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115 results for “nuptial gift”
Sexual selection on a female copulatory device in an insect with nuptial gifts
<p><span>Male genitalia are rapidly evolving structures, often driven by sexual selection to increase fertilization success. Although sexual selection on females can be strong in systems where males provide offspring care or feed their mates, sometimes resulting in the evolution of female ornamentation, there are no actual estimates of direct sexual selection on female genitalia. In a New Zealand ground weta, <em>Hemiandrus pallitarsis</em> (Orthoptera: Ensifera, Anostostomatidae), females possess a genitalic device (the accessory organ) that is necessary for successful copulation and the acquisition of glandular food-gifts from males. These nutritious gifts are known to result in sexual competition among females in other ensiferan species. In ground weta, the gifts are probably important in avoiding starvation during a months-long period when caring for </span>(their lifetime production of) eggs and offspring.<span> Here, we test the hypothesis that the accessory organ is a sexually selected device in <em>H. pallitarsis</em> by measuring the female Bateman gradient, Jones index, and directional sexual selection on the accessory organ. Using newly developed and characterized microsatellite loci, we analyze offspring and/or stored sperm to estimate female mating frequency for the first time in ground weta. As predicted, we found both a positive Bateman gradient and Jones index for females, and evidence of directional sexual selection on accessory organ length. Although organ length does not correlate well with female fecundity, it may increase mating success by indicating her condition and thus quality of her offspring care. </span></p>
Sexual selection on a female copulatory device in an insect with nuptial gifts
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Data from: Transcriptomic responses to the consumption of nuptial food gifts by female decorated crickets
<p>Nuptial food gifts offered by males to females at mating are shaped by sexual conflict, allowing males direct access to female physiology. However, a molecular dissection of their effect on females is rare. In decorated crickets, the male's nuptial gift comprises part of<span> the male's spermatophore, the spermatophylax,</span> which functions to deter the female from prematurely removing the sperm-containing portion, the ampulla, from her genital opening. However, ingested spermatophylax compounds and proteins contained in the ampulla could also influence female physiology and behavior to the male's benefit. We investigated how mating per se and these two distinct routes of potential male-mediated manipulation influence the transcriptional response of females. We conducted an RNA-sequencing experiment on the gut and head tissue from females for whom consumption of nuptial food gifts and receipt of an ejaculate had been independently manipulated. In the gut tissue, we found that females not permitted to feed during mating exhibit a decreased expression of many genes, which seems to be caused by reduced gut function, but this was countered by female feeding on the spermatophylax or a sham gift. In the head tissue, we found only low numbers of differentially expressed genes, but a gene co-expression network analysis revealed that both the attachment of the ampulla and the consumption of the spermatophylax independently induce their own distinct patterns of gene expression. This study provides evidence that spermatophylax feeding alters the female post-mating transcriptomic response in decorated crickets, highlighting its potential to mediate sexual conflict in this system.</p>
Sexually antagonistic coevolution of the male nuptial gift and female feeding behaviour in decorated crickets
<p>The evolution of nuptial gifts has traditionally been considered a harmonious affair, providing benefits to both mating partners. There is growing evidence, however, that receiving a nuptial gift can be actively detrimental to the female.<strong> </strong>In decorated crickets (<em>Gryllodes sigillatus</em>), males produce a gelatinous spermatophylax that enhances sperm transfer but provides little nutritional benefit and hinders female post-copulatory mate choice. Here, we examine the sexually antagonistic coevolution of the spermatophylax and the female feeding response to this gift in <em>G. sigillatus</em> maintained in experimental populations with either a male-biased or female-biased adult sex ratio. After 25 generations, males evolving in male-biased populations produced heavier spermatophylaxes with a more manipulative combination of free amino acids than those evolving in female-biased populations. Moreover, when the spermatophylax originated from the same selection regime, females evolving in male-biased populations always had shorter feeding durations than those evolving in female-biased populations indicating the evolution of greater resistance.<strong> </strong>Across populations, female feeding duration increased with the mass and manipulative combination of free amino acids in the spermatophylax suggesting sexually antagonistic coevolution.<strong> </strong>Collectively, our work demonstrates a key role for interlocus sexual conflict and sexually antagonistic coevolution in the mating system of<em> G. sigillatus</em>.</p>
Silk-borne chemicals of spider nuptial gifts elicit female gift acceptance
<p>Chemical communication is important in a reproductive context by conveying information used for mate recognition and/or assessment during courtship and mating. Spider silk is common as vehicle for chemical communication between the sexes. However, despite being well described in females, male silk-borne chemicals remain largely unexplored. Males of the spider Pisaura mirabilis silk-wrap prey (i.e. nuptial gifts) that is offered to females during courtship and eaten by the female during copulation. Interestingly, rejected males often add more silk to their gift which leads to mate acceptance, suggesting presence of silk-borne chemicals that facilitate female gift acceptance. To test this hypothesis, we offered females standardised gifts covered with male silk that was either washed in solvents or unwashed, respectively to remove or not any chemically active components. We scored female gift acceptance, and as expected in the case chemicals that mediate female mating behaviour are present in male silk, females were more likely to accept gifts covered with unwashed silk. Our findings suggest that silk-borne chemicals of nuptial gifts prime female responses, potentially signalling male quality or manipulating females into mating beyond their interests given the occurrence of male cheating behaviour via nutritionally worthless gifts in this system.</p>
