scholarly journals A link between heritable parasite resistance and mate choice in dung beetles

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 1382-1387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno A Buzatto ◽  
Janne S Kotiaho ◽  
Larissa A F Assis ◽  
Leigh W Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Additive Genetic Variance ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Mite Infestation ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Parasite Resistance ◽  
Onthophagus Taurus ◽  
Sexual Selection Theory

AbstractParasites play a central role in the adaptiveness of sexual reproduction. Sexual selection theory suggests a role for parasite resistance in the context of mate choice, but the evidence is mixed. The parasite-mediated sexual selection (PMSS) hypothesis derives a number of predictions, among which that resistance to parasites is heritable, and that female choice favors parasite resistance genes in males. Here, we tested the PMSS hypothesis using the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus, a species that can be heavily parasitized by Macrocheles merdarius mites, which are known to affect adult survival. We investigated the heritability of resistance to M. merdarius, as well as whether female O. taurus impose a mating bias against males susceptible to mite infestation. Female choice for parasite resistance is difficult to disentangle from the possibility that females are simply choosing less parasitized males due to naturally selected benefits of avoiding contracting those parasites. This is especially likely for ectoparasites, such as mites. We tackled this problem by performing a mate choice trial first, and then measuring a male’s resistance to mite infestation. Resistance to mite infestation exhibited significant levels of additive genetic variance. Although we found no relationship between mating success and parasite resistance, males with greater resistance to infestation mated for longer. If females control copula duration, given that short copulations often result in mating failure, female choice could act on parasite resistance.

scholarly journals Gamete-mediated mate choice: towards a more inclusive view of sexual selection

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1883) ◽  
pp. 20180836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jukka Kekäläinen ◽  
Jonathan P. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Random Interactions ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
The Everyday

‘Sperm competition’—where ejaculates from two or more males compete for fertilization—and ‘cryptic female choice’—where females bias this contest to suit their reproductive interests—are now part of the everyday lexicon of sexual selection. Yet the physiological processes that underlie these post-ejaculatory episodes of sexual selection remain largely enigmatic. In this review, we focus on a range of post-ejaculatory cellular- and molecular-level processes, known to be fundamental for fertilization across most (if not all) sexually reproducing species, and point to their putative role in facilitating sexual selection at the level of the cells and gametes, called ‘gamete-mediated mate choice’ (GMMC). In this way, we collate accumulated evidence for GMMC across different mating systems, and emphasize the evolutionary significance of such non-random interactions among gametes. Our overall aim in this review is to build a more inclusive view of sexual selection by showing that mate choice often acts in more nuanced ways than has traditionally been assumed. We also aim to bridge the conceptual divide between proximal mechanisms of reproduction, and adaptive explanations for patterns of non-random sperm–egg interactions that are emerging across an increasingly diverse array of taxa.

scholarly journals Offspring viability benefits but no apparent costs of mating with high quality males

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh W. Simmons ◽  
Rebecca Holley
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Male Courtship ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Female Resistance ◽  
Genetic Quality ◽  
Onthophagus Taurus ◽  
Courtship Signals

Traditional models of sexual selection posit that male courtship signals evolve as indicators of underlying male genetic quality. An alternative hypothesis is that sexual conflict over mating generates antagonistic coevolution between male courtship persistence and female resistance. In the scarabaeine dung beetle Onthophagus taurus , females are more likely to mate with males that have high courtship rates. Here, we examine the effects of exposing females to males with either high or low courtship rates on female lifetime productivity and offspring viability. Females exposed to males with high courtship rates mated more often and produced offspring with greater egg–adult viability. Female productivity and lifespan were unaffected by exposure to males with high courtship rates. The data are consistent with models of sexual selection based on indirect genetic benefits, and provide little evidence for sexual conflict in this system.

Male Choice, Female Competition, and Female Ornaments in Sexual Selection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Schlupp
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Female Competition ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Male Choice ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Female Ornaments ◽  
Sexual Selection Theory ◽  
Male Mate

When Darwin first proposed sexual selection theory he suggested two mechanisms: competition among males and choice by females. There is no doubt that these mechanisms are immensely important, but their mirror images have been largely underappreciated so far. In fact, males choose as well and females compete. Males choose based on female quality, often selecting mating partners that are more fecund. But male choice is also associated with changes in the sex ratio of a population and males can be choosy when they are rare. Furthermore, males sometimes invest heavily into reproduction and that too can be associated with male choice. That females compete with another, although less often with open aggression, is another understudied phenomenon. Finally, we now know that females are often ornamented, but are these ornaments under sexual selection by males? This book tries to review what we know and point to what we don’t know while pointing out the connections between male mate choice and female competition for a more complete view of sexual selection.

