Sexual Selection and Life History Allocation

Houslay, Thomas M.; Bussière, Luc F.

doi:10.1002/9780470015902.a0023667

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Here, and in previous studies we consistently see a positive relationship between ornamentation and fecundity (Figure b; Wheeler, ; Funk & Tallamy, ). However, correlations among phenotypic traits do not always reveal underlying trade‐offs because animals vary in both resource acquisition and allocation (Van Noordwijk & de Jong, ), and we are unable to measure resource acquisition and allocation directly (Houslay & Bussière, ). We note, though, that in a comparison between R. longicauda and Rhamphomyia sociabilis , a dance fly with no inflatable abdomen or other female ornament, the abdomen size is a much better predictor of fecundity in unornamented R .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of functional constraints in nonrandom mating patterns for a dance fly with female ornaments

Murray

Gwynne

Bussière

2019

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Most hypotheses to explain nonrandom mating patterns invoke mate choice, particularly in species that display elaborate ornaments. However, conflicting selection pressures on traits can result in functional constraints that can also cause nonrandom mating patterns. We tested for functional load‐lifting constraints during aerial copulation in Rhamphomyia longicauda, a species of dance fly that displays multiple extravagant female‐specific ornaments that are unusual among sexual traits because they are under stabilizing selection. R. longicauda males provide females with a nuptial gift before engaging in aerial mating, and the male bears the entire weight of the female and nuptial gift for the duration of copulation. In theory, a male's ability to carry females and nuptial gifts could constrain pairing opportunities for the heaviest females, as reported for nonornamented dance flies. In concert with directional preferences for large females with mature eggs, such a load‐lifting constraint could produce the stabilizing selection on female size previously observed in this species. We therefore tested whether wild‐caught male R. longicauda collected during copulation were experiencing load‐lift limitations by comparing the mass carried by males during copulation with the male's wing loading traits. We also performed permutation tests to determine whether the loads carried by males during copulation were lighter than expected. We found that heavier males are more often found mating with heavier females suggesting that whereas R. longicauda males do not experience a load‐lift constraint, there is a strong relationship of assortative mating by mass. We suggest that active male mate choice for intermediately adorned females is more likely to be causing the nonrandom mating patterns observed in R. longicauda.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of functional constraints in nonrandom mating patterns for a dance fly with female ornaments

Murray

Gwynne

Bussière

2019

J of Evolutionary Biology

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“…Few studies have simultaneously manipulated resource acquisition and access to reproductive opportunities while also examining the resultant patterns of energy storage and use (Kotiaho 2000). Recently, it has become clear that traits used to measure condition are themselves condition-dependent (and are built using the resources that make up condition), meaning that traits reflecting condition must inevitably trade-off with one another (Tomkins et al 2004;Houslay & Bussi ere 2012). This fact prescribes careful interpretation of covariances between proxies for condition and other life-history traits and highlights the need for more direct measurements of energy reserves (Morehouse 2014;Wilder, Raubenheimer & Simpson 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Assessing how life-history trade-offs affect investment in sexual trait expression is a challenging task. The resource pool itself cannot be measured directly via phenotypic traits: many such traits may covary with an individual's resource budget, but must themselves have been constructed using resources and therefore will necessarily be traded against other life-history traits (Hunt et al 2004b;Houslay & Bussi ere 2012). Residuals of body mass over a fixed measure of body size are commonly used as a proxy for condition (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mating opportunities and energetic constraints drive variation in age‐dependent sexual signalling

Houslay

Rapkin

et al. 2016

Functional Ecology

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* When males repeatedly produce energetically expensive sexual signals, trade-offs between current and future investment can cause plasticity in age-dependent signalling. Such variation is often interpreted as alternate adaptive strategies: live fast and die young vs. slow and steady. * An alternative (yet rarely tested) explanation is that condition-dependent constraints on allocation cause variation in signalling with age (‘late bloomers’ do not have early investment options). Testing this hypothesis is challenging because resource acquisition and allocation are difficult to measure, and energetic reserves both affect and are affected by reproductive effort. * We simultaneously manipulated acquisition (through dietary nutrition) and access to potential mates (as a proxy for manipulating sexual trait allocation) in male decorated crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus), while measuring age- and signalling effort-mediated changes in energy storage components. * Increased diet quality caused increased signalling effort and energy storage, while access to females increased both the likelihood of and time spent signalling. Males with lower resource budgets signalled less, but still suffered energetic storage loss and viability costs. * Our results suggest that energetic constraints, rather than strategic resource accumulation, reduced signalling levels in males with lower resource acquisition ability. Our findings imply a non-adaptive explanation for age-dependent variation in sexual signalling, and an important role for energetic constraints in maintaining the honesty of costly behavioural displays

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“…Parameter estimates describing the effect of age, mating status, and species on egg development (× denotes interaction terms). This pattern suggests that females of the ornamented species rely to a greater degree on male nuptial gifts compared with females from unadorned species (see Table 3), which provides long-awaited support for Cumming's hypothesis, and can help to explain the otherwise confounding diversity of sexual trait expression among dance flies : Houslay & Bussière, 2012. This model explained a significant fraction of the variation in natural log-standardised egg sizes (mm 2 ) (R 2 -adjusted = 0.1756, P = 0.0002, n = 118).…”

Section: How Mate Acquisition Relates To Investment In Ornamentsmentioning

confidence: 75%

Comparative evidence supports a role for reproductive allocation in the evolution of female ornament diversity

Hunter

Bussière

2018

Ecological Entomology

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1. Sexually selected ornaments are highly variable, even among closely related species, and the ultimate causes of variation in ornament evolution are unclear, including in rare cases of female ornament expression. One hypothesis is that differences across species in female reproductive allocation may help to explain patterns of female ornament expression among insects with nuptial gifts.2. Dance flies (Diptera: Empididae: Empidinae) vary considerably among species in the presence and extravagance of female ornaments, which probably evolved through female contests for mates. In most dance flies, adult females appear to acquire all their dietary protein from nuptial gifts provided by males during mating. The importance of nuptial feeding on egg development is not yet known.3. To test the prediction that the presence of female ornaments reflects differences in the degree to which females rely on nuptial feeding for egg development, egg development was examined in wild females of two species, one ornamented and the other unornamented. An ageing technique based on cuticular bands was validated, which permitted a regression of egg size on adult age. 4. We found that egg development depended on mating status in the ornamented species alone, meaning the eggs of unmated females of the ornamented species did not develop. This contrast across species is consistent with expectations that females of different species vary in their dependence on nuptial gifts for egg development.5. These findings provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that differences in reproductive allocation mediate the intensity of female contests for nuptial gifts.

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Sexual Selection and Life History Allocation

Cited by 6 publications

References 33 publications

The role of functional constraints in nonrandom mating patterns for a dance fly with female ornaments

The role of functional constraints in nonrandom mating patterns for a dance fly with female ornaments

Mating opportunities and energetic constraints drive variation in age‐dependent sexual signalling

Comparative evidence supports a role for reproductive allocation in the evolution of female ornament diversity

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