Behavioural avoidance of sperm ageing depends on genetic similarity of mates in a monogamous seabird

2019 ◽  
Vol 128 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxime Pineaux ◽  
Pierrick Blanchard ◽  
Étienne Danchin ◽  
Scott A Hatch ◽  
Fabrice Helfenstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Genetic Similarity ◽  
Inbreeding Avoidance ◽  
Reproductive Season ◽  
Sperm Cells ◽  
Selective Force ◽  
Rissa Tridactyla ◽  
Behavioural Avoidance ◽  
Related Individuals

Abstract Inbreeding, i.e. the mating of genetically related individuals, can lead to reduced fitness and is considered to be a major selective force of mate choice. Although inbreeding avoidance has been found in numerous taxa, individuals may face constraints when pairing, leading to mating with suboptimal partners. In such circumstances, individuals that are able to avoid factors exacerbating detrimental effects of inbreeding should be favoured. Using the socially and genetically monogamous black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), we explored whether the detrimental effects of inbreeding are exacerbated by sperm ageing (i.e. the post-meiotic senescence of sperm cells, mainly occurring within the female tracts after copulation), and whether they can be mitigated by behavioural tactics. First, by experimentally manipulating the age of the fertilizing sperm, we found that hatching failure due to sperm ageing increased with higher genetic similarity between mates. We then investigated whether more genetically similar pairs exhibited mating behaviours that prevent fertilization by old sperm. The more genetically similar mates were, the less likely they were to copulate early in the reproductive season and the more females performed post-copulatory sperm ejections. By flexibly adapting their behaviour in response to within-pair genetic similarity, kittiwakes may avoid exacerbation of inbreeding costs due to sperm ageing.

scholarly journals Genetic diversity in different populations of sloths assessed by DNA fingerprinting

2002 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. MORAES ◽  
J. S. MORGANTE ◽  
C. Y. MIYAKI
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Genetic Variability ◽  
Dna Fingerprinting ◽  
Genetic Similarity ◽  
Similarity Indices ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Related Individuals ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Dna Profiles ◽  
Two Populations

In this study we analyzed a population of Bradypus torquatus with individuals originally distributed in different localities of Bahia, and two populations of B. variegatus with individuals from Bahia and São Paulo States. Using the DNA fingerprinting method, we assessed the genetic variability within and between populations. Analysis of the DNA profiles revealed genetic similarity indices ranging from 0.34 ± 0.07 to 0.87 ± 0.04. Similar low levels of genetic variability were found only in isolated mammalian populations or among related individuals. This study presents the first analyses of genetic diversity in sloth populations.

scholarly journals No evidence of inbreeding avoidance in a polygynous ungulate: the reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus )

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Øystein Holand ◽  
Kjartan R Askim ◽  
Knut H Røed ◽  
Robert B Weladji ◽  
Hallvard Gjøstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Inbreeding Avoidance ◽  
Mating Partner ◽  
Young Males ◽  
Mating Group ◽  
Fitness Consequences ◽  
Actual Choice

In polygynous species, mate choice is an integrated part of sexual selection. However, whether mate choice occurs independently of the genetic relatedness among mating pairs has received little attention, although inbreeding may have fitness consequences. We studied whether genetic relatedness influenced females' choice of partner in a highly polygynous ungulate—the reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus )—in an experimental herd during two consecutive rutting seasons; the herd consisting of 75 females in 1999 and 74 females in 2000 was exposed to three 4.5-year-old adults and three 1.5-year-old young males, respectively. The females' distribution during peak rut was not influenced by their genetic relatedness with the dominant males of the mating groups. Further, genetic relatedness did not influence the actual choice of mating partner. We conclude that inbreeding avoidance through mating group choice as well as choice of mating partner, two interconnected processes of female mate choice operating at two different scales in space and time, in such a highly female-biased reindeer populations with low level of inbreeding may not occur.

