Modeling the Importance of Sample Size in Relation to Error in MHC-Based Mate-Choice Studies on Natural Populations

ABSTRACT When alleles are combined into few detectable classes, linkage correlations are underestimated most of the time. The probability that the linkage correlation will be underestimated is a function of the actual degree of correlation and the evenness of the allelic distribution, but is mainly determined by the distribution of alleles into distinguishable classes. With only two alleles per class this probability will usually be higher than 0.7. Also, the consistency in the sign of the linkage disequilibrium over many populations may escape detection. An increase of sample size by one order of magnitude or more may be required to compensate for the loss in detection power. It follows that the available electrophoretic studies of linkage correlations, although negative in their majority, do not suggest that epistatic interactions and linkage disequilibria are rare in natural populations.

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Cost, risk, and avoidance of inbreeding in a cooperatively breeding bird

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1918726117 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 117 (27) ◽

pp. 15724-15730

Author(s):

Amy E. Leedale ◽

Michelle Simeoni ◽

Stuart P. Sharp ◽

Jonathan P. Green ◽

Jon Slate ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Positive Association ◽

Kin Discrimination ◽

Breeding Bird ◽

First Order ◽

Aegithalos Caudatus ◽

Opposite Sex ◽

Plausible Mechanism ◽

Multiple Mate

Inbreeding is often avoided in natural populations by passive processes such as sex-biased dispersal. But, in many social animals, opposite-sexed adult relatives are spatially clustered, generating a risk of incest and hence selection for active inbreeding avoidance. Here we show that, in long-tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus), a cooperative breeder that risks inbreeding by living alongside opposite-sex relatives, inbreeding carries fitness costs and is avoided by active kin discrimination during mate choice. First, we identified a positive association between heterozygosity and fitness, indicating that inbreeding is costly. We then compared relatedness within breeding pairs to that expected under multiple mate-choice models, finding that pair relatedness is consistent with avoidance of first-order kin as partners. Finally, we show that the similarity of vocal cues offers a plausible mechanism for discrimination against first-order kin during mate choice. Long-tailed tits are known to discriminate between the calls of close kin and nonkin, and they favor first-order kin in cooperative contexts, so we conclude that long-tailed tits use the same kin discrimination rule to avoid inbreeding as they do to direct help toward kin.

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Female sperm limitation in natural populations of a sexual/asexual mating complex ( Poecilia latipinna , Poecilia formosa )

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2008.0019 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 266-269 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Rüdiger Riesch ◽

Ingo Schlupp ◽

Martin Plath

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Mating Systems ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Male Mate Choice ◽

Poecilia Latipinna ◽

Amazon Molly ◽

Poecilia Formosa ◽

Male Mate ◽

The Cost ◽

Apparent Stability

In sperm-dependent sexual/asexual mating systems, male mate choice is critical for understanding the mechanisms behind apparent stability observed in natural populations. The gynogenetic Amazon molly ( Poecilia formosa ) requires sperm from sexual males (e.g. Poecilia latipinna ) to trigger embryogenesis, but inheritance is strictly maternal. Consequently, males should try to avoid or reduce the cost of mating with asexuals. We investigated male mate choice by documenting the presence of sperm in natural populations and found that a higher proportion of sexual females had sperm than asexuals. In addition, among those females that had sperm, sexuals had more sperm than asexuals. Our results hint at a role for male mate choice as a stabilizing factor in such systems.

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Multiple mating by females is not dependent on body size in the salamander Desmognathus ochrophaeus

Amphibia-Reptilia ◽

10.1163/156853896x00261 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 33-38 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Cara Shillington ◽

Paul Verrell

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Sperm Competition ◽

Multiple Mating ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Mating Frequency ◽

Published Data ◽

Multiple Partners ◽

Plethodontid Salamander ◽

The Face ◽

Desmognathus Ochrophaeus

AbstractMale mate choice for particular "classes" of females may be devalued if chosen females are more likely to mate with multiple partners (thus precipitating sperm competition). Larger females carry greater numbers of eggs available for fertilization in the plethodontid salamander Desmognathus ochrophaeus, and are chosen by males in simultaneous mate-choice tests. We found no difference in mating frequency between 12 large females and 12 smaller females across 576 male-female encounters. Given limited published data on patterns of sperm utilization in this salamander, we conclude that male choice of more fecund partners may be advantageous even in the face of multiple mating by females and resultant sperm competition. Studies of natural populations of salamanders are required to confirm this conclusion.

