Age at mating and male quality influence female patterns of reproductive investment and survival

Abstract

The trade‐off between the allocation of resources toward somatic maintenance or reproduction is one of the fundamentals of life history theory and predicts that females invest in offspring at the expense of their longevity or vice versa. Mate quality may also affect life history trade‐offs through mechanisms of sexual conflict; however, few studies have examined the interaction between mate quality and age at first mating in reproductive decisions. Using house crickets ( Acheta domesticus ), this study examines how survival and reproductive trade‐offs change based on females’ age at first reproduction and exposure to males of varying size. Females were exposed to either a large (presumably high‐quality) or small male at an early (young), middle (intermediate), or advanced (old) age, and longevity and reproductive investment were subsequently tracked. Females mated at a young age had the largest number of eggs but the shortest total lifespans while females mated at older ages produced fewer eggs but had longer total lifespans. The trade‐off between age at first mating and eggs laid appears to be mediated through higher egg‐laying rates and shorter postmating lifespans in females mated later in life. Exposure to small males resulted in shorter lifespans and higher egg‐laying rates for all females indicating that male manipulation of females, presumably through spermatophore contents, varies with male size in this species. Together, these data strongly support a trade‐off between age at first reproduction and lifespan and support the role of sexual conflict in shaping patterns of reproduction.

Pre‐ and post‐copulatory sexual selection increase offspring quality but impose survival costs to female field crickets

“…Variation in female age at mating, with those from the no‐selection treatment being unintentionally younger, may also potentially explain our results. Younger females may better cope with costly mating, such as multiple inseminations and/or multiple encounters with courting males, when these occur earlier in life, rather than pointing to trade‐offs between reproduction in early life and survival (Wilson & Walker, 2019). This is also shown in the field cricket Gryllus assimilis (Limberger et al, 2021), where older mated females had an increased mortality rate compared to females mated at younger age and virgin females.…”

Farmed cricket (Acheta domesticus, Gryllus assimilis, and Gryllodes sigillatus; Orthoptera) welfare considerations: recommendations for improving global practice

“…A. domesticus (Murtaugh and Denlinger, 1985) G. assimilis (Loranger and Bertram, 2016a) G. sigillatus (Mallard and Barnard, 2004;Sakaluk, 1987) Number of mating partners Multiple Multiple* Multiple A. domesticus (Gray, 1997;Wilson and Walker, 2019) G. assimilis (Masson et al, 2020) G. sigillatus (Sakaluk et al, 2002;Vasanth, 1988 A. domesticus (Alexander, 1961;Gray, 1997;Wilson and Walker, 2019) G. assimilis (Alexander, 1961;Bertram et al, 2017) G. sigillatus (Alexander, 1961;Sakaluk et al, 2019;Vasanth, 1988) (Crocker and Hunter, 2018;Ismail, 1978) G. assimilis (Villarreal et al, 2018) G. sigilatus (Houslay et al, 2015(Houslay et al, ) et al, 2005Gangwere, 1961;Gutiérrez et al, 2020;Hanboonsong et al, 2013). All three species are active yearround (Alexander, 1968;Weissman et al, 2009Weissman et al, , 2012.…”

Acoustic signalling in Orthoptera

“…The costs and benefits for the female may also be affected by male manipulation of, for example, egg laying rates or longevity, via factors transferred in the spermatophore, rather than her choice of mate (e.g. Wilson and Walker, 2019).…”