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51 results for “post-copulatory”
Data from: Testing a post-copulatory pre-zygotic reproductive barrier in a passerine species pair
Sexual selection may drive speciation, but most research focuses on pre-copulatory sexual selection, overlooking post-copulatory processes. Post-copulatory sexual selection in allopatric populations could drive divergence in post-copulatory pre-zygotic (PCPZ) phenotypes, limiting gene flow upon secondary contact. Here, we performed in vitro experiments examining one potential PCPZ barrier between two closely related passerine species, house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and Spanish sparrows (Passer hispaniolensis). In birds, crossing in the vagina may be particularly challenging for sperm, so we tested the effect of female reproductive tract fluids on sperm swimming speed and motility. If a PCPZ barrier exists at this stage of the fertilization process, heterospecific female fluids are predicted to reduce sperm swimming speed or motility relative to conspecific female fluid. We found that house sparrow female fluids affected the two species' sperm asymmetrically, depending on the control sperm velocity and male species. Overall, however, sperm performed equally in conspecific and heterospecific female fluids, and the species had similar sperm morphology and sperm swimming performance. Low divergence in PCPZ phenotypes between species, perhaps because post-copulatory sexual selection is stabilizing or only moderately strong in these taxa, may be insufficient to cause an overall PCPZ barrier. Reinforcement may be unlikely to drive PCPZ barriers for this species pair, because relatively effective pre-copulatory barriers exist between the species, and because hybrids can be quite successful. Testing the role of PCPZ barriers in birds with more divergent PCPZ phenotypes will improve our understanding of speciation in passerines.
Data from: Male genital titillators and the intensity of post-copulatory sexual selection across bushcrickets
Animal genitalia are diverse and a growing body of evidence suggests that they evolve rapidly under post-copulatory sexual selection. This process is predicted to be more intense in polyandrous species, although there have been very few comparative studies of the relationship between the complexity of genital structures in males and measures of the degree of polyandry. In some bushcricket families, males possess sclerotized copulatory structures known as titillators, which are inserted into the female's genital chamber and moved rhythmically. Like other genital structures, bushcricket titillators are widely used as important taxonomic characters and show considerable variation across species in structure, shape, and the extent to which they are spined. Here, we examine relationships between the presence/absence of titillators, titillator complexity, and both mating frequency and the degree of polyandry in bushcrickets, using phylogenetic comparative analyses. Using published sources combined with original observations, data were obtained for the mean level of polyandry, the duration of the male and female sexual refractory periods, and the level of complexity of titillators. To analyze data, we fitted phylogenetic generalized least squares models. No significant relationships were found between titillator presence or complexity and either the level of polyandry, duration of the male's sexual refractory period, or the ratio of the female and male sexual refractory periods. The duration of the female's refractory period, however, was positively associated with titillator presence and negatively associated with titillator complexity. The data therefore partially support the hypothesis that post-copulatory sexual selection drives genital evolution in this taxon.
Data from: Within-trio tests provide little support for post-copulatory selection on MHC haplotypes in a free-living population
<p>Sexual selection has been proposed as a force that could maintain the diversity of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes in vertebrates. Potential selective mechanisms can be divided into pre-copulatory and post-copulatory, and in both cases the evidence for occurrence is mixed, especially in natural populations. In this study, we used a large number of parent-offspring trios that were diplotyped for MHC class II genes in a wild population of Soay sheep (<i>Ovis aries</i>) to examine whether there was within-trio post-copulatory selection on MHC genes at both the haplotype and diplotype levels. We found there was transmission ratio distortion of one the eight MHC class II haplotype (E) which was transmitted less than expected by fathers, and transmission ratio distortion of another haplotype (A) which was transmitted more than expected by chance to male offspring. However, in both cases these deviations were not significant after correction for multiple tests. In addition, we did not find any evidence of post-copulatory selection on diplotype level. These results imply given known parents, there is no strong post-copulatory selection on MHC genes in this population.</p>
Data from: Positive correlations between pre- and post-copulatory sexual traits in warblers
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Data from: Contrasting responses of pre- and post-copulatory traits to variation in mating competition
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Data from: Post-copulatory sexual selection allows females to alleviate the fitness costs incurred when mating with senescing males
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Data from: Male genital titillators and the intensity of post-copulatory sexual selection across bushcrickets
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Data from: Testing a post-copulatory pre-zygotic reproductive barrier in a passerine species pair
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Data from: Within-trio tests provide little support for post-copulatory selection on MHC haplotypes in a free-living population
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Data from: Lack of perceived sperm competition risk increases post-copulatory song in Pacific field crickets
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Data from: Paternity analyses in wild-caught and lab-reared Caribbean cricket females reveal the influence of mating environment on post-copulatory sexual selection
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Data from: Winners have higher pre-copulatory mating success but losers have better post-copulatory outcomes
In many animals, the outcomes of competitive interactions can have lasting effects that influence an individual's reproductive success and have important consequences for the strength and direction of evolution via sexual selection. In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, males that have won previous contests are more likely to win in subsequent conflicts and losers are more likely to lose (winner-loser effects), but the direct fitness consequences and genetic underpinnings of this plasticity are poorly understood. Here, we tested how male genotype and the outcomes of previous male-male conflicts influence male pre- and post-copulatory success. We quantified pre-copulatory success in a choice and no-choice context, and post-copulatory success by quantifying ejaculate offensive and defensive ability. We found that winners have higher reproductive success compared to losers in both pre-copulatory scenarios. However, losers consistently mated for a longer duration, boosted female fecundity, and had an increased paternity share when they were the first males to mate, suggesting increased investment into post-copulatory mechanisms. Finally, by using clonal hybrids from the Drosophila genetic reference panel, we quantified the proportion of phenotypic variance in the plasticity between winners and losers that was due to genetic differences. Our results place the behavioural data on winner-loser effects in an evolutionary context by documenting the potential fitness gain to males from altering their reproductive strategy based on fighting experience. Our data may also explain the presence and maintenance of trade-offs between different male reproductive strategies.