Female dispersal, inbreeding avoidance and mate choice in Thomas langurs (Presbytis thomasi)

Behaviour ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 142 (7) ◽  
pp. 845-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan A.R.A.M van Hooff ◽  
Erik P. Willems ◽  
Serge A. Wich ◽  
Elizabeth H.M. Sterck
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Inbreeding Avoidance ◽  
Male Quality ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Female Dispersal ◽  
Presbytis Thomasi ◽  
Offspring Protection

AbstractFemale social dispersal in primates differs from the general mammalian pattern of locational dispersal. Both nulliparous and parous females may disperse to another group. Several hypotheses can explain female social dispersal: reduction of predation risk, inbreeding avoidance, and offspring protection through mate choice. We tested these hypotheses with an extended data set of Thomas langurs (Presbytis thomasi) and investigated parameters of male behaviour that females may use in their dispersal decisions. Data were collected over a 12.5-year period from a wild population in Sumatra, Indonesia, allowing for some critical tests of the hypotheses. Females dispersed to a group smaller than their original one, thereby refuting the predation risk hypothesis. Maturing nulliparous females only dispersed when their father was resident. Therefore, dispersal by nulliparous females was best explained through inbreeding avoidance. Parous females transferred to young, adult males. These males provided better protection to offspring against predation and infanticide than the old, late tenure males. Therefore, females transfer to better protector males. The male behavioural cues that females use to assess male quality were unclear. Females, however, may use proxies of male age, such as group composition and acoustical characteristics of loud calls, as indicators of male quality. The results suggest that female mate choice is an important function of social dispersal by parous females. Its importance in locational dispersal remains to be investigated.

Male mate choice and male-male competition coexist in the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 745-755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison S Craig ◽  
Louis M Herman ◽  
Adam A Pack
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Male Competition ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Reproductive Season ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Calving Rate ◽  
Male Mate

Male humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) outnumber females on the winter grounds and compete physically for proximity to females. Analyses of identification photographs collected in Hawai'i from 1976 through 1995 and scan samples collected in 1998 showed that (i) reproductive potential (calving rate) for the following winter was greater for females without a calf than females with a calf, (ii) females without a calf were less likely to be found alone and more likely to be found in large pods than females with a calf, (iii) individual females were found in larger pods when without a calf than when with a calf, (iv) the probability of females with a calf being escorted by one or more males increased as the reproductive season progressed, and (v) head lunges occurred more commonly in all-adult pods than in pods containing a calf. We concluded that male humpback whales associate preferentially with females with high reproductive potential, that the attractiveness of individual females varies with their status (with a calf versus without a calf), that males become progressively less choosy over the course of the reproductive season as females without a calf become increasingly rare on the winter grounds, and that males expend more energy in competition over females without a calf than females with a calf.

Genetic similarity and mate selection in Uruguay

1994 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sans ◽  
I. Alvarez ◽  
S. M. Callegari-Jacques ◽  
F. M. Salzano
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Blood Group ◽  
Genetic Markers ◽  
Mate Selection ◽  
Genetic Similarity ◽  
Previous Sample ◽  
Putative Father ◽  
Blood Genetic Markers

SummaryIt has been suggested that average genetic similarity, as assessed by blood genetic markers, could influence mate choice in humans. In the present study, average genetic similarity was assessed in 183 couples submitting to paternity determinations in relation to six blood group systems and three HLA loci. Couples in which the putative father was excluded were compared with those in which such exclusion did not occur, and real couples were compared to random pairs. The differences were all statistically non-significant. Possible reasons for the different results found in the previous sample and in the present study are considered.

scholarly journals Morphological Characteristics of the Sperm of the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) during the Reproductive Season

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 169
Author(s):  
Andrea Oliveira ◽  
Felisa Martínez ◽  
Lydia Gil ◽  
Victoria Luño
Keyword(s):  
Optical Microscopy ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Reproductive Season ◽  
Peregrine Falcon ◽  
Sperm Cells ◽  
Falco Peregrinus ◽  
Bright Field ◽  
Morphological Abnormalities ◽  
Peregrine Falcons ◽  
Initial Stage

