Older males are more competitive in male fights and more aggressive toward females in the broad-horned flour beetle Gnatocerus cornutus

Okada, K.; Katsuki, Masako; Kiyose, Katsuya; Okada, Yasukazu

doi:10.1007/s00265-020-2815-4

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…In agreement with this prediction, after controlling for mating history, we found that older male mosquitofish spent significantly more time chasing females and trying to copulate. Broadly similar findings have been reported in other taxa where older males are more persistent in the mating attempts and/or more successful at inseminating females (Jones et al 2007;Fischer et al 2008;Pérez-Staples et al 2010;Somashekar and Krishna 2011;Karl and Fischer 2013;Ekanayake et al 2017;Rodríguez-Muñoz et al 2019;Okada et al 2020;Šmejkal et al 2021), although some studies also report that older males show a decline in courtship and mating attempts (Fricke and Maklakov 2007;Prokop et al 2007;Dean et al 2010;Kanuga et al 2011;Ruhmann et al 2018;Churchill et al 2019;Lai et al 2020). This general trend for old males to invest more in sexual signaling has been further supported by a recent meta-analysis (Dougherty 2021).…”

Section: Male Mating Behaviorsupporting

confidence: 75%

“…This leads to the general prediction that older males should invest more into their current reproductive effort, including effort expended on fighting for access to females and the intensity of their courtship (Pianka and Parker 1975;Kokko 1997;Brooks and Kemp 2001). In support of this claim, some studies show that older males expend more effort when fighting for mates (e.g., Kemp 2006;Fischer et al 2008;Okada et al 2020). Likewise, older males are often more persistent during courtship (e.g., Pérez-Staples et al 2010;Prathibha et al 2011;Karl and Fischer 2013;Rodríguez-Muñoz et al 2019).…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…2008; Okada et al. 2020). Likewise, older males are often more persistent during courtship (e.g., Pérez‐Staples et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2019; Okada et al. 2020). Second, in some species older males are more likely to lose fights, which reduces their access to females (Dean et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, even if older males are more attractive, they might still have lower mating success. First, older males sometimes have a higher rate of failed mating attempts (Fricke and Maklakov 2007;Rodríguez-Muñoz et al 2019;Okada et al 2020). Second, in some species older males are more likely to lose fights, which reduces their access to females (Dean et al 2010;Ruhmann et al 2018;Lai et al 2020).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disentangling the effects of male age and mating history: Contrasting effects of mating history on precopulatory mating behavior and paternity success

et al. 2021

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Many studies ask whether young or older males are better at acquiring mates. Even so, how age affects reproductive success is still poorly understood because male age and mating history are confounded in most studies: older males usually have more mating experience. To what extent does mating history rather than age explain variation in male mating success? And how do mating history and male age determine paternity when there is also postcopulatory sexual selection? Here, we experimentally manipulated the mating history of old and young males in the eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). We then recorded male mating behavior and share of paternity (1259 offspring from 232 potential sires) when they competed for mates and fertilizations.Old males, and males with no mating experience, spent significantly more time approaching females, and attempting to mate, than did young males and those with greater mating experience. Male age and mating history interacted to affect paternity: old males benefited from having previous mating experience, but young males did not. Our results highlight that the age-related changes in male reproductive traits and in paternity that have been described in many taxa may be partly attributable to male mating history and not simply to age itself.

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Section: Male Mating Behaviorsupporting

confidence: 75%

mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…2008; Okada et al. 2020). Likewise, older males are often more persistent during courtship (e.g., Pérez‐Staples et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2019; Okada et al. 2020). Second, in some species older males are more likely to lose fights, which reduces their access to females (Dean et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disentangling the effects of male age and mating history: Contrasting effects of mating history on precopulatory mating behavior and paternity success

et al. 2021

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Female remating decisions and mate choice benefits in the beetle Gnatocerus cornutus

Kiyose

Katsuki

Suzaki

et al. 2022

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Experimental quantification of genetic and ontogenetic effects on fighting behavior in the broad-horned flour beetle

Nishitani,

Matsumura,

Postma

et al. 2024

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Most animal behaviors show large within- and among-individual variation, and this includes competitive male behaviors. With male fighting for example, aggressiveness often correlates with dominance, and contest duration varies with age. However, few studies have directly quantified how mean aggressiveness and contest duration, the variation among individuals in both traits, and the relationship among them, vary with age. Here we address these gaps and examine the effect of male age and genotype on two key aspects of male fighting behavior - aggressiveness (here measured as latency to fight) and contest duration - and the relationship between them. We do this using isogenic lines of the broad-horned flour beetle Gnatocerus cornutus. We observed fighting behavior of paired males of similar body size and age. Using uni- and multivariate mixed models, we show that although there was a significant difference between younger and older males in contest duration, mean aggressiveness was not affected by male age. However, the variation in aggression and fight duration varied with age, being greater in younger and older males respectively. Additionally, although there was a positive correlation between aggressiveness and contest duration in younger males, this relationship was not found in older males. Finally, the only significant genetic effect was for aggression in younger males. Our study shows that age differentially shapes key components of male fighting behavior as well as the relationship among them, highlighting the dynamic nature and context-dependence of fighting.

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Older males are more competitive in male fights and more aggressive toward females in the broad-horned flour beetle Gnatocerus cornutus

Cited by 12 publications

References 64 publications

Disentangling the effects of male age and mating history: Contrasting effects of mating history on precopulatory mating behavior and paternity success

Disentangling the effects of male age and mating history: Contrasting effects of mating history on precopulatory mating behavior and paternity success

Female remating decisions and mate choice benefits in the beetle Gnatocerus cornutus

Experimental quantification of genetic and ontogenetic effects on fighting behavior in the broad-horned flour beetle

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