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Epicuticular Compounds of Protopiophila litigata (Diptera: Piophilidae): Identification and Sexual Selection Across Two Years in the Wild

Annals of the Entomological Society of America ◽

10.1093/aesa/saz056 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 113 (1) ◽

pp. 40-49

Author(s):

Christopher S Angell ◽

Sharon Curtis ◽

Anaïs Ryckenbusch ◽

Howard D Rundle

Keyword(s):

Sexual Selection ◽

Mate Choice ◽

Mating Success ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Male Mating ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Or Groups ◽

In The Wild ◽

Males And Females

Abstract The epicuticular compounds (ECs) of insects serve both to waterproof the cuticle and, in many taxa, as pheromones that are important for various social interactions, including mate choice within populations. However, ECs have not been individually identified in many species and most studies of their role in mate choice have been performed in a laboratory setting. Here we newly identify and quantify the ECs of the antler fly, Protopiophila litigata Bonduriansky, and use a cross-sectional selection analysis to quantify their association with male mating success in the wild across two years (2013 and 2017). The ECs of antler flies include straight-chain and methylated alkanes, alkenes, and a family of branched wax esters. We find all ECs to be shared between males and females but also demonstrate sexual dimorphism in the abundance of several. Male EC relative abundances were significantly associated with mating success in both years, although the multivariate direction of selection differed significantly between the years. Surprisingly, only two of the 18 compounds (or groups of compounds) we identified were similarly associated with mating success across the sampling years. In 2017, we further partitioned sexual selection into intra- and intersexual components, revealing selection on ECs to be significant via female choice but not male–male competition. Our study is one of few to investigate the potential role of ECs in mating success in the wild and adds to a growing body of evidence demonstrating significant temporal variability in selection in natural populations.

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Epicuticular compounds of Protopiophila litigata (Diptera: Piophilidae): identification and sexual selection across two years in the wild

10.32942/osf.io/cm5sa ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Christopher Angell ◽

Sharon Curtis ◽

Anaïs Ryckenbusch ◽

Howard Rundle

Keyword(s):

Sexual Selection ◽

Mate Choice ◽

Mating Success ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Male Mating ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Or Groups ◽

In The Wild ◽

Males And Females

The epicuticular compounds (ECs) of insects serve both to waterproof the cuticle and, in many taxa, as pheromones that are important for various social interactions including mate choice within populations. However, ECs have not been individually identified in many species and most studies of their role in mate choice have been performed in a laboratory setting. Here we newly identify and quantify the ECs of the antler fly, Protopiophila litigata Bonduriansky, and use a cross-sectional selection analysis to quantify their association with male mating success in the wild across two years (2013 and 2017). The ECs of antler flies include straight-chain and methylated alkanes, alkenes, and a family of branched wax esters. We find all ECs to be shared between males and females but also demonstrate sexual dimorphism in the abundance of several. Male EC relative abundances were significantly associated with mating success in both years, although the multivariate direction of selection differed significantly between the years. Surprisingly, only two of the 18 compounds (or groups of compounds) we identified were similarly associated with mating success across the sampling years. In 2017, we further partitioned sexual selection into intra- and intersexual components, revealing selection on ECs to be significant via female choice but not male-male competition. Our study is one of few to investigate the potential role of ECs in mating success in the wild and adds to a growing body of evidence demonstrating significant temporal variability in selection in natural populations.

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Mate choice assays and mating propensity differences in natural yeast populations

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2006.0534 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 553-556 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Helen A Murphy ◽

Heidi A Kuehne ◽

Chantal A Francis ◽

Paul D Sniegowski

Keyword(s):

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽

Mate Choice ◽

Mass Culture ◽

Individual Cell ◽

Species Recognition ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Active Species ◽

Cell Behaviour ◽

Prezygotic Isolation ◽

Mating Propensity

Abstract In sexual microbes, mating occurs by fusion of individual cells. This complete fitness investment suggests that cell behaviour could potentially mediate prezygotic isolation between microbial species, a topic about which very little is known. To investigate this possibility, we conducted individual cell mate choice trials and mass-culture mating propensity assays with isolates from sympatric natural populations of the closely related yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces paradoxus . Although we found no evidence for active species recognition in mate choice, we observed a marked difference in mating propensity between these two species. We briefly discuss the possibility that this mating propensity difference may contribute to reproductive isolation between S. cerevisiae and S. paradoxus in nature.

