Obligate, but not facultative, satellite males prefer the same male sexual signal characteristics as females

Olzer, Rachel; Zuk, Marlene

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.07.014

Cited by 11 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…(personal communication) showed that flatwing males sire more offspring than normal‐wing males, although it remains unclear why. Males of the two wing phenotypes show differences in behavior (Olzer and Zuk ) and gene expression (Pascoal et al. , ), and it is plausible that the two morphs also differ in fertilization success due to seminal fluid protein quality or sperm viability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, Heinen-Kay et al (personal communication) showed that flatwing males sire more offspring than normal-wing males, although it remains unclear why. Males of the two wing phenotypes show differences in behavior (Olzer and Zuk 2018) and gene expression (Pascoal et al 2016(Pascoal et al , 2018, and it is plausible that the two morphs also differ in fertilization success due to seminal fluid protein quality or sperm viability. Other studies of T. oceanicus have shown that older males have higher sperm viability (the proportion of live sperm in an ejaculate), different seminal fluid compositions, and better competitive fertilization success relative to younger males (García-González and Simmons 2005;Dowling et al 2010;Simmons and Beveridge 2011;Simmons et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sexual signal loss in field crickets maintained despite strong sexual selection favoring singing males

2019

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Evolutionary biologists commonly seek explanations for how selection drives the emergence of novel traits. Although trait loss is also predicted to occur frequently, few contemporary examples exist. In Hawaii, the Pacific field cricket (Teleogryllus oceanicus) is undergoing adaptive sexual signal loss due to natural selection imposed by eavesdropping parasitoids. Mutant male crickets (“flatwings”) cannot sing. We measured the intensity of sexual selection on wing phenotype in a wild population. First, we surveyed the relative abundance of flatwings and “normal‐wings” (nonmutants) on Oahu. Then, we bred wild‐mated females’ offspring to determine both female genotype with respect to the flatwing mutation and the proportion of flatwing males that sired their offspring. We found evidence of strong sexual selection favoring the production of song: females were predominantly homozygous normal‐wing, their offspring were sired disproportionately by singing males, and at the population level, flatwing males became less common following a single sexual selection event. We report a selection coefficient describing the total (pre‐ and postcopulatory) sexual selection favoring normal‐wing males in nature. Given the maintenance of the flatwing phenotype in Hawaii in recent years, this substantial sexual selection additionally suggests an approximate strength of opposing natural selection that favors silent males.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual signal loss in field crickets maintained despite strong sexual selection favoring singing males

2019

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“…Satellite behavior consists of a non-calling male that hovers near a calling male and attempts to intercept females responding to the caller's song. Flatwing males might be particularly successful acting as a satellite because they are differentially attracted to the same male song characteristics that female T. oceanicus prefer in a mate (Olzer and Zuk, 2018). Furthermore, male satellite behavior is enhanced by behavioral plasticity in response to rearing in a song-less environment that occurs as a by-product of the rapid spread of silent males.…”

Section: Alternative Mating Tactics and Behavioral Flexibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

When Does Sexual Signal Exploitation Lead to Signal Loss?

Heinen‐Kay

Zuk

2019

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Evolutionary loss of traits is common over evolutionary time and occurs in diverse taxa. Sexual signals and other non-signal traits should differ in their likelihood of becoming lost because they experience different selection pressures contributing to their diminution or persistence. In particular, conspicuous sexual signals are often exploited by natural enemies; this significant cost can favor signal reduction or loss. Yet sexual signals should also experience strong selection favoring their persistence because they facilitate communication during sexual encounters and their loss would involve changes in both the signaler and receiver. Most examples of sexual signal loss come from phylogenetic studies, so it is difficult to ascertain the context and key factors responsible for their loss. Here, we describe one of the best documented examples of evolutionary sexual signal loss in real time due to signal exploitation: Teleogryllus oceanicus (the Pacific field cricket) in Hawaii where many males have lost the ability to sing due to natural selection from a deadly, acoustically-orienting parasitoid fly. Using sexual signal loss in T. oceanicus as a model, we identify environmental, social, and genetic factors that appear generally important in driving sexual signal loss due to signal exploitation. We also discuss each putative factor contributing to signal loss more broadly within the context of non-signal trait loss. Overall, the factors that facilitate evolutionary loss of signals and other traits exhibit significant parallels. In general, a significant cost from the environment, weak selection for persistence, and alternative ways of accomplishing the former function appear critical to achieving evolutionary loss of both sexual signals and non-signal traits. However, because few empirical examples of sexual signal loss over contemporary timescales exist, we need more theory and empirical work to better understand the evolutionary dynamics of sexual signal loss.

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“…On each island, males that carry the flatwing allele exhibit the adaptive, silent phenotype that allows them to go undetected by the parasitoid fly (Zuk et al., ). Though flatwing males face difficulty attracting mates because they cannot produce the calling or courtship songs that females find attractive (Bailey & Zuk, ; Tinghitella & Zuk, ), they can achieve matings by adopting alternative mating tactics (Bailey, Gray, & Zuk, ; Olzer & Zuk, ; Zuk et al., ). Briefly, males can act as a satellite to a calling male and intercept females responding to the caller's song.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct and indirect effects of sexual signal loss on female reproduction in the Pacific field cricket (Teleogryllus oceanicus)

Heinen‐Kay

Strub

Balenger

et al. 2019

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Sexual signal evolution may present fitness consequences for the non‐signaling sex due to shared genes and altered social conditions, but this is rarely studied in natural populations. On the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, most male Teleogryllus oceanicus (Pacific field crickets) lack the ability to sing because of a novel wing mutation (flatwing) that arose and spread in <20 generations. Obligately silent flatwing males have been highly successful because they avoid detection by a deadly, acoustically‐orienting parasitoid fly. Little is known about how the flatwing mutation and resulting song‐less acoustic environment affects female fitness. We found that Kauai females carrying the flatwing allele invested less in reproductive tissues and experienced more instances of mating failure than normal‐wing‐carrying females, though total offspring production did not differ between female genotypes. Females from Oahu (HI, where the parasitoid and flatwing also occur) and Mangaia (an island in the Cook Islands which harbors neither the parasitoid nor flatwing) invested less in reproductive tissues when reared in a song‐less acoustic environment. Kauai females did not exhibit this plasticity, perhaps because they have experienced nearly song‐less conditions for the past ~15 years following the establishment of flatwing. We show that female T. oceanicus experience a mix of costly and beneficial effects of sexual signal loss, which should help maintain the wing polymorphism in the wild. Our results demonstrate that the non‐signaling sex can experience a nuanced set of phenotypic consequences resulting from signal evolution, which can further shape dynamics of sexual signal evolution.

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Obligate, but not facultative, satellite males prefer the same male sexual signal characteristics as females

Cited by 11 publications

References 36 publications

Sexual signal loss in field crickets maintained despite strong sexual selection favoring singing males

Sexual signal loss in field crickets maintained despite strong sexual selection favoring singing males

When Does Sexual Signal Exploitation Lead to Signal Loss?

Direct and indirect effects of sexual signal loss on female reproduction in the Pacific field cricket (Teleogryllus oceanicus)

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