Find research datasets worth reusing
Search datasets from major research repositories and use ShareScore to quickly assess how well each record supports discovery, access, and reuse.
125
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.7.1
Dataset results
125 results for “male–male competition”
Data from: Male-male competition causes parasite-mediated sexual selection for local adaptation
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Immigrant males’ memory acts to reduce ranging overlap and mating competition in wild baboons
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Competitively mediated changes in male toad calls can depend on call structure
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Female chacma baboons modulate their sexual receptivity in response to male intrasexual competition
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Dominance rank, facial morphology, and testes size in male white-faced capuchins: evidence for pre- and post-mating competition
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
How female × male and male × male interactions influence competitive fertilization in Drosophila melanogaster
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Experimentally induced intrasexual mating competition and sex-specific evolution in female and male nematodes
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Raw data for: Plastic male mating behaviour evolves in response to the competitive environment
<p>Male reproductive phenotypes can evolve in response to the social and sexual environment. The expression of many such phenotypes may also be plastic within an individual's lifetime. For example, male <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> show significantly extended mating duration following a period of exposure to conspecific male rivals. The costs and benefits of reproductive investment, and plasticity itself, can be shaped by the prevailing socio-sexual environment and by resource availability. We investigated these ideas using experimental evolution lines of <i>D. melanogaster </i>evolving under three fixed sex ratios (high, medium and low male-male competition) on either rich or poor adult diets. We found that males evolving in high-competition environments evolved longer mating durations overall. In addition, these males expressed a novel type of plastic behavioural response following exposure to rival males: they both significantly reduced and showed altered courtship delivery and exhibited significantly longer mating latencies. Plasticity in male mating duration in response to rivals was maintained in all of the lines, suggesting that the costs of plasticity were minimal. None of the evolutionary responses tested were consistently affected by dietary resource regimes. Collectively, the results show that fixed behavioural changes and new augmentations to the repertoire of reproductive behaviours can evolve rapidly.</p>
Combined cues of male competition influence spermatozoal investment in a moth
<ol> <li><span>Male animals usually raise their sperm allocation after detecting sperm competition risk. To date, only a few studies have investigated the cues used by males to sense and respond to rivals. Yet, it is still largely unknown whether males respond to single or combined cues and whether they can increase their lifetime spermatozoal investment<b> </b>after a perception of rival cue(s). </span></li> <li><span>Here we postulate that males increase ejaculation and production of sperm after detecting combined cues from rivals, but such response quickly diminishes after the cues are removed. We exposed newly emerged and virgin focal males of the moth <i>Ephestia kuehniella</i> to various rival cues and then permanently removed the cues. We introduced a virgin female to an exposed focal male and an unexposed focal male, respectively, per day and counted the number of sperm transferred by the focal males in each mating and recovered in their body after death. </span></li> <li><span>We demonstrate that males significantly increased their lifetime sperm allocation and production after premating detection of either single (acoustic or chemical) or combined cues (acoustic + chemical, or acoustic + chemical + tactile) from their rivals with combined cues (acoustic + chemical + tactile) somewhat strengthening such response in eupyrene production. </span></li> <li><span>The number of sperm ejaculated by males significantly decreased over successive matings in their lifetime regardless of whether they were exposed to rival cues, but the decline was significantly faster in rival-cue exposed males than in unexposed ones. This suggests that the increase of spermatogenesis cannot fully compensate for that of sperm expenditure in response to rival cues. </span></li> <li><span>We show that 10-h premating rival exposure was sufficient to maximise males' response in sperm ejaculation and production. The impact of the rival perception on sperm transfer persisted for most of males' reproductive life, suggesting that the moth males have a long-term memory of sperm competition risk experienced in the early adulthood. </span></li> </ol>
Data from: Males, but not females, perform strategic mate searching movements between host plants in a leaf beetle with scramble competition polygyny
1. Mate searching is assumed to be performed mostly by males, but when females benefit from multiple mating or are under risk of failing to mate, they may also perform mate searching. This is especially important in scramble competition polygynies, in which mate searching is the main mechanism of mate competition. Typically, more mobile individuals are expected to achieve higher mating success because mobility increases their probability of finding mates. 2. If we assume individual movements are mainly explained by mate searching in scramble competition polygynies, we can investigate searching strategies by asking when individuals should leave their location and where they should go. We hypothesize that individuals will leave their locations when mating opportunities are scarce and will seek spatially close sites with better mating opportunities. 3. We tested these hypotheses for males and females of Leptinotarsa undecimlineata, a leaf beetle with scramble competition polygyny in which both sexes are promiscuous. Individuals mate and feed exclusively on Solanum plants, thus individual movements can be described as switches between plants. 4. Females were less likely than males to leave isolated plants, and both males and females moved preferentially to neighbouring plants. Males were more likely to leave when the local number of females was low, and the number of males was high. They moved to plants with more females, a behaviour consistent with a mate searching strategy. Females were more likely to move to plants with fewer males and many females, a behaviour consistent with male harassment avoidance. 5. Strategic movement is widely considered in foraging context, but seldom in a mate searching context. Considering that selection to minimize searching costs, maximize mating success, and minimize harassment may be ubiquitous in nature, we argue that strategic movements by mate searching individuals are likely to occur in many species.
