reliant plant species.

BEHAVIOURAL STRATEGIES, TESTIS SIZE, AND REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS IN TWO CAVIOMORPH RODENTS WITH DIFFERENT MATING SYSTEMS

Behaviour ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 136 (9) ◽  
pp. 1203-1217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorg Epplen ◽  
Esther Schwarz-Weig ◽  
Anja Keil ◽  
Norbert Sachser
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mating System ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Testis Size ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Single Male ◽  
Cavia Aperea

AbstractWe summarize our studies on the social and mating systems of Cavia aperea and Galea musteloides , two closely related South-American rodents. In Cavia an extremely high incompatibility exists among adult males. As a consequence, only a single male can be kept together with several females even in richly structured enclosures of 20 m2. From this, a polygynous mating system emerges. In contrast, under similar housing conditions male Galea are much more tolerant and large groups can be established consisting of several adult males and several adult females. The mating system of Galea is promiscuous because of the female's soliciting behaviour when receptive that makes it impossible for a single male to monopolize her. The diverging mating systems correspond well with functional variations in testis size and sexual dimorphism: the polygynous Cavia show low testis masses (weight of both testes = 0.58% of body weight) and body weights are 11% higher in males than in nonpregnant females. The promiscuous Galea have extremely high relative testis masses (1.86% of body weight) and non-pregnant females are 15% heavier than males. In the latter species promiscuous mating results in a high percentage of multiple paternities (> 80% in groups of 4 males and 6-7 females) as revealed by multi-locus DNA fingerprinting. Nevertheless dominant males achieve a significantly higher reproductive success than subordinates. The high frequency of overt aggression directed from dominant to subordinate males, therefore, may be a mechanism to lower the fertilizing capacity of the lower ranking males. Concerning the females' reproductive success we demonstrated in a mating experiment that Galea which were paired with four males and became pregnant, weaned significantly more offspring than females which were paired with a single male. Thus, for the first time a reproductive benefit from promiscuous mating is shown for a female mammal. Field studies in the natural habitats of Cavia aperea and Galea musteloides are now performed to elucidate whether the differences in social and mating systems can be related to differences in ecological conditions.

Male reproductive success and pedigree error in red spruce open-pollinated and polycross mating systems

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 1742-1749 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. K. Doerksen ◽  
C. M. Herbinger
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Genetic Parameters ◽  
Genetic Variance ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Progeny Testing ◽  
Quantitative Genetic ◽  
Pedigree Errors ◽  
Quantitative Genetic Parameters

Open-pollinated and polycross mating systems are widely used in forest genetics and breeding to quickly, simply, and inexpensively generate progenies assumed to be related as half-sibs (coefficient of relationship, r = 0.25) from a random mating population. However, nonrandom mating, such as unequal male reproductive success (RS) or selfing, can increase the genetic correlation among offspring, and thus, genetic variance and heritability are overestimated. Conversely, pedigree errors will cause additive genetic variance and heritability to be underestimated. Unequal male reproductive success and three types of potential pedigree errors (volunteers, mishandled maternal identities, and foreign pollen) were detected in operational open-pollinated and polycross red spruce ( Picea rubens Sarg.) progeny tests, through paternity testing using microsatellite (simple sequence repeat) DNA markers. The potential impact of unequal RS and pedigree errors on quantitative genetic parameters is discussed. Paternity and parentage analyses could be used to reconstruct the pedigree of any plantation consisting of sibships, where candidate parents (e.g., members of seed orchard) can be identified. This offers an alternative to traditional progeny testing for estimation of quantitative genetic parameters.

scholarly journals Variance in lifetime reproductive success of male polar bears

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 1224-1232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan S Richardson ◽  
Corey Davis ◽  
Ian Stirling ◽  
Andrew E Derocher ◽  
Nicholas J Lunn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Polar Bear ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Male Reproduction ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
Opportunity For Selection ◽  
Solitary Species

Abstract Despite the important role that population density plays in ecological and evolutionary processes, studies of solitary species that occur at low densities remain scarce. In the context of mating systems, density is expected to influence the ability of males to find and monopolize mates, in turn, influencing variance in lifetime mating/reproductive success and the opportunity for selection. Herein, we investigate variance in male lifetime mating success (LMS), lifetime reproductive success (LRS), and the mating system of a sexually dimorphic carnivore that occurs at low densities, the polar bear (Ursus maritimus). Across 17 cohorts, born from 1975 to 1991, male LMS ranged from 0 to10 mates and LRS from 0 to 14 cubs; 40% of known-age males were not known to have reproduced. The opportunity for sexual selection (Is = 1.66, range = 0.60–4.99) and selection (I = 1.76, range: 0.65–4.89) were low compared to species with similar levels of sexual size dimorphism. Skew in male LRS was also low but significant for most cohorts indicating nonrandom reproductive success. Age-specific reproductive success was biased toward males from 11 to 17 years of age, with variation in fecundity (54%) but not longevity (10%) playing an important role in male reproduction. Our results support a growing body of evidence that suggests that male-biased size dimorphism and polygynous mating systems need not be associated with high variance in male mating and/or reproductive success.

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