Mate-guarding in a promiscuous insect: species discrimination influences context-dependent behaviour

Burdfield‐Steel, Emily; Shuker, David M.

doi:10.1007/s10682-014-9726-7

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Mate‐guarding behaviour has been shown to vary considerably according to social environment (Burdfield‐Steel & Shuker, ). The results of the present study reveal that mate‐guarding duration and the time to commence mating is significantly influenced by the presence of competitors in the vicinity in M. sexmaculatus .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By such means, superior males are able to maximize their paternity share of the next generation. Context-dependent male mating strategies may be particularly vulnerable to influences from the social environment (Burdfield-Steel & Shuker, 2014). In such conditions, males may utilize a number of tactics in response to sperm competition, including physiological changes such as increased sperm number (Wedell, Gage, & Parker, 2002), seminal protein composition (Wigby et al, 2009), ejaculate size (Garcia-Gonzalez & Gomendio, 2004), and sperm morphology (Gage, 1994), as well as behavioural changes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In insects, prolonged guarding by males has been reported in Odonata (Cordero, 1990), Hemiptera (Burdfield-Steel & Shuker, 2014), Phasmida (Sivinski, 1983), Lepidoptera (Drummond, 1984), Diptera (Thornhill, 1980), Coleoptera (Brown & Stanford, 1992;Chaudhary et al, 2015Chaudhary et al, , 2016, Hymenoptera (Rutowski & Alcock, 1980) and Heteroptera (McLain, 1980). In the case of crickets (order Orthoptera), where mate guarding is particularly widespread (Simmons, 1986;Sakaluk, 1991;Hockham & Vahed, 1997;Bateman & Toms, 1998;Tuni et al 2013), three main theories exist for the functioning of mate guarding, viz.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Male insects generally adjust their mate-guarding duration in response to the risk of sperm competition from rival males (Burdfield-Steel & Shuker, 2014;Shuker & Simmons, 2014), which a male can probably assess (Carazo, Font, & Alfthan, 2007). This assessment could employ (a) detection of seminal fluid of a rival male in the female tract (e.g., Cook & Gage, 1995;Siva-Jothy & Stutt, 2003), and (b) the probability of females seeking matings in the future.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strategic mate‐guarding behaviour in ladybirds

2017

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Mate‐guarding behaviour is regarded as a means of increasing paternity share by reducing sperm competition. It is known to be a plastic response which varies with operational sex ratios and competitor presence in the vicinity. In a recent study, prolonged mating duration in Menochilus sexmaculatus (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) has been found to incorporate mate‐guarding behaviour. The present investigation was conducted to assess its plasticity in the presence of competitors. The physical and chemical presence of competitors of both sexes at varying densities was provided to a pair of ladybirds, and their time to commence mating, latent period and mate‐guarding duration was observed. These were compared to a control treatment where other partners were absent. All treatments were conducted with sibling as well as non‐sibling competitors. It was our hypothesis that mate guarding would be increased in the presence of male competitors and would be reduced by female presence. The results revealed that while mate‐guarding duration was increased by the chemical presence of males it was decreased by their physical presence. The latter result was attributed to interference by other males who dislodge the mating male in order to access the female. Female chemical presence had no effect on mate guarding, while physical presence increased the duration of mate guarding. The reasons for the latter behaviour require further investigation. Responses were not significantly affected by the relationship between the focal pair and the competitor. The authenticity of the mate guarding in this ladybird is strongly affirmed by our results.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strategic mate‐guarding behaviour in ladybirds

2017

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“…there is reproductive interference; Shuker et al, 2015). Given the highly polygamous mating systems of these species, as well as the occurrence of reproductive interference, our current inference is that, despite the availability of cues, such as CHCs, to facilitate species discrimination, males have been selected to be highly opportunistic when it comes to possible mating partners, and this selection has weakened selection for strong species discrimination (Parker & Partridge, 1998;Burdfield-Steel & Shuker, 2014b;Shuker et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of reproductive isolation within and between twoLygaeusspecies characterized by sexual conflicts over mating

Evans

Nowlan

Shuker

2015

Biol. J. Linn. Soc.

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Theory suggests that, under some circumstances, sexual conflict over mating can lead to divergent sexually antagonistic coevolution among populations for traits associated with mating, and that this can promote reproductive isolation and hence speciation. However, sexual conflict over mating may also select for traits (e.g. male willingness to mate) that enhance gene flow between populations, limiting population divergence. In the present study, we compare pre‐ and post‐mating isolation within and between two species characterized by male–female conflict over mating rate. We quantify sexual isolation among five populations of the seed bug Lygaeus equestris collected from Italy and Sweden, and two replicates of a population of the sister‐species Lygaeus simulans, also collected from Italy. We find no evidence of reproductive isolation amongst populations of L. equestris, suggesting that sexual conflict over mating has not led to population divergence in relevant mating traits in L. equestris. However, there was strong asymmetric pre‐mating isolation between L. equestris and L. simulans: male L. simulans were able to mate successfully with female L. equestris, whereas male L. equestris were largely unable to mate with female L. simulans. We found little evidence for strong post‐mating isolation between the two species, however, with hybrid F2 offspring being produced. Our results suggest that sexual conflict over mating has not led to population divergence, and indeed perhaps supports the contrary theoretical prediction that male willingness to mate may retard speciation by promoting gene flow.

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The role of species‐specific sensory cues in male responses to mating rivals in Drosophila melanogaster fruitflies

Bretman

Rouse

Westmancoat

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Complex sets of cues can be important in recognizing and responding to conspecific mating competitors and avoiding potentially costly heterospecific competitive interactions. Within Drosophila melanogaster, males can detect sensory inputs from conspecifics to assess the level of competition. They respond to rivals by significantly extending mating duration and gain significant fitness benefits from doing so. Here, we tested the idea that the multiple sensory cues used by D. melanogaster males to detect conspecifics also function to minimize “off‐target” responses to heterospecific males that they might encounter (Drosophila simulans, Drosophila yakuba, Drosophila pseudoobscura, or Drosophila virilis). Focal D. melanogaster males exposed to D. simulans or D. pseudoobscura subsequently increased mating duration, but to a lesser extent than following exposure to conspecific rivals. The magnitude of rivals’ responses expressed by D. melanogaster males did not align with genetic distance between species, and none of the sensory manipulations caused D. melanogaster to respond to males of all other species tested. However, when we removed or provided “false” sensory cues, D. melanogaster males became more likely to show increased mating duration responses to heterospecific males. We suggest that benefits of avoiding inaccurate assessment of the competitive environment may shape the evolution of recognition cues.

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Mate-guarding in a promiscuous insect: species discrimination influences context-dependent behaviour

Cited by 17 publications

References 54 publications

Strategic mate‐guarding behaviour in ladybirds

Strategic mate‐guarding behaviour in ladybirds

Patterns of reproductive isolation within and between twoLygaeusspecies characterized by sexual conflicts over mating

The role of species‐specific sensory cues in male responses to mating rivals in Drosophila melanogaster fruitflies

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