Male body size and condition affects sperm number and production rates in mosquitofish, <i><scp>G</scp>ambusia holbrooki</i>

O’Dea, Rose E.; Jennions, Michael D.; Head, Megan L.

doi:10.1111/jeb.12534

Cited by 61 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…[44, 73, 79–81]) and lower sperm replenishment rates (e.g. [54]). There are, however, far fewer studies that explore the effects of a poor juvenile diet on sperm reserves and sperm replenishment rates (but see: [35, 40]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since ejaculates are costly to produce [44, 52], it follows that a poor juvenile diet could negatively affect the number, quality, and rate of sperm production (e.g. [53, 54]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, we showed that males with a poor start in life are less attractive to females than those reared on a regular diet [57]. Mosquitofish are poecillid fishes characterised by frequent, coercive mating attempts and intense sexual selection, including sperm competition [54, 58, 59]. Males internally inseminate females using a modified anal fin as an intromittent organ, the ‘gonopodium’ [60].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are sexually selected traits affected by a poor environment early in life?

2016

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BackgroundChallenging conditions experienced early in life, such as a restricted diet, can detrimentally affect key life-history traits. Individuals can reduce these costs by delaying their sexual maturation, albeit at the price of the later onset of breeding, to eventually reach the same adult size as individuals that grow up in a benevolent environment. Delayed maturation can, however, still lead to other detrimental morphological and physiological changes that become apparent later in adulthood (e.g. shorter lifespan, faster senescence). In general, research focuses on the naturally selected costs of a poor early diet. In mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki), males with limited food intake early in life delay maturation to reach a similar adult body size to their well-fed counterparts (‘catch-up growth’). Here we tested whether a poor early diet is costly due to the reduced expression of sexually selected male characters, namely genital size and ejaculate traits.ResultsWe found that a male’s diet early in life significantly influenced his sperm reserves and sperm replenishment rate. Shortly after maturation males with a restricted early diet had significantly lower sperm reserves and slower replenishment rates than control diet males, but this dietary difference was no longer detectable in older males.ConclusionsAlthough delaying maturation to reach the same body size as well fed juveniles can ameliorate some costs of a poor start in life, our findings suggest that costs might still arise because of sexual selection against these males. It should be noted, however, that the observed effects are modest (Hedges’ g = 0.20–0.36), and the assumption that lower sperm production translates into a decline in fitness under sperm competition remains unconfirmed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0838-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since ejaculates are costly to produce [44, 52], it follows that a poor juvenile diet could negatively affect the number, quality, and rate of sperm production (e.g. [53, 54]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are sexually selected traits affected by a poor environment early in life?

2016

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“…2014)). After a further 3 days, we then replaced the stimulus female with a standard‐sized female (350–450 g) and recorded the male's mating behavior.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of male insemination success in the mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki)

Head

Vega‐Trejo

Jacomb

et al. 2015

Ecology and Evolution

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Identifying targets of selection is key to understanding the evolution of sexually selected behavioral and morphological traits. Many animals have coercive mating, yet little is known about whether and how mate choice operates when these are the dominant mating tactic. Here, we use multivariate selection analysis to examine the direction and shape of selection on male insemination success in the mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). We found direct selection on only one of five measured traits, but correlational selection involving all five traits. Larger males with longer gonopodia and with intermediate sperm counts were more likely to inseminate females than smaller males with shorter gonopodia and extreme sperm counts. Our results highlight the need to investigate sexual selection using a multivariate framework even in species that lack complex sexual signals. Further, female choice appears to be important in driving the evolution of male sexual traits in this species where sexual coercion is the dominant mating tactic.

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“…Next, sons were returned to their individual 1‐L tanks for 7 days to allow them to replenish their sperm reserves (O’Dea, Jennions, & Head, ). We then quantified two ejaculate traits: sperm number and velocity.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An experimental test for body size‐dependent effects of male harassment and an elevated copulation rate on female lifetime fecundity and offspring performance

Iglesias‐Carrasco

Fox

Vega‐Trejo

et al. 2019

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Many studies investigate the benefits of polyandry, but repeated interactions with males can lower female reproductive success. Interacting with males might even decrease offspring performance if it reduces a female's ability to transfer maternal resources. Male presence can be detrimental for females in two ways: by forcing females to mate at a higher rate and through costs associated with resisting male mating attempts. Teasing apart the relative costs of elevated mating rates from those of greater male harassment is critical to understand the evolution of mating strategies. Furthermore, it is important to test whether a male's phenotype, notably body size, has differential effects on female reproductive success versus the performance of offspring, and whether this is due to male body size affecting the costs of harassment or the actual mating rate. In the eastern mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki, males vary greatly in body size and continually attempt to inseminate females. We experimentally manipulated male presence (i.e., harassment), male body size and whether males could copulate. Exposure to males had strong detrimental effects on female reproductive output, growth and immune response, independent of male size or whether males could copulate. In contrast, there was a little evidence of a cross‐generational effect of male harassment or mating rate on offspring performance. Our results suggest that females housed with males pay direct costs due to reduced condition and offspring production and that these costs are not a consequence of increased mating rates. Furthermore, exposure to males does not affect offspring reproductive traits.

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Male body size and condition affects sperm number and production rates in mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki

Cited by 61 publications

References 37 publications

Are sexually selected traits affected by a poor environment early in life?

Are sexually selected traits affected by a poor environment early in life?

Predictors of male insemination success in the mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki)

An experimental test for body size‐dependent effects of male harassment and an elevated copulation rate on female lifetime fecundity and offspring performance

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