Data from: Differential investment in pre- versus post-copulatory sexual selection reinforces a cross-continental reversal of sexual size dimorphism in Sepsis punctum (Diptera: Sepsidae)
Theory predicts that males have a limited amount of resources to invest in reproduction, suggesting a trade-off between traits that enhance mate acquisition and those enhancing fertilization success. Here we investigate the relationship between pre- and post-copulatory investment by comparing the mating behavior and reproductive morphology of four European and five North American populations of the dung fly Sepsis punctum (Diptera) that display a reversal of sexual size dimorphism (SSD). We show that the geographic reversal in SSD between the continents (male-biased in Europe, female-biased in North America) is accompanied by differential investment in pre- versus post-copulatory traits. We find higher re-mating rates in European populations, where larger males acquire more matings and consequently have evolved relatively larger testes and steeper hyper-allometry with body size. American populations, in sharp contrast, display much reduced, if any, effect of body size on those traits. Instead, North American males demonstrate an increased investment in mate acquisition prior to copulation, with more mounting attempts and a distinctive abdominal courtship display that is completely absent in Europe. When controlling for body size, relative female spermathecal size is similar on both continents, so we find no direct evidence for the co-evolution of male and female internal reproductive morphology. By comparing allopatric populations of the same species that apparently have evolved different mating systems and consequently SSD, we thus indirectly demonstrate differential investment in pre- vs. post-copulatory mechanisms increasing reproductive success.
Data from: The contribution of post-copulatory mechanisms to incipient ecological speciation in sticklebacks
Ecology can play a major role in species diversification. As individuals are adapting to contrasting habitats, reproductive barriers may evolve at multiple levels. While pre-mating barriers have been extensively studied, the evolution of post-mating reproductive isolation during early stages of ecological speciation remains poorly understood. In diverging three-spined stickleback ecotypes from two lakes and two rivers, we observed differences in sperm traits between lake and river males. Interestingly, these differences did not translate into ecotype-specific gamete precedence for sympatric males in competitive in vitro fertilization experiments, potentially owing to antagonistic compensatory effects. However, we observed indirect evidence for impeded development of inter-ecotype zygotes, possibly suggesting an early stage of genetic incompatibility between ecotypes. Our results show that pre-zygotic post-copulatory mechanisms play a minor role during this first stage of ecotype divergence, but suggest that genetic incompatibilities may arise at early stages of ecological speciation.
Data from: Evolution of pre-copulatory and post-copulatory strategies of inbreeding avoidance and associated polyandry
Inbreeding depression is widely hypothesised to drive adaptive evolution of pre-copulatory and post-copulatory mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance, which in turn are hypothesised to affect evolution of polyandry (i.e., female multiple mating). However, surprisingly little theory or modelling critically examines selection for pre-copulatory or post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance, or both strategies, given evolutionary constraints and direct costs, or examines how evolution of inbreeding avoidance strategies might feed back to affect evolution of polyandry. Selection for post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance, but not for pre-copulatory inbreeding avoidance, requires polyandry, while interactions between pre-copulatory and post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance might cause functional redundancy (i.e., 'degeneracy') potentially generating complex evolutionary dynamics among inbreeding strategies and polyandry. We used individual-based modelling to quantify evolution of interacting pre-copulatory and post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance and associated polyandry given strong inbreeding depression and different evolutionary constraints and direct costs. We found that evolution of post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance increased selection for initially rare polyandry, and that evolution of a costly inbreeding avoidance strategy became negligible over time given a lower cost alternative strategy. Further, fixed pre-copulatory inbreeding avoidance often completely precluded evolution of polyandry and hence post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance, but fixed post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance did not preclude evolution of pre-copulatory inbreeding avoidance. Evolution of inbreeding avoidance phenotypes and associated polyandry are therefore affected by evolutionary feedbacks and degeneracy. All else being equal, evolution of pre-copulatory inbreeding avoidance and resulting low polyandry is more likely when post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance is precluded or costly, and evolution of post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance greatly facilitates evolution of costly polyandry.
