TESTING SEX RATIO THEORY WITH THE MALARIA PARASITEPLASMODIUM MEXICANUMIN NATURAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INFECTIONS

This chapter describes nine case studies that illustrate how meta-analysis has contributed to theoretical developments in basic research in ecology and evolution. The main research topics cover are maintenance of biodiversity (Case 1); sexual selection (mate choice/fighting behavior) (cases 2, 8, 9); sex ratio theory (Case 3); allometric scaling (Case 4); the invasiveness of exotic plants (Case 5); seed size and plant abundance (Case 6); and the role of competition and predation in structuring communities (Case 7). It is hoped that these case studies will resonate with the reader and provide “templates” for ways to conduct comparable tests on analogous controversies in their own fields of research.

Host-size-dependent sex ratio theory and improving mass-reared parasitoid sex ratios

Biological Control ◽

10.1016/s1049-9644(02)00003-8 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 31-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 76

Author(s):

Paul J. Ode ◽

Kevin M. Heinz

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

Sex Ratios ◽

Host Size ◽

Size Dependent ◽

Sex Ratio Theory

Do malaria parasites follow the algebra of sex ratio theory?

Trends in Parasitology ◽

10.1016/j.pt.2008.12.006 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 120-123 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Jos. J. Schall

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

Malaria Parasites ◽

Sex Ratio Theory

Estimating the Frequency of Constrained Sex Allocation in Field Populations of Hymenoptera

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/156853990x00086 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 114 (1-4) ◽

pp. 137-147 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

H.C.J. Godfray ◽

I.C.W. Hardy

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

Sex Allocation ◽

Sex Ratios ◽

Parasitoid Species ◽

Ratio Bias ◽

Sex Ratio Bias ◽

Sex Ratio Theory

Abstract1) Sex ratio theory has assumed that females can produce offspring of both sexes. It has been suggested that some females in haplodiploid populations are only able to produce sons (constrained sex allocation), for example because they are virgin. The presence of such females influences the optimal sex ratio of unconstrained females. The relevance of these ideas to field sex ratios is largely untested. 2) The frequencies of constrained oviposition in three Drosophila parasitoid species are estimated. Constrained, ovipositing females were distinguished by the absence of sperm in the spermatheca. Constrained females were absent or rare in these species. 3) We review data from the literature that allow an estimate of the frequency of constrained females. 4) We conclude that the available evidence suggests that while constrained oviposition is uncommon, there are some species in which constrained females are sufficiently common to select for an observable sex ratio bias by unconstrained females.

Sex ratio theory in social insects with swarming

Journal of Theoretical Biology ◽

10.1016/0022-5193(83)90356-9 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 100 (2) ◽

pp. 329-339 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

M.G. Bulmer

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

Social Insects ◽

Sex Ratio Theory

Extraordinarily precise nematode sex ratios: Adaptive responses to vanishingly rare mating options

10.1101/2021.05.25.445688 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Justin Van Goor ◽

Edward Allen Herre ◽

Adalberto Gomez ◽

John D Nason

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

Sex Ratios ◽

Nematode Species ◽

Environmental Sex Determination ◽

Adaptive Responses ◽

Wasp Species ◽

Population Structures ◽

Subdivided Populations ◽

Sex Ratio Theory ◽

Evolutionary Persistence

Sex ratio theory predicts both mean sex ratio and variance under a range of population structures. Here, we compare two genera of phoretic nematodes (Parasitodiplogaster and Ficophagus spp.) associated with twelve fig-pollinating wasp species in Panama. The host wasps exhibit classic Local Mate Competition: only inseminated females disperse from natal figs, and their offspring form mating pools that consist of scores of the adult offspring contributed by one or a few foundress mothers. In contrast, in both nematode genera, only sexually undifferentiated juveniles disperse, and their mating pools routinely consist of eight or fewer adults. Across all mating pool sizes, the sex ratios observed in both nematode genera are consistently female-biased (~0.34 males), which is markedly less female-biased than is often observed in the host wasps (~0.10 males). In further contrast with their hosts, variances in nematode sex ratios are also consistently precise (significantly less than binomial). The constraints associated with predictably small mating pools within highly subdivided populations appear to select for precise sex ratios that contribute both to the reproductive success of individual nematodes, and to the evolutionary persistence of nematode species. We suggest that some form of environmental sex determination underlies these precise sex ratios.

Sex Ratio Theory is a Contradiction, Not an Extension, of Kin Selection

The Open Evolution Journal ◽

10.2174/1874404401105010005 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 5-7

Author(s):

Deby Cassill

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

Kin Selection ◽

Sex Ratio Theory

Sex-ratio theory in conservation biology

Trends in Ecology & Evolution ◽

10.1016/s0169-5347(00)02075-9 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 76-77 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

José L Tella

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

Conservation Biology ◽

Sex Ratio Theory

Behaviour of Spalangia Cameroni Males and Sex Ratio Theory

Oikos ◽

10.2307/3545531 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 59 (2) ◽

pp. 163 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

W. W. Myint ◽

G. H. Walter

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

Sex Ratio Theory