Data for: Paternity sharing in insects with female competition for nuptial gifts
<p>Male parental investment is expected to be associated with high confidence of paternity. Studies of species with exclusive male parental care have provided support for this hypothesis because mating typically co-occurs with each oviposition, allowing control over paternity and the allocation of care. However, in systems where males invest by feeding mates (typically arthropods) mating (and thus the investment) is separated from egg-laying, resulting in less control over insemination (as male ejaculates compete with rival sperm stored by females) and a greater risk of investing in unrelated offspring (cuckoldry). As strong selection on males to increase paternity would compromise the fitness of all a female's other mates that make costly nutrient contributions, paternity sharing (males not excluded from siring offspring) is an expected outcome of sperm competition. Using wild-caught females in an orthopteran and a dipteran species, in which sexually selected, ornamented females compete for male nuptial food gifts needed for successful reproduction, we examined paternity patterns and compared them to findings in other insects. We used microsatellite analysis of offspring (lifetime reproduction in the orthopteran) and stored sperm from wild-caught females in both study species, and as predicted there was evidence of shared paternity as few males failed to sire offspring. Further support for paternity-sharing is the lack of last-male sperm precedence in our study species. Although paternity was not equal among sires, our estimates of paternity bias were similar to other insects with valuable nuptial gifts and contrasted with the finding that males are frequently excluded from siring offspring in species where males supply little more than sperm. This suggests paternity bias may be reduced in nuptial-gift systems and may help facilitate the evolution of these paternal investments.</p>
Silk-borne chemicals of spider nuptial gifts elicit female gift acceptance
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Data from: RNA interference reveals that male nuptial gift proteins affect female behavior to increase male paternity share in decorated crickets
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Sexually antagonistic coevolution of the male nuptial gift and female feeding behaviour in decorated crickets
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Data from: Elevated temperatures have sex-specific effects on nuptial gift behavior
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Data for: Paternity sharing in insects with female competition for nuptial gifts
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Data from: Transcriptomic responses to the consumption of nuptial food gifts by female decorated crickets
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Python Script used in: Evolution of nuptial gifts and its coevolutionary dynamics with male-like persistence traits of females for multiple mating
<p>Many male animals donate nutritive materials during courtship or mating to their female mates. Donation of large-sized gifts, though costly to prepare, can result in increased sperm transfer during mating and delayed remating of the females, resulting in a higher paternity. Nuptial gifting sometimes causes severe female-female competition for obtaining gifts (i.e., sex-role reversal in mate competition) and female polyandry, changing the intensity of sperm competition and the resultant paternity gains. We built a theoretical model to analyze such coevolutionary feedbacks between nuptial gift size (male trait) and propensity for multiple mating (female trait). Our genetically explicit, individual-based computer simulations demonstrate that a positive correlation between donated gift size and the resultant paternity gain is a requisite for the co-occurrence of large-sized gifts and females' competitive multiple mating for the gifts. When gift donation imposes monandry, exaggeration of nuptial gift size also occurs under the assumption that the last male monopolizes paternity, although it reduces mating opportunities, also occurs under the assumption that the last male monopolizes paternity. We also analyzed the causes and consequences of the evolution of a female persistence trait in trading of nuptial gifts, that is, double receptacles for nuptial gifts known to occur in an insect group with a "female penis" (<em>Neotrogla</em> spp.).</p>
Data from: Size-dependent mating pattern in a nuptial gift-giving insect
The reproductive interests of females and males often diverge in terms of the number of mating partners, an individual's phenotype, origin, genes and parental investment. This conflict may lead to a variety of sex-specific adaptations and also affect mate choice in both sexes. We conducted an experiment with the bush-cricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae), a species in which females receive direct nutritional benefits during mating. Mated individuals could be assigned due to the genotype of male spermatodoses, which are stored in the female's spermatheca. After three weeks of possible copulations in established mating groups which were random replications with four females and males we did not find consistent assortative mating preference regarding to body size of mates. However, our results showed that the frequency of within-pair copulations (192 analyzed mating events in 128 possible pair-wise combinations) was positively associated with the body size of both mated individuals with significant interaction between sexes (having one mate very large, association between body size and the number of copulations has weaken). Larger individuals also showed a higher degree of polygamy. This suggests that body size of this nuptial gift-giving insect species is an important sexual trait according to which both sexes choose their optimal mating partner.
