Structural variation in <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> spermathecal ducts and its association with sperm competition dynamics

Hopkins, Ben R.; Sepil, Irem; Wigby, Stuart

doi:10.1101/808451

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Despite a growing number of studies in the field of sexual conflict, most have been conducted under uniform laboratory conditions, frequently in populations adapted to stable environments for thousands of generations (Chapman et al, 2003b; Hopkins et al, 2020; Wigby & Chapman, 2004, 2005). In contrast, recent research has highlighted the role of ecology in shaping the evolution of traits under sexual conflict (Arbuthnott et al, 2014; García-Roa et al, 2019; MacPherson et al, 2018; Perry & Rowe, 2018; Yun et al, 2017), including habitat complexity (Malek & Long, 2019; Miller & Svensson, 2014; Myhre, Forsgren, & Amundsen, 2013), nutritional status (Fricke, Bretman, & Chapman, 2010), or sex ratio and population density (Chapman et al, 2003a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal phenotypic plasticity of pre- and post-copulatory male harm buffers sexual conflict in wildDrosophila melanogaster

Londoño-Nieto

García‐Roa

Garcia-Co

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Strong sexual selection frequently leads to sexual conflict and ensuing male harm, whereby males increase their reproductive success at the expense of harming females. Male harm is a widespread evolutionary phenomenon with a strong bearing on population viability. Thus, understanding how it unfolds in the wild is a current priority. Here, we sampled a wild Drosophila melanogaster population and studied male harm across the normal range of temperatures under which it reproduces optimally in nature by comparing female lifetime reproductive success and underlying male harm mechanisms under monogamy (i.e., low male competition/harm) vs. polyandry (i.e., high male competition/harm). While females had equal lifetime reproductive success across temperatures under monogamy, polygamy resulted in a maximum decrease of female fitness at 24 degrees C (relative harm; H = 0.36), reducing its impact at both 20 degrees C (H = 0.22), and 28 degrees C (H = 0.10). Furthermore, female fitness components and pre- (i.e., harassment) and post-copulatory (i.e., ejaculate toxicity) mechanisms of male harm were asymmetrically affected by temperature. At 20 degrees C, male harassment of females was reduced, and high male competition accelerated female actuarial senescence. In contrast, at 28 degrees C male ejaculate effects on female reproduction were modulated, and high male competition mostly resulted in accelerated reproductive ageing. We thus show that, across a natural thermal range, sexual conflict processes and their effects on female fitness components are plastic and complex. As a result, the net effect of male harm on overall population viability is likely to be lower than previously surmised. We discuss how such plasticity may affect selection, adaptation and, ultimately, evolutionary rescue under a warming climate.

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