Speed or sperm: A potential trade-off between development and reproduction in the butterfly, Bicyclus anynana (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Abstract

Abstract. Life-history theory predicts trade-offs between resources invested in reproduction and other fitness-related traits. To date, most studies have focused on potential reproductive trade-offs in females. However, it is now generally accepted that reproduction is also costly for males, and thus males too may be subject to trade-offs. We examined the relationship between development time and the production of both fertile and non-fertile sperm in males of the African bush brown butterfly (Bicyclus anynana) selected for short or long pre-adult development time. Fast developing males ejaculated fewer non-fertile sperm on their first mating, suggesting that there could be a trade-off between ejaculate production and development time in this species. Contrary to predictions, slow developing males were smaller, produced fewer fertile sperm and took longer to mate. We discuss why this might be the case, and suggest that there may be a cost to the production of non-fertile sperm in the Lepidoptera.

Effect of photoperiod on slow and fast developing individuals in aphidophagous ladybirds, Menochilus sexmaculatus and Propylea dissecta (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

“…In the development of M. sexmaculatus and P. dissecta, there exists an inherent variation in developmental rate (i.e., slow and fast) within a cohort placed at a constant condition. The coexistence of two rates of development within a cohort has also been reported previously in a few organisms (Gross, 1985;Thomas et al, 1998;Schönrogge et al, 2000;Skorping, 2007;Lewis et al, 2010) including insects (Gouws et al, 2011), chrysomelid, Z. bicolorata (Pandey et al, 2013), and ladybirds (Mishra & Omkar, 2012;Singh et al, 2014). The rationale behind the variation in developmental rate could be: (i) difference in maternal investment (Osawa, 2003), (ii) asynchronization in hatching (Kawai, 1978;Osawa, 1992), (iii) eggs with different metabolic rates due to allelic differences (Osawa & Ohashi, 2008;Sloggett & Lorenz, 2008), and/or (iv) mother laying eggs with different sizes and nutritional content (Hodek et al, 2012).…”

“…Large-sized males supply better quality of genes in addition to accessory gland proteins (Avila et al, 2011;Hanin et al, 2011;Helinski & Harrington, 2011). Lewis et al (2010) reported that the slow developing Values are mean ± SE. For both ladybird species, lower cases represent comparison of means between slow and fast developing individuals within ladybird species at each photoperiod, and upper cases in parentheses represent comparison of means between slow and fast developing individuals within ladybird species at different photoperiods.…”

“…Studies have revealed the presence of 2 different rates of development (i.e., slow and fast) in a cohort as in salmonid fish (Gross, 1985), butterflies, Maculinea rebeli (Hirchke) (Thomas et al, 1998;Schönrogge et al, 2000;Nowicki et al, 2005;Witek et al, 2006) and Bicyclus anynana Butler (Lewis et al, 2010), predaceous syrphid, Microdon mutabilis (Linnaeus) (Schönrogge et al, 2000) and worm Teladorsagia circumcincta Stadelman (Skorping, 2007). Subtle variations probably exist in almost all organisms, and have recently been investigated in certain ladybird beetles, Adalia bipunctata L. (Dixon, 2000), Menochilus sexmaculatus (Fabricius) and Propylea dissecta (Mulsant) (Mishra & Omkar, 2012;Singh et al, 2014) and chrysomelid Zygogramma bicolorata Pallister (Pandey et al, 2013).…”

Spatial selection and local adaptation jointly shape life-history evolution during range expansion

“…a longer development time, hence slower development, results in an increased fecundity) (e.g. Nunney 1996; Tsikliras, Antonopoulou et al 2007; Lewis, Brakefield et al 2010; Yadav and Sharma 2014). This trade-off can be mediated through a positive correlation between development time and adult size ( e.g .…”

Evolution of life-history traits and mating strategy in males: a case study on two populations of aDrosophilaparasitoid

“…(), however, showed that females did not reject sperm‐depleted males before mating. This behaviour is probably similar to the production of non‐fertile sperm at a high rate by male butterflies (Lewis et al ., ), and would be involved in male competition. Moreover, in other parasitoid species, such as Nasonia vitripennis (Chirault et al ., ) or Dinarmus basalis (Lacoume, Bressac & Chevrier, ), it has been shown that environmental stresses such as heat or cold produced sperm‐depleted males, which females do not reject.…”