Data from: Nuptial gift chemistry reveals convergent evolution correlated with antagonism in mating systems of harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones)
Nuptial gifts are material donations given from male to female before or during copulation, and are subject to sexual selection in a wide variety of taxa. The harvestman genus Leiobunum has emerged as a model system for understanding the evolution of reproductive morphology and behavior, as transitions between solicitous and antagonistic modes of courtship have occurred multiple times within the lineage and are correlated with convergence in genital morphology. We analyzed the free amino acid content of nuptial gift secretions from five species of Leiobunum using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Multivariate analysis of the free amino acid profiles revealed that, rather than clustering based on phylogenetic relationships, nuptial gift chemical composition was better predicted by genital morphology and behavior, suggesting that convergent evolution has acted on the chemical composition of the nuptial gift. Specifically, species with solicitous courtship produce gifts consisting of a 19% larger proportion of essential amino acids as compared to those with more antagonistic courtship interactions. This work represents the first comparative study of nuptial gift chemistry within a phylogenetic framework in any animal group and as such contributes to our understanding of the evolution of reproductive diversity and the participant role of nuptial gift chemistry in mating system transitions.
Figure 86. Shaanxinus mingchihensis Lin, 2019. A, male left spinnerets. B, female spinnerets. Scale bar 0.1 in Evolution of nuptial-gift-related male prosomal structures: taxonomic revision and cladistic analysis of the genus Oedothorax (Araneae: Linyphiidae: Erigoninae)
Figure 86. Shaanxinus mingchihensis Lin, 2019. A, male left spinnerets. B, female spinnerets. Scale bar 0.1 mm.
Figure 83 in Evolution of nuptial-gift-related male prosomal structures: taxonomic revision and cladistic analysis of the genus Oedothorax (Araneae: Linyphiidae: Erigoninae)
Figure 83. Tmeticus tolli Kulczyński, 1908. A–C, male left palp. A, retrolateral view. B, embolic division, prolateral view. C, distal part of tibia. D, E, epigyne. D, dorsal view. E, external morphology. Scale bars 0.1 mm.
Figure 82 in Evolution of nuptial-gift-related male prosomal structures: taxonomic revision and cladistic analysis of the genus Oedothorax (Araneae: Linyphiidae: Erigoninae)
Figure 82. Nasoona crucifera (Thorell, 1895). A–D, male left palp. A, retrolateral view. B, tibia and patella, retrolateral view. C, retrolateral view, with copulatory bulb half-expanded. D, ventral view. E, male left spinnerets. F, female right spinnerets. Scale bars 0.1 mm.
Figure 85 in Evolution of nuptial-gift-related male prosomal structures: taxonomic revision and cladistic analysis of the genus Oedothorax (Araneae: Linyphiidae: Erigoninae)
Figure 85. Nasoona setifera (Tanasevitch, 1998). A–, male right palp, images flipped horizontally. A, retrolateral view. B, prolateral view. C, dorsal view. D, ventral view. E, male posterior median spinnerets and posterior lateral spinnerets, dorsal view. Scale bar 0.1 mm.
Figure 80 in Evolution of nuptial-gift-related male prosomal structures: taxonomic revision and cladistic analysis of the genus Oedothorax (Araneae: Linyphiidae: Erigoninae)
Figure 80. 'Oedothorax' stylus Tanasevitch, 2015. A–D, male right palp, images flipped horizontally. A, retrolateral view. B, prolateral view. C, dorsal view. D, ventral view. E, F, epigyne. E, ventrolateral view. F, external morphology. G, male posterior median spinnerets and posterior lateral spinnerets, dorsal view. H, female spinnerets. Scale bars 0.1 mm.
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