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117 results for “copulation”
Data from: Experimental extra-pair copulations provide proof of concept for fertility insurance in a socially monogamous bird
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Data from: Deceptive copulation calls attract female visitors to peacock leks
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The evolutionary genetics of paternal care: how good genes and extra-pair copulation affect the trade-off between paternal care and mating success
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Video of precopulatory and postcopulatory behavior and copulation of Siliquofera grandis (Orthoptera: Phaneropteridae: Phyllophorinae)
<p>Video of courtship, copulation and postcopulatory behaviour of Giant Katydids Siliquofera grandis (Blanchard, 1853) (Orthoptera: Tettigonioidea: Phaneropteridae: Phyllophorinae).</p>
Figures 5-7 from: Waldren GC, Roberts JD, Pitts JP (2020) Phoretic copulation in the velvet ant Sphaeropthalma pensylvanica (Lepeletier) (Hymenoptera, Mutillidae): A novel behavior for Sphaeropthalminae with a synthesis of mating strategies in Mutillidae. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 78: 69-89. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.78.55762
Figures 5-7 Examples of each type of mating strategy in Mutillidae5ISC, Dasymutilla foxi (Cockerell, 1894) in Arizona, USA; photograph by Mark H. Brown 6TPC, Myrmosa unicolor Say, 1824 in New York, USA; photograph by A. D. Levine 7MPC, Wallacidia oculata (Fabricius, 1804) in Southern District, Hong Kong; photograph by 'aabbabc.'
Figures 1-4 from: Waldren GC, Roberts JD, Pitts JP (2020) Phoretic copulation in the velvet ant Sphaeropthalma pensylvanica (Lepeletier) (Hymenoptera, Mutillidae): A novel behavior for Sphaeropthalminae with a synthesis of mating strategies in Mutillidae. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 78: 69-89. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.78.55762
Figures 1-4 MPC-practicing pair of Sphaeropthalma pensylvanica (Lepeletier, 1845) in Alabama, USA; photographs by Jason D. Roberts.
Rapid beard darkening predicts contest outcome, not copulation success, in bearded dragon lizards
<p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Rapid colour change is widespread in animals and allows them to respond dynamically to the physical and social environment. However, few studies have examined the information conveyed by dynamic colour signals in different social contexts, such as courtship and rivalry contests. Furthermore, dynamic colour change on different body regions may be subject to different selection pressures and therefore serve different functions. We tested whether male colour or colour change predict contest outcome in male-male interactions, or the likelihood of copulation attempts in male-female interactions in the central bearded dragon, <i>Pogona vitticeps</i>. The extent of beard darkening strongly predicted contest outcome, but neither colour (beard, dorsal) nor colour change predicted copulation attempts. <span><span>Dorsal colour showed little consistent change and did not predict contest outcome or copulation attempts. </span></span>Previous work shows that dorsal but not beard colour change occurs in response to both background colour and temperature in the laboratory and in the wild. <a name="_Hlk33037262">Taken together, these results indicate that dynamic colour change in bearded dragons varies in relation to social context and can serve different functions depending on the body region.</a> Our data add to the growing appreciation of how rapid colour change enables animals to accommodate the multiple functions of colour, including communication to different receivers, camouflage and thermoregulation.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
Data from: Mate guarding and frequent copulation in birds: a meta-analysis of their relationship to paternity and male phenotype
In many birds males are presumed to protect their paternity by closely guarding their mate or copulating frequently with her. Both these costly behaviours are assumed to reduce the risk and/or intensity of sperm competition. However, despite many studies on avian extra-pair paternity, it remains unclear how strongly these behaviours are related to fitness and other key life-history traits. Here we conduct meta-analyses to address two questions. First, are mate guarding and/or frequent copulation positively correlated with a male's share of paternity at his nest? We find a significant positive correlation between both presumed paternity protection behaviours and paternity share. The relationship is, however, weak (r = 0.08-0.23). This is perhaps unsurprising if the risk of partner infidelity, hence the need to protect paternity, varies among males. For example, more attractive males might have less need to protect their paternity. Second, do males with higher indices of so-called male 'quality' (phenotypic measures, usually subjectively defined by researchers as predictors of male attractiveness) exhibit lower levels of paternity protection behaviour? We find a negative correlation between male quality and paternity protection. This finding might partly explain the weak relationship between paternity protection and paternity, although we discuss other, non-mutually exclusive possibilities.
Data from: Copulation with immature females increases male fitness in cannibalistic widow spiders
Copulatory cannibalism of male 'widow' spiders (genus Latrodectus) is a model example of the extreme effects of sexual selection, particularly in L. hasselti and L. geometricus where males typically facilitate cannibalism by females and mate only once. We show that these males can increase their reproductive success by copulating with final-instar, immature females after piercing the female's exoskeleton to access her newly developed sperm storage organs. Females retain sperm through their final moult and have similar fecundity to adult-mated females. This is an adaptive male tactic because immature mating increases insemination success relative to adult mating (which predicts higher paternity) and moreover, rarely ends in cannibalism, so males can mate again. Although successful only during a brief period before the female's final moult, males may employ this tactic when they associate with final-instar females in nature. Consistent with this, one-third of L. hasselti females collected as immatures in nature were already mated. Immature mating alters sexual selection on these otherwise monogynous males, and may explain male traits allowing facultative polygyny in Latrodectus. Since male cohabitation with immature females is common among invertebrates, immature mating may be a widespread, previously unrecognized mating tactic, particularly when unmated females are of high reproductive value.