Data from: Reproductive effort and success of males in scramble competition polygyny: evidence for trade-offs between foraging and mate-search
1. Patterns of male reproductive allocation provide insight into life-history characteristics. The trade-offs associated with resource and female group defense are well-defined. However, less is understood about trade-offs in species that practice scramble-competition polygyny, where successful strategies may favor competitive mate-searching rather than contest competition and fighting. 2. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) practice scramble-competition polygyny where solitary males search for and assess receptivity of females scattered across the landscape. Physically mature males are expected to do most of the breeding because of the high energetic costs of reproduction and high social status. However, young males may collectively sire one-third of offspring. To gain a better understanding of trade-offs associated with scramble-competition polygyny, we quantified metrics associated with reproductive effort and success. 3. We quantified changes in body mass of harvested males, energetic costs of locomotion based on movements of GPS radio-collared males, and timing of reproduction via temporal genetic parentage assignments. 4. Young males (1.5 and 2.5 years old) sired offspring, but their mating success was mainly limited to peak rut, when most females were in estrus. Furthermore, multiple paternity was common, indicating opportunistic reproduction. Reproductive effort, indexed by body mass loss, was highest in prime-age males (5.5-6.5 years old). Surprisingly, young and post-prime males also exhibited significant body mass loss, indicative of investment in reproductive effort. Movement rates increased 2 to 4-fold during rut as a function of mate-search activities, but cost of locomotion would cause only about one-third of observed body mass loss. Because males are capital breeders, we infer most of body mass loss is due to reduced foraging. 5. In scramble-competition polygyny, the repeated location of potential mates and assessment of their estrous status appear to be important constituents of male mating strategies. Therefore mating success may be influenced by time management and spatial memory, and not based solely on social dominance. Thus, reproductive effort should be greater for individuals capable of reducing time foraging. For those that cannot, opportunistic mating opportunities may arise when operative adult sex ratios are low. Our analyses reveal valuable insight into the trade-offs associated with scramble-competition polygyny.
Data from: Sex-specific inbreeding depression depends on the strength of male-male competition
Inbreeding depression has become a central theme in evolutionary biology and is considered to be a driving force for the evolution of reproductive morphology, physiology, behavior, and mating systems. Despite the overwhelming body of empirical work on the reproductive consequences of inbreeding, relatively little is known on whether inbreeding depresses male and female fitness to the same extent. However, sex-specific inbreeding depression has been argued to affect the evolution of selfing rates in simultaneous hermaphrodites and provides a powerful approach to test whether selection is stronger in males than in females, which is predicted to be the consequence of sexual selection. We tested for sex-specific inbreeding depression in the simultaneously hermaphroditic freshwater snail Physa acuta by comparing the reproductive performance of both sex functions between selfed and outcrossed focal individuals under different levels of male–male competition. We found that inbreeding impaired both male and female reproductive success and that the magnitude of male inbreeding depression exceeded female inbreeding depression when the opportunity for sperm competition was highest. Our study provides the first evidence for sex-specific inbreeding depression in a hermaphroditic animal and highlights the importance of considering the level of male–male competition when assessing sex differences in inbreeding depression.