Data from: Post-copulatory opportunities for sperm competition and cryptic female choice provide no offspring fitness benefits in externally fertilizing salmon
There is increasing evidence that females can somehow improve their offspring fitness by mating with multiple males, but we understand little about the exact stage(s) at which such benefits are gained. Here, we measure whether offspring fitness is influenced by mechanisms operating solely between sperm and egg. Using externally fertilizing and polyandrous Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), we employed split-clutch and split-ejaculate in vitro fertilization experiments to generate offspring using designs that either denied or applied opportunities for sperm competition and cryptic female choice. Following fertilizations, we measured 140 days of offspring fitness after hatch, through growth and survival in hatchery and near-natural conditions. Despite an average composite mortality of 61%, offspring fitness at every life stage was near-identical between groups fertilized under the absence versus presence of opportunities for sperm competition and cryptic female choice. Of the 21 551 and 21 771 eggs from 24 females fertilized under monandrous versus polyandrous conditions, 68% versus 67.8% survived to the 100-day juvenile stage; sub-samples showed similar hatching success (73.1% versus 74.3%), had similar survival over 40 days in near-natural streams (57.3% versus 56.2%) and grew at similar rates throughout. We therefore found no evidence that gamete-specific interactions allow offspring fitness benefits when polyandrous fertilization conditions provide opportunities for sperm competition and cryptic female choice.
Data from: Evolution of pre- and post-copulatory traits in male Drosophila melanogaster as a correlated response to selection for resistance to cold stress
Background: In Drosophila melanogaster the fitness of males depends on a broad array of reproductive traits classified as pre- and post-copulatory traits. Exposure to cold stress, can reduce sperm number, male mating ability and courtship behavior. Therefore, it is expected that the adaptation to cold stress will involve changes in pre- and post-copulatory traits. Such evolution of reproductive traits in response to cold stress is not well studied. Methods: We selected replicate populations of D. melanogaster for resistance to cold shock. Over 37–46 generations of selection, we investigated pre- and post-copulatory traits such as mating latency, copulation duration, mating frequency, male fertility, fitness (progeny production) and sperm competitive ability in male flies subjected to cold shock and those not subjected to cold shock. Results: We found that post cold shock, the males from the selected populations had a significantly lower mating latency along with, higher mating frequency, fertility, sperm competitive ability and number of progeny relative to the control populations. Conclusion: While most studies of experimental evolution of cold stress resistance have documented the evolution of survivorship in response to selection, our study clearly shows that adaptation to cold stress involves rapid changes in the pre- and post-copulatory traits. Additionally, improved performances under stressful conditions need not necessarily trade-off with performance under benign conditions.
Data from: Adult dietary protein has age- and context-dependent effects on male post-copulatory performance
The highly-conserved effect of dietary protein restriction on life-span and ageing is observed in both sexes and across a vast range of taxa. This extension of life-span is frequently accompanied by a reduction in female fecundity and it has been hypothesised that individuals may reallocate resources away from reproduction and into somatic maintenance. However, effects of dietary protein restriction on male reproduction are less consistent, suggesting that these effects may depend on other environmental parameters. Using the neriid fly, Telostylinus angusticollis, we examined age-specific effects of adult dietary protein restriction on male post-copulatory reproductive performance (fecundity and offspring viability). To explore the context-dependence of these effects, we simultaneously manipulated male larval diet and adult mating history. We found that protein-restricted males sired less viable offspring at young ages, but offspring viability increased with paternal age and eventually exceeded that of fully-fed males. The number of eggs laid by females was not affected by male dietary protein, whereas egg hatching success was subject to a complex interaction of male adult diet, age, larval diet, and mating history. These findings suggest that effects of protein restriction on male reproduction are highly context-dependent, and cannot be explained by a simple reallocation of resources from reproduction to somatic maintenance. Rather, these effects appear to involve changes in the scheduling of male reproductive investment with age.
Figure 2 in Preliminary assessment of mating duration and prolonged post-copulatory associations in Arrenurus water mites (Actinotrichida: Parasitengonina: Hydrachnidiae)
Figure 2 Scanning electron micrographs of Arrenurus spp. in copula: A, B – Arrenurus globatorin mating position (lateral view): female
Data from: Developmental diet irreversibly shapes male post-copulatory traits in the neriid fly (Telostylinus angusticollis)
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