Female resistance and male preference in a stream-dwelling isopod: effects of female molt characteristics

Sparkes, Timothy C.; Keogh, Daniel P.; Haskins, Kristin E.

doi:10.1007/s002650050005

Cited by 41 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Although they did not measure the glycogen levels of females, the suggested mechanism for the source of the cost implies that both sexes face the same cost. Thus a sexual conflict probably occurs in this species too, as indicated by their contest behaviour prior to guarding (Sparkes et al ., 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Costs of intersexual conflict in the isopod Idotea baltica

Jormalainen¹,

Merilaita²,

Riihimäki³

2001

Journal of Evolutionary Biology

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In sexual reproduction one sex can increase its reproductive success at the cost of the other, a situation known as intersexual conflict. In the marine isopod Idotea baltica, males guard females before copulation. The guarding phase is preceded by struggles as females resist males’ attempts to initiate guarding. We determined whether the struggle and/or mate‐guarding result in fitness costs in the form of decreasing fecundity and lower levels of the energy storage compounds, glycogen and lipids. Females that underwent the period of struggles with males had decreased glycogen levels compared with females maintained alone. No such cost was found for males. Females guarded by a male also had smaller eggs than females that were not guarded. Thus the intersexual conflict, imposed by the fitness maximization strategy of the males, gave rise to both a fecundity cost and an energetic cost for females. The fecundity cost confirms the existence of intersexual conflict in I. baltica. This cost is shared by males, suggesting that the intersexual conflict restrains the reproductive output of both sexes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Costs of intersexual conflict in the isopod Idotea baltica

Jormalainen¹,

Merilaita²,

Riihimäki³

2001

Journal of Evolutionary Biology

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“…However, whether female resistance and the corresponding male harassment are the outcome of an intersexual conflict (as is hypothesised here), or whether female resistance represents a method of female choice, is a subject of ongoing discussion (e.g., Jormalainen and Merilaita 1995;McLain and Pratt 1999;Sparkes et al 2000Sparkes et al , 2002Eberhard 2002). According to the latter hypothesis, only males with high fitness can successfully mate with females that remain resistant, and resistance would represent only a special form of female choice (e.g., Eberhard 2002).…”

Section: Sexual Harassmentmentioning

confidence: 97%

Sexual harassment in a live-bearing fish (Poecilia mexicana): influence of population-specific male mating behaviour

2004

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We investigated male sexual behaviour and the cost of sexual harassment, as measured by the reduction of female feeding time in the presence of a male, in a cavedwelling population of Poecilia mexicana, in which sexual harassment does not occur naturally. We asked whether the lack of sexual harassment in this population is due to low sexual activity of the males, or low feeding motivation of the females. We experimentally increased the sexual activity of males or the females' feeding motivation, or we used a combination of both treatments. Female feeding time was not lower in the presence of a male than in the presence of a female after sexual deprivation of the males or food deprivation of the females. Only in the combined experiment was female feeding time lower in the presence of a large male than in the presence of a small male, indicating a weak effect of sexual harassment by large males. Virgin females did not suffer a cost of sexual harassment, indicating that sexual experience does not cause the lack of sexual harassment in cave mollies. Males from a surface population, where sexual harassment occurs, significantly reduced the feeding time of cavedwelling females even though these males exhibited surprisingly little sexual behaviour. The sexual activity of cave mollies did not correlate with male body size in any experiment, indicating that even after sexual deprivation, small cave molly males do not switch to the "alternative" mating behaviour known in surface-dwelling P. mexicana, where sexual activity is correlated negatively with male body size.

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“…In the laboratory, aggressive competition between guarding males and non-guarding males is easily observed, and takeovers by non-guarding males often occur if they are larger than guarding males (Yoshino et al 2004). In the isopod Idotea baltica (Jormalainen andMerilaita 1993, 1995) and Lirceus fontinalis (Sparkes et al 2000(Sparkes et al , 2002, females aggressively struggle against male guarding attempts, which acts as female choice. Female blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus also have the potential to choose large males by resisting male guarding attempts (Jivoff and Hines 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The decision to guard is made by the male, but the success of guarding depends on whether females can resist male guarding attempts (e.g., Strong 1973;Jormalainen andMerilaita 1993, 1995;Jivoff and Hines 1998;Sparkes et al 2000Sparkes et al , 2002. Hence, if females cannot resist male guarding attempts, male guarding behavior may restrict the ability of females to inspect and choose other males.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%