Chemosensory cues allow male Tenebrio molitor beetles to assess the reproductive status of potential mates

Carazo, Pau; Sánchez, Esther Gómez; Font, Enrique; Desfilis, Ester

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2003.10.014

Cited by 78 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…All males and females used were at least 10 days post-eclosion at the beginning of the experiments. Before each trial, experimental males were given a 24 h mating period with a non-experimental female to ensure adequate motivation (Carazo et al 2004) and to control male perception of mean SCR and intensity prior to testing (Engqvist & Reinhold 2005). Trials were conducted at a temperature of 22-258C, at ambient humidity and under dim red light.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, T. molitor relies heavily on chemical cues and exhibits an elaborate chemical communication system that does not merely function to attract mates (Tschinkel et al 1967;Tanaka et al 1986Tanaka et al , 1989Happ 1969;Happ & Wheeler 1969), but can convey complex information such as parasite load (Worden et al 2000), condition (Rantala et al 2003) and immunocompetence (Rantala et al 2002). Furthermore, males of this species use chemical cues to assess SCR by detecting female reproductive status (Carazo et al 2004). There is thus consistent theoretical and empirical evidence to suspect that male T. molitor may respond to increasing levels of sperm competition, and that this response may be mediated by chemical cues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Happ 1969;Siva-Jothy et al 1996;Drnevich et al 2000;Griffith 2001;Drnevich 2003;Carazo et al 2004). For example, males are capable of assessing the volume of sperm a female contains due to previous matings and adjust the volume of their ejaculate accordingly (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chemosensory assessment of sperm competition levels and the evolution of internal spermatophore guarding

2006

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Males of many species adjust their reproductive behaviour according to the perceived risk of sperm competition. Although this phenomenon is widespread in insects and other animals, the mechanisms that allow mates to assess sperm competition levels remain largely unexplored. In this study, we analysed the mating behaviour of pairs of Tenebrio molitor beetles under three odour treatments representing increasing levels of sperm competition risk (SCR) and sperm competition intensity (SCI). Copula duration and male and female post-copulatory behaviour varied significantly with odour treatment. Both copula duration and post-copulatory associations (PCAs) increased significantly in odour treatments reflecting high male density. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report that insects may assess the actual density of potential competitors at the time of mating, a cue to SCR and SCI, on the basis of chemical cues. In T. molitor, males inhibit sperm release from the spermatophore of a rival male when remating takes place at short intervals. We show that, when sperm competition levels are high, PCAs increase female remating interval just above that necessary to prevent spermatophore inhibition by rival males. This finding strongly suggests that strategic male behaviour plays a 'spermatophore guarding' role in this species. Although common in insects with external spermatophore transfer, spermatophore guarding is not expected in species with rapid ejaculate transfer and internal spermatophore delivery. Our results reveal that spermatophore guarding may evolve, even under these circumstances, as an evolutionary response to short-term spermatophore inhibition or displacement mechanisms.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chemosensory assessment of sperm competition levels and the evolution of internal spermatophore guarding

2006

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“…Males assess whether unfamiliar females are receptive through visual (LeBas and Marshall 2000, Barelli et al 2007), chemical (Cooper and Perez-Mellado 2002, Carazo et al 2004, Ferkin et al 2004, Head et al 2005) and other cues (Komers et al 1994, Semple and McComb 2000, Murai et al 2002). In many species, males prefer novel females to those they may have already had the chance to inseminate (Tokarz 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Courtship attention in sagebrush lizards varies with male identity and female reproductive state

2008

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Previous experiments suggest that males spend more time with the more receptive of two novel females or the one with the higher fitness potential. However, males often court individual females repeatedly over a season; for example, male lizards sequentially visit familiar females as they patrol territorial boundaries. It may benefit males to vary display intensity as they move between multiple females. In this study, we explored the factors influencing amount of male courtship to familiar females in the Sagebrush lizard, Sceloporus graciosus. We tested whether males vary the amount of courtship exhibited due to individual differences among males, female reproductive state, or female fitness potential. Each male was allowed to interact separately, but repeatedly, with two females until both females laid eggs. Male courtship behavior with each of the two females was assayed at an intermediate point, after three weeks of interaction. We found that individual differences among males were considerable. The number of male courtship displays was also positively correlated with female latency to lay eggs, with males displaying more often towards females with eggs that had not yet been fertilized. Courtship behavior was not well predicted by the number of eggs laid or by female width, both measures of female quality. Thus, male S. graciosus appear to alter courtship intensity more in response to signals of female reproductive state than in response to variation in potential female fitness.

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“…Chemical senses are of particular importance in the sexual communication of insects, and there is increasing evidence that sex pheromones provide not only information on the presence and identity of a potential mate but also its individual quality (Lewis & Austad 1994;Eisner et al 1996;Svensson 1996;Iyengar et al 2001;Reusch et al 2001;Beeler et al 2002;Rantala et al 2002;Carazo et al 2004;Johansson & Jones 2007;Koh et al 2009). Key criteria for the function of a chemical signal as mate assessment pheromone are as follows.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantity matters: male sex pheromone signals mate quality in the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis

et al. 2009

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Sexual selection theory asserts that females are well adapted to sense signals indicating the quality of potential mates. One crucial male quality parameter is functional fertility (i.e. the success of ejaculates in fertilizing eggs). The phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis (PLFH) predicts that functional fertility of males is reflected by phenotypic traits that influence female mate choice. Here, we show for Nasonia vitripennis, a parasitic wasp with haplodiploid sex determination and female-biased sex ratios, that females use olfactory cues to discriminate against sperm-limited males. We found sperm limitation in newly emerged and multiply mated males (seven or more previous matings) as indicated by a higher proportion of sons in the offspring fathered by these males. Sperm limitation correlated with clearly reduced pheromone titres. In behavioural bioassays, females oriented towards higher doses of the synthetic pheromone and were attracted more often to scent marks of males with a full sperm load than to those of spermlimited males. Our data support the PLFH and suggest that N. vitripennis females are able to decrease the risk of getting constrained to produce suboptimal offspring sex ratios by orienting towards gradients of the male sex pheromone.

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Chemosensory cues allow male Tenebrio molitor beetles to assess the reproductive status of potential mates

Cited by 78 publications

References 44 publications

Chemosensory assessment of sperm competition levels and the evolution of internal spermatophore guarding

Chemosensory assessment of sperm competition levels and the evolution of internal spermatophore guarding

Courtship attention in sagebrush lizards varies with male identity and female reproductive state

Quantity matters: male sex pheromone signals mate quality in the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis

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