Polyandry restores female fertility and paternal effects diminished by inbreeding in Hippodamia convergens

Abstract

1. The fertility restoration hypothesis posits that polyandry can evolve when female fertility is reduced by matings with related males, but restored by matings with unrelated ones.2. Using a promiscuous ladybird, this hypothesis was tested by mating mature, virgin females twice with sib and non-sib males in all four permutations and observing female fertility. The development of progeny from the first and 10th clutches was also followed to test for differences in paternal effects.3. Mating treatment did not affect fecundity, but egg viability was reduced by sib matings, and restored by non-sib matings, regardless of mating sequence. In addition, negative paternal effects of sib matings on progeny (lower survival) were compensated by non-sib matings.4. The survival of offspring in first clutches was sensitive to the paternal mating sequence and was higher if a sibling male was preceded by a non-sib male, compared with the reverse, consistent with a time lag in response to male epigenetic signals. Offspring survival did not differ between these two treatments in the 10th clutch, suggesting a blending of paternal effects over time.5. The results are indicative of interactions between the paternal effects contributed by different males, and between paternal and maternal effects, the latter causing faster development in later clutches.6. Thus, the reproductive benefits of polyandry for H. convergens females are potentially both genetic and epigenetic, as both egg fertility and beneficial paternal effects were diminished by sib matings, but restored by matings with unrelated males.

Variation in the benefits of multiple mating on female fertility in wild stalk‐eyed flies

“…But the experience of flies under laboratory conditions is inevitably very different from those in wild populations, for example, in terms of population density, food availability, and exposure to parasites/predators. Moreover, laboratory studies of stalk‐eyed flies and other species have utilized virgin males and females in remating assays, in order to standardize prior mating experience (Baker et al., ; Bayoumy, Michaud, & Bain, ; Burdfield‐Steel, Auty, & Shuker, ; Chelini & Hebets, ; Droge‐Young, Belote, Eeswara, & Pitnick, ; Tregenza & Wedell, ). But virgins are rare in nature in species in which males and females readily remate, and this is particularly true of stalk‐eyed flies in which adult fertility persists for many weeks (Rogers et al., ).…”

“…Moreover, laboratory studies of stalk-eyed flies and other species have utilized virgin males and females in remating assays, in order to standardize prior mating experience (Baker et al, 2001;Bayoumy, Michaud, & Bain, 2015;Burdfield-Steel, Auty, & Shuker, 2015;Chelini & Hebets, 2016;Droge-Young, Belote, Eeswara, & Pitnick, 2016;Tregenza & Wedell, 2002). But virgins are rare in nature in species in which males and females readily remate, and this is particularly true of stalk-eyed flies in which adult fertility persists for many weeks (Rogers et al, 2006).…”

Subsocial Cockroaches Nauphoeta cinerea Mate Indiscriminately with Kin Despite High Costs of Inbreeding

“…As such, many animal species that incur particularly high costs of inbreeding depression, from snails to primates, have evolved strategies to avoid inbreeding [ 8 , 9 ]. These include pre-copulatory mechanisms that reduce the probability of mating with kin, such as the asynchronous maturation of the sexes [ 10 , 11 ], the dispersal of individuals from their native group [ 12 – 15 ], the copulation of females with several males (polyandry) [ 16 – 18 ] or kin discrimination during mate choice [ 19 , 20 ]. Alternatively, post-copulatory mechanisms can reduce the fertilisation success of inbred matings, such as male-female gamete incompatibility [ 21 , 22 ] or cryptic female choice (e.g.…”

Familiarity dominates relatedness in mate selection in ladybirds

“…Studies in crickets revealed that CHCs play an important role in assessing the relatedness of mates (Tuni et al, 2013). Among coccinellids, it was reported that in Hippodamia convergens Guerin Meneville egg viability was reduced and developmental duration was extended when they were subjected to sibling matings (Bayoumy, Michaud & Bain, 2015). Studies on C. sexmaculata have reported that they can identify unsuitable males and bias their choice against related males (Saxena, Mishra & Omkar, 2016).…”