Adaptation to Experimental Alterations of the Operational Sex Ratio in Populations of Drosophila Melanogaster

Reuter, Max; Linklater, Jon R.; Lehmann, Laurent; Fowler, Kevin; Chapman, Tracey; Hurst, Gregory D. D.

doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00300.x

Cited by 47 publications

(81 citation statements)

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“…Our results highlight the importance of considering male mating rate as a selective pressure influencing testes size, in combination with sperm competition (see also [21]). The lack of a positive relationship between testis size and sperm number and the significant negative relationship between testis size and ejaculate volume also demonstrates that it is unsafe to assume that larger testes necessarily equate with more voluminous ejaculates and/or higher sperm counts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Larger testes are associated with a higher level of polyandry, but a smaller ejaculate volume, across bushcricket species (Tettigoniidae)

2010

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While early models of ejaculate allocation predicted that both relative testes and ejaculate size should increase with sperm competition intensity across species, recent models predict that ejaculate size may actually decrease as testes size and sperm competition intensity increase, owing to the confounding effect of potential male mating rate. A recent study demonstrated that ejaculate volume decreased in relation to increased polyandry across bushcricket species, but testes mass was not measured. Here, we recorded testis mass for 21 bushcricket species, while ejaculate (ampulla) mass, nuptial gift mass, sperm number and polyandry data were largely obtained from the literature. Using phylogeneticcomparative analyses, we found that testis mass increased with the degree of polyandry, but decreased with increasing ejaculate mass. We found no significant relationship between testis mass and either sperm number or nuptial gift mass. While these results are consistent with recent models of ejaculate allocation, they could alternatively be driven by substances in the ejaculate that affect the degree of polyandry and/ or by a trade-off between resources spent on testes mass versus non-sperm components of the ejaculate.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Larger testes are associated with a higher level of polyandry, but a smaller ejaculate volume, across bushcricket species (Tettigoniidae)

2010

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“…Experiments which manipulate the degree of polyandry have also been performed (e.g. Wigby & Chapman 2004;Crudgington et al 2005;Bacigalupe et al 2007;Linklater et al 2007;Reuter et al 2008;Hosken et al 2009). Together, these studies support the idea that experimental evolutionary manipulations of sexual selection and sexual conflict can lead to significant divergence in both pre-and post-mating traits.…”

Section: Introduction (A)mentioning

confidence: 56%

Adaptations to sexual selection and sexual conflict: insights from experimental evolution and artificial selection

Edward

Fricke

Chapman

2010

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Artificial selection and experimental evolution document natural selection under controlled conditions. Collectively, these techniques are continuing to provide fresh and important insights into the genetic basis of evolutionary change, and are now being employed to investigate mating behaviour. Here, we focus on how selection techniques can reveal the genetic basis of postmating adaptations to sexual selection and sexual conflict. Alteration of the operational sex ratio of adult Drosophila over just a few tens of generations can lead to altered ejaculate allocation patterns and the evolution of resistance in females to the costly effects of elevated mating rates. We provide new data to show how male responses to the presence of rivals can evolve. For several traits, the way in which males responded to rivals was opposite in lines selected for male-biased, as opposed to female-biased, adult sex ratio. This shows that the manipulation of the relative intensity of intraand inter-sexual selection can lead to replicable and repeatable effects on mating systems, and reveals the potential for significant contemporary evolutionary change. Such studies, with important safeguards, have potential utility for understanding sexual selection and sexual conflict across many taxa. We discuss how artificial selection studies combined with genomics will continue to deepen our knowledge of the evolutionary principles first laid down by Darwin 150 years ago.

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“…However, in another species of fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, which has less exaggerated sperm size, our prediction contradicts the results of an artificial-selection experiment. Reuter et al (2008) showed that more femalebiased conditions increased the level of sperm depletion and decreased the female remating rate. The reason for the discrepancy could be ascribed to our model's assumption that females obtain all sperm before beginning oviposition; however, the females of D. melanogaster can recover their fertility by additional matings after they are depleted of sperm (Bloch Qazi and Hogdal 2010).…”

Section: Implications For Empirical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Sperm Economy between Female Mating Frequency and Male Ejaculate Allocation

Abe

Kamimura

2015

The American Naturalist

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Why females of many species mate multiply is a major question in evolutionary biology. Furthermore, if females accept matings more than once, ejaculates from different males compete for fertilization (sperm competition), which confronts males with the decision of how to allocate their reproductive resources to each mating event. Although most existing models have examined either female mating frequency or male ejaculate allocation while assuming fixed levels of the opposite sex's strategies, these strategies are likely to coevolve. To investigate how the interaction of the two sexes' strategies is influenced by the level of sperm limitation in the population, we developed models in which females adjust their number of allowable matings and males allocate their ejaculate in each mating. Our model predicts that females mate only once or less than once at an even sex ratio or in an extremely female-biased condition, because of female resistance and sperm limitation in the population, respectively. However, in a moderately female-biased condition, males favor partitioning their reproductive budgets across many females, whereas females favor multiple matings to obtain sufficient sperm, which contradicts the predictions of most existing models. We discuss our model's predictions and relationships with the existing models and demonstrate applications for empirical findings.

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Adaptation to Experimental Alterations of the Operational Sex Ratio in Populations of Drosophila Melanogaster

Cited by 47 publications

References 46 publications

Larger testes are associated with a higher level of polyandry, but a smaller ejaculate volume, across bushcricket species (Tettigoniidae)

Larger testes are associated with a higher level of polyandry, but a smaller ejaculate volume, across bushcricket species (Tettigoniidae)

Adaptations to sexual selection and sexual conflict: insights from experimental evolution and artificial selection

Sperm Economy between Female Mating Frequency and Male Ejaculate Allocation

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