Cryptic Female Choice in Crickets and Relatives (Orthoptera: Ensifera)

Vahed, Karim

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-17894-3_11

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 171 publications

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“…Although the present study provided mixed support for sexual selection hypotheses for genital evolution, experimental manipulations, in which either one or both titillators were removed, have provided some support for the role of cryptic female choice (Wulff et al 2015, Vahed 2015, Wulff and Lehmann 2016. The results of these manipulations indicated that correct stimulation by titillators is necessary for the proper insertion of the spermatophore and to avoid resistance by females during copulation (Wulff et al 2015(Wulff et al , 2017Wulff and Lehmann 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 48%

Male genital titillators and the intensity of post-copulatory sexual selection across bushcrickets

et al. 2017

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Animal genitalia are diverse and a growing body of evidence suggests that they evolve rapidly under post-copulatory sexual selection. This process is predicted to be more intense in polyandrous species, although there have been very few comparative studies of the relationship between the complexity of genital structures in males and measures of the degree of polyandry. In some bushcricket families, males possess sclerotised copulatory structures known as titillators, which are inserted into the female's genital chamber and moved rhythmically. Like other genital structures, bushcricket titillators are widely used as important taxonomic characters and show considerable variation across species in structure, shape and the extent to which they are spined. Here, we examine relationships between the presence/absence of titillators, titillator complexity and both mating frequency and the degree of polyandry in bushcrickets, using phylogenetic comparative analyses. Using published sources combined with original observations, data were obtained for the mean level of polyandry, the duration of the male and female sexual refractory periods and the level of complexity of titillators. To analyse data, we fitted phylogenetic generalised least squares models. No significant relationships were found between titillator presence or complexity and either the level of polyandry, duration of the male's sexual refractory period or the ratio of the female and male sexual refractory periods. The duration of the female's refractory period, however, was positively associated with titillator presence and negatively associated with titillator complexity. The data therefore partially support the hypothesis that post-copulatory sexual selection drives genital evolution in this taxon.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 48%

Male genital titillators and the intensity of post-copulatory sexual selection across bushcrickets

et al. 2017

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“…In some cricket species, there is compelling evidence that the female can bias the use of sperm from selected males by controlling not only the duration of attachment of an externally attached spermatophore, but also the uptake of sperm to the spermatheca (Vahed ). Whether or not the female can influence the discharge of sperm from spermatodoses as a further mechanism of cryptic female choice deserves further investigation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paternity analysis of wild‐caught females shows that sperm package size and placement influence fertilization success in the bushcricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera

et al. 2017

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In species where females store sperm, males may try to influence paternity by the strategic placement of sperm within the female's sperm storage organ. Sperm may be mixed or layered in storage organs, and this can influence sperm use beyond a 'fair raffle'. In some insects, sperm from different matings is packaged into discrete packets (spermatodoses), which retain their integrity in the female's sperm storage organ (spermatheca), but little is known about how these may influence patterns of sperm use under natural mating conditions in wild populations. We examined the effect of the size and position of spermatodoses within the spermatheca and number of competing ejaculates on sperm use in female dark bushcrickets (Pholidoptera griseoaptera) that had mated under unmanipulated field conditions. Females were collected near the end of the mating season, and seven hypervariable microsatellite loci were used to assign paternity of eggs laid in the laboratory. Females contained a median of three spermatodoses (range 1-6), and only six of the 36 females contained more than one spermatodose of the same genotype. Both the size and relative placement of the spermatodoses within the spermatheca had a significant effect on paternity, with a bias against smaller spermatodoses and those further from the single entrance/exit of the spermatheca. A higher number of competing males reduced the chances of siring offspring for each male. Hence, both spermatodose size and relative placement in the spermatheca influence paternity success.

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“…A little is also known about inter‐ and intra‐specific variation in the shape of males' titillators (Harz, ). Since these sclerotized genital appendices are used in female stimulation and spermatophore transfer, it would be also interesting to determine the possible role of this sexual trait in heterospecific female mate choice (Vahed, ; Wulff et al, ). The costs of heterospecific mating are particularly high if postmating barriers are complete (e.g., gametic incompatibility or zygotic mortality), and there is no chance of siring viable hybrids (Gröning & Hochkirch, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…titillators (Harz, 1969). Since these sclerotized genital appendices are used in female stimulation and spermatophore transfer, it would be also interesting to determine the possible role of this sexual trait in heterospecific female mate choice (Vahed, 2015;Wulff et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mosaic distribution pattern of two sister bush‐cricket species and the possible role of reproductive interference

Dorková

Krištín

Jarčuška

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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Reproductive interference can shape regional distribution patterns in closely related species, if prezygotic isolation barriers are weak. The study of such interaction could be more challenging in nuptial gift‐giving species due to the direct nutritional effects on both sexes of both species during copulation. We mapped the distribution of two sister bush‐cricket species, Pholidoptera aptera and Pholidoptera transsylvanica, at the northern margin of their overlapping ranges in Europe, and with a behavioral experiment, we tested the possibility of heterospecific mating. We found a very rare coexistence of species locally (0.5%, n = 391 sites) with mostly mutually exclusive distribution patterns, resulting in a mosaic pattern of sympatry, whereas they occupied the same climate niche in forest‐dominated mountain landscape. Over 14 days of a mating experiment with seven mixed groups of conspecifics and heterospecifics (n = 56 individuals in total), the number of received spermatophores per female was 3–6 in P. aptera and 1–7 in P. transsylvanica. In total, we found 8.1% of heterospecific copulations (n = 99 transferred spermatophores with genetic identification of the donor species), while we also confirmed successful transfer of heterospecific sperms into a female's reproductive system. Because bush‐cricket females also obtain required nutrition from a heterospecific spermatophylax what should increase their fitness and fecundity, we suggest that their flexibility to mate with heterospecifics is beneficial and drives reproductive interference. This may substantially limit the reproductive success of the less frequent species (P. transsylvanica), coupled with eventual detrimental effects from hybridization, and result in the competitive exclusion of that species from their areas of coexistence.

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Cryptic Female Choice in Crickets and Relatives (Orthoptera: Ensifera)

Cited by 7 publications

References 171 publications

Male genital titillators and the intensity of post-copulatory sexual selection across bushcrickets

Male genital titillators and the intensity of post-copulatory sexual selection across bushcrickets

Paternity analysis of wild‐caught females shows that sperm package size and placement influence fertilization success in the bushcricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera

The mosaic distribution pattern of two sister bush‐cricket species and the possible role of reproductive interference

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