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Negative assortative mating and maintenance of shell colour polymorphism in Littorina (Neritrema) species

10.21203/rs.3.rs-242300/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Juan Gefaell ◽

Juan Galindo ◽

Christian Malvido ◽

Victor Nuñez ◽

Daniel Estévez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sexual Selection ◽

Mate Choice ◽

Assortative Mating ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Colour Polymorphism ◽

Nw Spain ◽

Gastropod Species ◽

Main Target ◽

Widespread Phenomenon ◽

Ne Russia

Abstract Colour polymorphism is a widespread phenomenon in natural populations of several species. In particular, it is especially common on marine gastropod species from the genus Littorina. Recently, it has been argued that intrapopulation shell colour polymorphism in Littorina fabalis could be caused by negative frequency-dependent sexual selection via a mechanism of mate choice (indirectly estimated via negative assortative mating). Here we try to determine the existence of negative assortative mating in three species of the subgenus Neritrema (L. fabalis, L. obtusata, L. saxatilis) that share a similar shell colour polymorphism, in order to ascertain if this mechanism could represent an ancestral character in this subgenus that could be contributing to the maintenance of the colour polymorphism in each species. Here, we collected or reanalysed from previous studies a sample of mating pairs of the three species from seven locations from NW Spain and NE Russia and estimated assortative mating using the IPSI index. Our results show that all species and populations show a systematic tendency towards negative assortative mating when shell colour is grouped in the broad categories: ‘light’ and ‘dark’. Although, a more detailed analysis of each colour individually suggests that shell colour may not be the main target of assortative mating, but perhaps physically linked to another trait or through pleiotropic effects. This hypothesis opens interesting new lines of research in Littorina snails.

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High-voltage electron microscopy of maxillary gland of spirochete-infected brine shrimp: lesion of efferent tubule

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100103875 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 46 ◽

pp. 362-363

Author(s):

G. E. Tyson ◽

M. J. Song

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

High Voltage ◽

Brine Shrimp ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Dimensional Structure ◽

High Voltage Electron Microscopy ◽

Voltage Electron ◽

High Voltage Electron ◽

Infected Adult

Natural populations of the brine shrimp, Artemia, may possess spirochete- infected animals in low numbers. The ultrastructure of Artemia's spirochete has been described by conventional transmission electron microscopy. In infected shrimp, spirochetal cells were abundant in the blood and also occurred intra- and extracellularly in the three organs examined, i.e. the maxillary gland (segmental excretory organ), the integument, and certain muscles The efferent-tubule region of the maxillary gland possessed a distinctive lesion comprised of a group of spirochetes, together with numerous small vesicles, situated in a cave-like indentation of the base of the tubule epithelium. in some instances the basal lamina at a lesion site was clearly discontinuous. High-voltage electron microscopy has now been used to study lesions of the efferent tubule, with the aim of understanding better their three-dimensional structure.Tissue from one maxillary gland of an infected, adult, female brine shrimp was used for HVEM study.

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Effect of acid deposition on trichome morphology and dogwood anthracnose biology

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100124604 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 840-841

Author(s):

Kyle T. Thornham ◽

R. Jay Stipes ◽

Randolph L. Grayson

Keyword(s):

Acid Deposition ◽

Disease Incidence ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Tree Disease ◽

Flowering Dogwood ◽

Discula Destructiva ◽

Disease Induction ◽

Dogwood Anthracnose ◽

Trichome Morphology ◽

Precipitation Events

Dogwood anthracnose, caused by Discula destructiva (1), is another new catastrophic tree disease that has ravaged natural populations of the flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) in the Appalachians over the past 15 years, and the epidemic is prognosticated to continue (2). An estimated 9.5 million acres have been affected, primarily in the Appalachian Mountains, from VA southwards, alone, and an estimated 50% of all dogwoods in PA have been killed. Since acid deposition has been linked experimentally with disease induction, and since the disease incidence and severity are more pronounced at higher elevations where lower pH precipitation events occur, we investigated the effect of acidic foliar sprays on moiphologic changes in the foliar cuticle and trichomes (3), the initial sites of infection and foci of Discula sporulation.

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