Sexual selection favors harmful mating in hermaphrodites more than in gonochorists

Michiels, Nico K.; Koene, Joris M.

doi:10.1093/icb/icj043

Cited by 53 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In such species, it could pay to increase investment in fertilization attempts, even if this results in lowered egg production. Choosing to invest in sexual conflict arms races over fecundity should be widespread among simultaneous hermaphrodites, according to recent theoretical work [36,37]. There is also empirical evidence suggesting that elevated mating rates may have opposite fitness effects via male and female sex functions [38,39].…”

Section: Intra-locus Sexual Conflict In Hermaphroditesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intra-locus sexual conflict and sexually antagonistic genetic variation in hermaphroditic animals

Abbott

2010

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Intra-locus sexual conflict results when sex-specific selection pressures for a given trait act against the intra-sexual genetic correlation for that trait. It has been found in a wide variety of taxa in both laboratory and natural populations, but the importance of intra-locus sexual conflict and sexually antagonistic genetic variation in hermaphroditic organisms has rarely been considered. This is not so surprising given the conceptual and theoretical association of intra-locus sexual conflict with sexual dimorphism, but there is no a priori reason why intra-locus sexual conflict cannot occur in hermaphroditic organisms as well. Here, I discuss the potential for intra-locus sexual conflict in hermaphroditic animals and review the available evidence for such conflict, and for the existence of sexually antagonistic genetic variation in hermaphrodites. I argue that mutations with asymmetric effects are particularly likely to be important in mediating sexual antagonism in hermaphroditic organisms. Moreover, sexually antagonistic genetic variation is likely to play an important role in inter-individual variation in sex allocation and in transitions to and from gonochorism (separate sexes) in simultaneous hermaphrodites. I also describe how sequential hermaphrodites may experience a unique form of intra-locus sexual conflict via antagonistic pleiotropy. Finally, I conclude with some suggestions for further research.

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Section: Intra-locus Sexual Conflict In Hermaphroditesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intra-locus sexual conflict and sexually antagonistic genetic variation in hermaphroditic animals

Abbott

2010

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…In the last few decades, there has been increasing attention on sexual selection in such hermaphroditic organisms (reviewed in Anthes, 2010;Leonard, 2013;Nakadera and Koene, 2013). Theoretical studies have suggested that the influences of sexual selection are significant in simultaneous hermaphrodites, as they are in species with separate sexes (Charnov, 1979;Michiels and Koene, 2006). Also, various conspicuous reproductive behaviours have been reported in hermaphroditic animals (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Common effect of the mucus transferred during mating in two dart-shooting snail species from different families

Kimura

Chiba

Koene

2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Several taxa of pulmonate land snails exhibit a conspicuous mating behaviour, the shooting of so-called love darts. During mating, such land snail species stab a mating partner with a mucus-coated dart. It has previously been shown that the sperm donor physiologically influences the sperm recipient via the mucus covering the dart and thereby decreases the number of sperm digested by the recipient. However, the generality of this effect of the dart's mucus is unclear, because almost all the previous studies on the effect of the mucus used the brown garden snail Cornu aspersum from the family Helicidae. Therefore, the relationship between the acquisition of the mucus effect on the recipient and the evolution of the dart itself, and its mucus, is still open to debate. To test the commonality of the physiological effect of the dart mucus, we examined this in Euhadra peliomphala, a species from the Bradybaenidae family, and compared our findings with the results of previous work using C. aspersum. Our experiments showed that in E. peliomphala, the dart mucus had a physiological effect and lowered the accessibility of the gametolytic organ, as found in C. aspersum. This indicates that in various dart-bearing species the mucus from the dart glands targets the same organ and that the inhibition of sperm digestion has played a crucial role in the evolution of the dart and its mucus.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, theoretical analyses suggest that matings in simultaneous hermaphrodites may often be more harmful to the female function than expected for separate-sexed animals (Michiels and Koene 2006). This is because in contrast to females, simultaneous hermaphrodites should remate even if mating entails severe fitness costs for the female function, as long as they can compensate these costs by a sufficiently high male fitness benefit (Michiels and Koene 2006). Second, in many simultaneously hermaphroditic species mating occurs reciprocally (i.e., each partner both donates and receives sperm during each mating), which inevitably links the mating strategies of both sex functions (Michiels 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of female fecundity in a simultaneous hermaphrodite: the role of polyandry and food availability

2010

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Classical sexual selection theory assumes that the reproductive success of females is primarily limited by the resources available for egg production rather than by the number of mating partners. However, there is now accumulating evidence that multiple mating can entail fitness costs or benefits for females. In this study we investigated the effect of polyandry (i.e., the mating with different mating partners) and food availability on the reproductive output of the female sex function in an outcrossing simultaneous hermaphrodite, the free-living flatworm Macrostomum lignano. We exposed virgin worms to different group sizes, a treatment that has previously been shown to affect the level of polyandry in this species. Moreover, we manipulated the food availability throughout the subsequent egg laying period, during which the worms were kept in isolation. The number of offspring produced was used as an estimate of female fecundity. We found that food availability, but not group size, had a significant effect on female fecundity. Additionally, female fecundity was positively correlated with the number of stored sperm in the female sperm-storage organ at the time of isolation, but it was not correlated with body or ovary size of the worms. Our results suggest that female fecundity in M. lignano is primarily determined by the resources available for egg production, and not by the level of polyandry, confirming classic sexual selection theory for simultaneous hermaphrodites.

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Sexual selection favors harmful mating in hermaphrodites more than in gonochorists

Cited by 53 publications

References 31 publications

Intra-locus sexual conflict and sexually antagonistic genetic variation in hermaphroditic animals

Intra-locus sexual conflict and sexually antagonistic genetic variation in hermaphroditic animals

Common effect of the mucus transferred during mating in two dart-shooting snail species from different families

Determinants of female fecundity in a simultaneous hermaphrodite: the role of polyandry and food availability

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