Bushcricket spermatophores vary in accord with sperm competition and parental investment theory

Simmons, Leigh W.; Craig, Michael; Llorens, Tanya M.; Schinzig, M.; Hosken, David J.

doi:10.1098/rspb.1993.0027

Cited by 126 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…10). Support for this prediction comes from several within-species studies (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). However, in other instances, such as the group-spawning fishes (19), several ejaculates compete simultaneously for the same set of eggs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 86%

Individual adjustment of sperm expenditure accords with sperm competition theory

Pilastro

Scaggiante

Rasotto

2002

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

116

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Sperm competition theory predicts that males should strategically allocate their sperm reserves according to the level of sperm competition, defined as the probability that the sperm of two males compete for fertilizing a given set of ova. , when more than two ejaculates compete during a given mating event, sperm expenditure should decrease as the number of competing males increases. Empirical evidence supporting this prediction, however, is still lacking. Here we measured sperm expenditure in two gobiid fishes, the grass (Zosterisessor ophiocephalus) and black goby (Gobius niger), in which up to six sneakers can congregate around the nest of territorial males and release their sperm when females spawn. We show that, in accordance with theory, sneaker males of both species release fewer sperm as the number of competitors increases.

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mentioning

confidence: 86%

Individual adjustment of sperm expenditure accords with sperm competition theory

Pilastro

Scaggiante

Rasotto

2002

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

116

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“…First male precedence almost total (Yasui, 1988(Yasui, , 1994 No obvious sperm limitation (Yasui, 1995), but proportion of females producing fertilized eggs declined with age and oviposition (Yasui, 1996) First male (with virgin female) copulates far longer than second male (with mated female); sperm transfer increases with copula duration (Yasui, 1994 Strong first male precedence (Gwynne, 1988) Not known More sperm to younger (mated or virgin) females than to older (virgin) females; males reluctant to mate with non-virgin females (Simmons et al, 1993). Cyrtodiopsis whitei (Diopsidae) First male precedence (Lorch et al, 1993) Remating by females may be a means of ensuring adequate stored sperm (Lorch & Chao, 2003) More sperm to virgin females (Lorch et al, 1993) Culicoides melleus (Ceratopogonidae) First male sperm precedence; P 2 very close to the numbers of sperm transferred (Linley, 1975) so probably no loading against the first male Sperm numbers decrease steadily with male age (Hinds & Linley, 1974); possibly causing sperm limitation…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sperm competition games: the risk model can generate higher sperm allocation to virgin females

Ball

Parker

2006

J of Evolutionary Biology

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We examine the risk model in sperm competition games for cases where female fertility increases significantly with sperm numbers (sperm limitation). Without sperm competition, sperm allocation increases with sperm limitation. We define ‘average risk’ as the probability q that females in the population mate twice, and ‘perceived risk’ as the information males gain about the sperm competition probability with individual females. If males obtain no information from individual females, sperm numbers increase with q unless sperm limitation is high and one of the two competing ejaculates is strongly disfavoured. If males can distinguish between virgin and mated females, greater sperm allocation to virgins is favoured by high sperm limitation, high q, and by the second male's ejaculate being disfavoured. With high sperm limitation, sperm allocation to virgins increases and to mated females decreases with q at high q levels. With perfect information about female mating pattern, sperm allocation (i) to virgins that will mate again exceeds that to mated females and to virgins that will mate only once, (ii) to virgins that mate only once exceeds that for mated females if q is high and there is high second male disadvantage and (iii) to each type of female can decrease with q if sperm limitation is high, although the average allocation increases at least across low q levels. In general, higher sperm allocation to virgins is favoured by: strong disadvantage to the second ejaculate, high sperm limitation, high average risk and increased information (perceived risk). These conditions may apply in a few species, especially spiders.

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“…This prediction has been widely supported through (i) comparative analyses of the correlation between sperm production and the intensity of sperm competition (Short 1979(Short , 1981Harcourt et al 1981;Harvey & Harcourt 1984;Cartar 1985;Kenagy & Trombulak 1986;MÖller 1988aMÖller ,b, 1989MÖller , 1991Ginsberg & Rubenstein 1990;Jennions & Passmore 1993;Bissoondath & Wiklund 1996;Kappeler 1997;Hosken 1997Hosken , 1998, (ii) comparison of sperm production between alternative male reproductive phenotypes when these types are associated with reproductive tactics that di¡er in exposure to sperm competition (Parker 1990b;Stockley et al 1994;Gage et al 1995;Taborsky 1998;Simmons et al 1999), and (iii) investigations of facultative adjustment of the number of sperm produced or inseminated while varying the male's perceived risk of encountering sperm competition (Baker & Bellis 1989, 1993Bellis et al 1990;Gage 1991;Gage & Baker 1991;Gage & Barnard 1996;Wedell 1992;Simmons et al 1993;Oppliger et al 1998;Wedell & Cook 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Males' evolutionary responses to experimental removal of sexual selection

Pitnick

Miller

Reagan

et al. 2001

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

200

193

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We evaluated the in£uence of pre-and post-copulatory sexual selection upon male reproductive traits in a naturally promiscuous species, Drosophila melanogaster. Sexual selection was removed in two replicate populations through enforced monogamous mating with random mate assignment or retained in polyandrous controls. Monogamous mating eliminates all opportunities for mate competition, mate discrimination, sperm competition, cryptic female choice and, hence, sexual con£ict. Levels of divergence between lines in sperm production and male ¢tness traits were quanti¢ed after 38^81 generations of selection. Three a priori predictions were tested: (i) male investment in spermatogenesis will be lower in monogamy-line males due to the absence of sperm competition selection, (ii) due to the evolution of increased male benevolence, the ¢tness of females paired with monogamy-line males will be higher than that of females paired with control-line males, and (iii) monogamy-line males will exhibit decreased competitive reproductive success relative to control-line males. The ¢rst two predictions were supported, whereas the third prediction was not. Monogamy males evolved a smaller body size and the size of their testes and the number of sperm within the testes were disproportionately further reduced. In contrast, the ¢tness of monogamous males (and their mates) was greater when reproducing in a non-competitive context: females mated once with monogamous males produced o¡spring at a faster rate and produced a greater total number of surviving progeny than did females mated to control males. The results indicate that sexual selection favours the production of increased numbers of sperm in D. melanogaster and that sexual selection favours some male traits conferring a direct cost to the fecundity of females.

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Bushcricket spermatophores vary in accord with sperm competition and parental investment theory

Cited by 126 publications

References 39 publications

Individual adjustment of sperm expenditure accords with sperm competition theory

Individual adjustment of sperm expenditure accords with sperm competition theory

Sperm competition games: the risk model can generate higher sperm allocation to virgin females

Males' evolutionary responses to experimental removal of sexual selection

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