The morphological characteristics of different sperm cells (normal, abnormal, and immature) in the peregrine falcon during the reproductive season were analysed. We also classified the main sperm defects found in semen. Semen samples were collected from mature peregrine falcons via cloacal massage and stained with Diff-Quik stain. The percentages of normal, abnormal, and immature sperm cells were determined by bright-field optical microscopy. The number of normal spermatozoa were greater at the initial stage and subsequently decreased during the middle and later stages of the reproductive season (p < 0.01). In contrast, the percentage of abnormal spermatozoa increased significantly in the middle and end stages of the reproductive season (p < 0.05), whereas the proportion of immature spermatozoa remained stable during the study. Head defects represented the greatest proportion of morphological abnormalities, followed by the defects in the tail and midpiece regions. A small percentage of multiple defects and cytoplasmic droplets were also observed in the falcon spermatozoa. The findings of this study might be important for the development of future conservation protocols for falcon sperm.

scholarly journals MHC-Based Mate Choice in Wild Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bing-yi Zhang ◽  
Han-yu Hu ◽  
Chun-mei Song ◽  
Kang Huang ◽  
Derek W. Dunn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Mhc Class Ii ◽  
Genetic Similarity ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Mhc Genes ◽  
Histocompatibility Complex ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Multilevel Society ◽  
New Evidence

The genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are an important component of the vertebrate immune system and play a significant role in mate choice in many species. However, it remains unclear whether female mate choice in non-human primates is based on specific functional genes and/or genome-wide genes. The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) lives in a multilevel society, which consists of several polygynous one-male-several-female units. Although adult females tend to mainly socialize with one adult male, females often initiate extra-pair copulations with other males resulting in a high proportion of offspring being fathered by extra-pair males. We investigated the effects of adaptive MHC genes and neutral microsatellites on female mate choice in a wild R. roxellana population. We sequenced 54 parent-offspring triads using two MHC class II loci (Rhro-DQA1 and Rhro-DQB1) and 20 microsatellites from 3 years of data. We found that the paternities of offspring were non-randomly associated with male MHC compositions not microsatellite genotypes. Our study showed that the fathers of all infants had significantly less variance for several estimates of genetic similarity to the mothers compared with random males at both MHC loci. Additionally, the MHC diversity of these fathers was significantly higher than random males. We also found support for choice based on specific alleles; compared with random males, Rhro-DQA1∗ 05 and Rhro-DQB1∗ 08 were more common in both the OMU (one-male unit) males and the genetic fathers of offspring. This study provides new evidence for female mate choice for MHC-intermediate dissimilarity (rather than maximal MHC dissimilarity) and highlights the importance of incorporating multiple MHC loci and social structure into studies of MHC-based mate choice in non-human primates.

scholarly journals Team swimming in ant spermatozoa

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 20140308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan Pearcy ◽  
Noémie Delescaille ◽  
Pascale Lybaert ◽  
Serge Aron
Keyword(s):  
Selective Pressure ◽  
Multiple Mating ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Sperm Cells ◽  
Sperm Length ◽  
Sperm Number ◽  
Storage Organ ◽  
Selective Force ◽  
Remarkable Case ◽  
Desert Ant

In species where females mate promiscuously, competition between ejaculates from different males to fertilize the ova is an important selective force shaping many aspects of male reproductive traits, such as sperm number, sperm length and sperm–sperm interactions. In eusocial Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants), males die shortly after mating and their reproductive success is ultimately limited by the amount of sperm stored in the queen's spermatheca. Multiple mating by queens is expected to impose intense selective pressure on males to optimize the transfer of sperm to the storage organ. Here, we report a remarkable case of cooperation between spermatozoa in the desert ant Cataglyphis savignyi . Males ejaculate bundles of 50–100 spermatozoa. Sperm bundles swim on average 51% faster than solitary sperm cells. Team swimming is expected to increase the amount of sperm stored in the queen spermatheca and, ultimately, enhance male posthumous fitness.

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