Male mating success evolves in response to increased levels of male-male competition
<p>Male-biased operational sex ratios can increase male-male competition and can potentially select for both increased pre-and post-copulatory male success. In the present study, using populations of Drosophila melanogaster evolved under male-biased (M) or female-biased (F) sex ratios, we asked whether (a) male mating success can evolve (b) males are better at mating females that they have co-evolved with (c) males mating success is affected by female mating status and (d) male mating success is correlated with their courtship effort. We directly competed M and F males for mating with (a) virgin ancestral (common) females, (b) virgin females from the M and F populations, and (c) singly mated females from the M and F populations. We also assessed the courtship frequency of the males when paired with mated M or F females. Our results show that M males, evolving under an increased level of male-male competition, have higher mating success than F males irrespective of the female evolutionary history. However, the difference in mating success is more pronounced if the females had mated before. M males also have a higher courtship frequency than F males, but we did not find any correlation between mating success and courtship frequency. </p>
Male age alone predicts paternity success under sperm competition when effects of age and past mating effort are experimentally separated
<p>Older males often perform poorly under post-copulatory sexual selection. It is unclear, however, whether reproductive senescence is due to male age itself or the accumulated costs of the higher lifetime mating effort that is usually associated with male age. To date, very few studies have accounted for mating history and sperm storage when testing the effect of male age on sperm traits, and none test how age and past mating history influence paternity success under sperm competition. Here, we experimentally manipulate male mating history to tease apart its effects from that of age on ejaculate traits and paternity in the mosquitofish<i>, Gambusia holbrooki</i>. We found that old, naive males had more sperm than old, experienced males, while the reverse was true for young males. In contrast, neither male age nor mating history affected sperm velocity. Finally, using artificial insemination to experimentally control the number of sperm per male, we found that old males sired significantly more offspring than young males independently of their mating history. Our results highlight that the general pattern of male reproductive senescence described in many taxa may often be affected by two naturally confounding factors, male mating history and sperm age, rather than male age itself.</p>
Data from: Intra-sexual selection: kin competition increases male-male territorial aggression in a monogamous cichlid fish
<p>During intrasexual competition, individuals of the same sex compete for access to breeding sites and mating partners, often accompanied by aggressive behavior. Kin selection theory predicts different kin directed social interactions ranging from cooperation to aggression depending on the context and the resource in question. Kin competition reducing indirect fitness might be avoided by actively expelling relatives from territories and by showing higher aggression against kin. The West-African cichlid <i>Pelvicachromis taeniatus</i> is a monogamous cave breeder with males occupying and defending breeding sites against rivals. This species is capable of kin recognition and shows kin-preference during juvenile shoaling and mate choice. However, sub-adults of <i>P. taeniatus</i> seem to avoid the proximity of same-sex kin. In the present study, we examined territorial aggression of territory holders against intruding related and unrelated males as well as intruder's behavior. We observed higher aggression among related competitors suggesting that related males are less tolerated as neighbors. Avoidance of intra-sexual competition with relatives might increase indirect fitness of males in monogamous species.</p>
Divergent natural selection alters male sperm competition success in Drosophila melanogaster
<p>Sexually selected traits may also be subject to non-sexual selection. If optimal trait values depend on environmental conditions, then "narrow sense" (i.e., non-sexual) natural selection can lead to local adaptation, with fitness in a certain environment being highest among individuals selected under that environment. Such adaptation can in turn drive ecological speciation via sexual selection. To date, most research on the effect of narrow-sense natural selection on sexually selected traits has focused on precopulatory measures like mating success. However, postcopulatory traits, such as sperm function, can also be under nonsexual selection, and have the potential to contribute to population divergence between different environments. Here, we investigate the effects of narrow-sense natural selection on male postcopulatory success in <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>. We chose two extreme environments, low oxygen (10%, hypoxic) or high CO<sub>2</sub> (5%, hypercapnic) to detect small effects. We measured the sperm defensive (P1) and offensive (P2) capabilities of selected and control males in the corresponding selection environment and under control conditions. Overall, selection under hypoxia decreased both P1 and P2, while selection under hypercapnia had no effect. Surprisingly, P1 for both selected and control males was higher under both ambi-ent hypoxia and ambient hypercapnia, compared to control conditions, while P2 was lower under hypoxia. We found limited evidence for local adaptation: the positive environmental effect of hypoxia on P1 was greater in hypoxia-selected males than in controls. We discuss the implications of our findings for the evolution of postcopulatory traits in response to non-sexual and sexual selection.</p>
Data from: Male responses to sperm competition risk associated with increased macronutrient intake and reduced lifespan
<p>Increased expenditure on the ejaculate is a taxonomically widespread male response to sperm competition. Increased ejaculate expenditure is assumed to come at a cost to future reproduction, otherwise males should always invest maximally. However, the life-history costs of strategic ejaculation are not well documented. Macronutrient intake is known to affect the trade-off between reproduction and lifespan. Intakes of protein and carbohydrate that maximise reproduction are often differ from those that maximise lifespan. Here, we asked whether strategic expenditure on the ejaculate by male crickets, <em>Teleogryllus oceanicus</em>, is mediated by macronutrient intake, and whether it comes at a cost of reduced lifespan. Males were exposed to rival song throughout their lifespan or were held in a silent non-competitive environment. Males exposed to song had a higher intake of both protein and carbohydrate, they reached adulthood sooner, produced ejaculates of higher quality, and died sooner than males living in a silent environment. Our findings provide a rare example of both the mechanisms and life-history costs associated with strategic ejaculation.</p>
Data from: Intensity of male-male competition predicts morph diversity in a colour polymorphic lizard
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Males, but not females, perform strategic mate searching movements between host plants in a leaf beetle with scramble competition polygyny
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Delineating the roles of males and females in sperm competition
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
ScienceDex guides
Understand access before you commit
These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.