1. Darwin’s other big idea

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh W. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Sexual Differences ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sexual Competition ◽  
Sexual Characteristics ◽  
Sexual Selection Theory ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Selection Of

The idea that males and females often look, sound, smell, and behave differently is uncontroversial. Where those differences came from, however, and what role they play in various species—including humans—is not. ‘Darwin’s other big idea’ outlines Charles Darwin’s sexual selection theory: differential reproduction based on sexual competition, whether between the members of one sex for access to the other, or by selection of particular mating partners. Differences in reproductive parts directly involved in sperm or egg production—primary sexual characteristics—were relatively easy to explain. The other kinds of sexual differences, he proposed, could evolve in one of two ways: male–male competition resulting in weapons, or female choice resulting in ornaments, but this was highly controversial.

scholarly journals Sexual and social competition: broadening perspectives by defining female roles

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1600) ◽  
pp. 2248-2252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin R. Rubenstein
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
Female Competition ◽  
Secondary Importance ◽  
Trait Evolution ◽  
Sexual Selection Theory ◽  
Recent Debate ◽  
Selection Framework ◽  
Male Ornaments

Males figured more prominently than females in Darwin's view of sexual selection. He considered female choice of secondary importance to male–male competition as a mechanism to explain the evolution of male ornaments and armaments. Fisher later demonstrated the importance of female choice in driving male trait evolution, but his ideas were largely ignored for decades. As sexual selection came to embrace the notions of parent–offspring and sexual conflict, and experimental tests of female choice showed promise, females began to feature more prominently in the framework of sexual selection theory. Recent debate over this theory has centred around the role of females, not only over the question of choice, but also over female–female competition. Whereas some have called for expanding the sexual selection framework to encompass all forms of female–female competition, others have called for subsuming sexual selection within a broader framework of social selection, or replacing it altogether. Still others have argued for linking sexual selection more clearly to other evolutionary theories such as kin selection. Rather than simply debating terminology, we must take a broader view of the general processes that lead to trait evolution in both sexes by clearly defining the roles that females play in the process, and by focusing on intra- and inter-sexual interactions in males and females.

Female and Male Mate Choice

2021 ◽  
pp. 21-52
Author(s):  
Ingo Schlupp
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Complete Picture ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Indirect Benefits ◽  
Short Overview ◽  
Direct Benefits ◽  
Male Mate

Females choose mating partners for three main reasons: direct benefits, indirect benefits, and compatibility, either genetic or social. In this chapter I am not trying to look at all angles of mate choice, but to give a short overview of female choice to provide a basis for a comparison with male choice. This will highlight what studies are needed to reach a more complete picture of sexual selection. I would summarize the chapter like this: it’s the ecology, stupid.

Nothobranchius furzeri as an emerging model for mate choice: female choice revealed by animations

Behaviour ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 158 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-49
Author(s):  
Bernadette D. Johnson ◽  
Avrie Fox ◽  
Landon R. Wright ◽  
Ginger E. Carney ◽  
Barrie D. Robison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Computer Animations ◽  
Nothobranchius Furzeri ◽  
Black Band ◽  
Female Responses

Abstract The African turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) is the shortest-lived vertebrate research model. It is also sexually dimorphic, making it suitable for studying sexual selection. We take advantage of a natural tail colour polymorphism in males and investigate female responses to computer animations of males that differ in this phenotype. Our findings indicate that GRZ (Gonarezhou) females prefer animated males with traits specific to their strain (a yellow tail with a black band) compared to males exhibiting traits from another strain of the same species (a red tail). When females were simultaneously shown animations of both males, they spent significantly more time on the side of the tank where the yellow-tailed animation was visible, and significantly more time interacting with the yellow-tailed animation. Given these repeatable responses and the availability of genomic resources, N. furzeri represents an excellent, untapped model for studying the genetic basis of preferences and reproductive behaviours.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document