Data from: Impact of cryptic female choice on insemination success: larger sized and longer copulating male squid ejaculate more, but females influence insemination success by removing spermatangia
In polyandrous mating systems, sperm competition and cryptic female choice (CFC) are well recognized as postcopulatory evolutionary forces. However, it remains challenging to separate CFC from sperm competition and to estimate how much CFC influences insemination success because those processes usually occur inside the female's body. The Japanese pygmy squid, Idiosepius paradoxus, is an ideal species in which to separate CFC from sperm competition because sperm transfer by the male and sperm displacement by the female can be observed directly at an external location on the female's body. Here, we counted the number of spermatangia transferred to, removed from, and remaining on the female body during single copulation episodes. We measured behavioral and morphological characteristics of the male, such as duration of copulation and body size. Although males with larger body size and longer copulation time were capable of transferring larger amounts of sperm, females preferentially eliminated sperm from males with larger body size and shorter copulation time by spermatangia removal; thus, CFC could attenuate sperm precedence by larger males, whereas it reinforces sperm precedence by males with longer copulation time. Genetic paternity analysis revealed that fertilisation success for each male was correlated with remaining sperm volume that is adjusted by females after copulation.
Figs 7–9 in An instance of intergeneric copulation in the family Rhopalidae (Heteroptera): structure, functioning and congruence of the genitalia in two different species from the standpoint of the lock-and-key hypothesis
Figs 7–9. Aedeagus of Corizus hyoscy- ami, sequential stages of inflation. 7, most initial stage; 8, intermediate stage; 9, final stage of complete inflation. Wet (7, 8) and dry (9) preparations in ventral (7) and dorsal (8, 9) views. a.p.v, apical part of vesica; ar.s, articular sclerite; d-l.l, dorso-lateral lobes of conjunctiva; ej.r, ejaculatory reservoir; l.l.v, left lobe of basal part of vesica; r.l.v, right lobe of basal part of vesica; s.gp, secondary gonopore. Scale bar: 0.14 mm.
Figures 1-6 in Couples in phoretic copulation, a tool for male-female association in highly dimorphic insects of the wasp genus Dissomphalus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae)
Figures 1-6. (1-3) Female of Dissomphalus simulatus from Bolivia: (1) habitus in lateral view; (2) head in dorsal view; (3) mesosoma in dorsal view. (4-6) Female of Dissomphalus mendicus from Brazil, Distrito Federal: (4) habitus in lateral view; (5) head in dorsal view; (6) mesosoma in dorsal view. Scale bars: 500 µm.
Data from: Distinct copulation positions in Drosophila pachea males with symmetric or asymmetric external genitalia
Left-right asymmetric genitalia have appeared multiple times independently in insects and have been associated with changes in mating positions. However, there is little experimental data on how the evolution of genital asymmetries may have affected the evolution of mating positions or vice versa. As opposed to its closely-related species, Drosophila pachea has a conspicuous asymmetry in its male genitalia external lobes, with the left lobe being 1.49 ± 0.08 (SD) times longer and thinner than the right lobe. In a laboratory stock, we found that 20% of the males possess fully symmetric lobes. To better understand how asymmetric genitalia may affect mating, we compared D. pachea copulation behaviour between these mutant males and wild-type males. We found that D. pachea wild-type males adopt a one-sided mating posture with the male always one-sided 8.55° ± 1.79° (SD) towards the female's right side. Within 45-min recordings, all wild-type males did mate whereas 39% of symmetric mutants failed to form a stable mating complex and did not mate. In successful copulations, symmetric mutants also adopted a right-sided mating posture but the angle between male and female bodies was significantly more variable compared to wild-type males. Our results suggest that lobe size asymmetry is required for the formation of a stable mating complex and for the positioning of the male according to a precise angle on the female. However, lobe size asymmetry is not required for D. pachea right-sided mating posture.
Data from: Copulation order, density cues and variance in fertilization success in a cestode
Simultaneous hermaphrodites maximize their fitness by optimizing their investment into male or female functions. Allocation of resources to male function (tissues, traits, and/or behaviours increasing paternity) is predicted to increase as density, and the associated level of sperm competition, increases. We tested whether the simultaneous hermaphroditic cestode Schistocephalus solidus uses cues of potential partner densities in its fish intermediate host to improve its male reproductive success in the final host. We had two worms, one originating from a multiple infection in the fish intermediate host and one from a single infection, sequentially compete to fertilize the eggs of a third worm. The fertilization rates of the two competitors nearly always differed from the 50-50 null expectation, sometimes considerably, implying there was a 'winner' in each experimental competition. However, we did not find a significant effect of density in the fish host (single vs multiple) or mating order on paternity. Additional work will be needed to identify the traits and environmental conditions that explain the high variance in male reproductive success observed in this experiment.
FIG. 18 in Palpal loss, single palp copulation and obligatory mate consumption in Tidarren cuneolatum (Tullgren, 1910) (Araneae, Theridiidae)
FIG. 18. Tidarren cuneolatum (Tullgren), in copula; left palp functional.
FIG. 1 in Palpal loss, single palp copulation and obligatory mate consumption in Tidarren cuneolatum (Tullgren, 1910) (Araneae, Theridiidae)
FIG. 1. Mate consumption in Tidarren cuneolatum (Tullgren). Right palp of male still ināted.
Figure 1 in REVIEW Phoretic copulation in Aculeata (Insecta: Hymenoptera): a review
Figure 1. Elaphroptera scoliaeformis (Thynnidae): A, female; B, couple mating.
Data from: Non-adaptive female pursuit of extra-pair copulations can evolve through hitchhiking
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Data from: Distinct copulation positions in Drosophila pachea males with symmetric or asymmetric external genitalia
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Data from: Impact of cryptic female choice on insemination success: larger sized and longer copulating male squid ejaculate more, but females influence insemination success by removing spermatangia
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