The Evolution of Insect Mating Systems

Thornhill, Randy; Alcock, John

doi:10.4159/harvard.9780674433960

Cited by 2,048 publications

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“…Male size may be an indication of sexual maturity for females (Kokko et al, 2003), or it is possible that females might benefit from mating with larger males by having larger offspring with higher fecundity (Kirkpatrick, 1982). Females may be able to bias their offspring paternity towards these males by electing to mate with them for longer, as reported within several insect mating systems (Thornhill & Alcock, 1983). Subsequent studies on paternal size and offspring growth rates and/or gamete counts, as well as assessing paternity patterns amongst genotyped candidate fathers might further elucidate these patterns.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nocturnal mating behaviour and dynamic male investment of copulation time in the southern blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae)

Morse

Zenger

McCormick

et al. 2015

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The southern blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa (Hoyle, 1883) is a nocturnal species that exhibits a mating system in which females hold sperm from multiple males over a one to two month breeding window before laying a single egg clutch. Contrary to most studied animal mating systems where anisogamy exists, gamete package production is limited for both males and females of this species (~50 spermatophores/eggs). This presents an animal model for studying aspects of sperm competition and dynamic mate choice behaviours. The present study reports on the mating behaviour of H. maculosa observed under laboratory conditions using infrared closed-circuit television video footage. Rates of male copulation attempts increased with male size, while female receptivity to mating attempts increased with female size, resulting in larger animals of both sexes gaining more copulations and spending more time per day in copulation. There was some evidence of female preference of larger males, but no male preference of females based on measured morphological traits. Both sexes terminated copulations in equal frequencies but male-terminated copulations were significantly shorter in duration. Males were more likely to terminate copulation early with females they had previously mated with, however were less likely to do so if the female had recently mated with a different male. Among male-terminated copulations, males mated for longer with females that had previously mated with other males in the trial. Male-male mounts were as common as male-female mounts, suggesting that male H. maculosa are not able to discriminate the sex of conspecifics. These findings suggest male strategic allocation of spermatophores based female mating history is an important factor influencing mating behaviours of this species.ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: mate choice -Octopus -operational sex ratio -sperm competition.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nocturnal mating behaviour and dynamic male investment of copulation time in the southern blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae)

Morse

Zenger

McCormick

et al. 2015

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“…Genera included because I happened to be familiar with their mating behaviour or because of directed reading after the original list was complete are marked with ' $ ', and families without genera with unprotected females ( Frohne & Frohne (1954), Downes (1958Downes ( , 1969, Service (1970), Hunter (1979a Perry (1979) Dahl (1965), Downes (1969), Savolainen &. Syrjämäki (1972) Thornhill & Alcock (1983) Shelly &Whittier (1997) Chvála (1980) Kessel (1959) Kessel (1959) Poulton(1913), Downes (1970) ÍCessel ( Mannheims & Theowald (1951 Lindner (1930) Hesse ( Lindner (1938), James (1935), Rozkosny(1983) Thompson (1997) Thompson (1981) Thompson (1991) Thompson (1981), Vockeroth (1983), He & Chu (1996) Kröber ( Raspi(1983Raspi( , 1984Raspi( , 1985, McAlpine (1971McAlpine ( , 1972 …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Male–female conflict and genitalia: failure to confirm predictions in insects and spiders

Eberhard¹

2004

Biological Reviews

117

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Some recent models suggest a new role for evolutionary arms races between males and females in sexual selection. Female resistance to males is proposed to be driven by the direct advantage to the female of avoiding maleimposed reductions in the number of offspring she can produce, rather than by the indirect advantage of selecting among possible sires for her offspring, as in some traditional models of sexual selection by female choice. This article uses the massive but hitherto under-utilized taxonomic literature on genitalic evolution to test, in a twostep process, whether such new models of arms races between males and females have been responsible for rapid divergent evolution of male genitalia. The test revolves around the prediction that 'new arms races' are less likely to occur in species in which females are largely or completely protected from unwanted sexual attentions from males (e.g. species which mate in leks or in male swarms, in which males attract females from a distance, or in which females initiate contact by attracting males from a distance).The multiple possible mechanical functions of male genitalia are summarized, and functions of male genitalic structures in 43 species in 21 families of Diptera are compiled. Functions associated with intromission and insemination (e.g. seizing and positioning the female appropriately, pushing past possible barriers within the female, orienting within the female to achieve sperm transfer), which are unlikely to be involved in new arms races when females are protected, are shown to be common ( > 50 % of documented cases). This information is then used to generate the new arms race prediction: differences in genitalic form among congeneric species in which females are protected should be less common than differences among congeneric species in which females are vulnerable to harassment by males. This prediction was tested using a sample of 361 genera of insects and spiders. The prediction clearly failed, even when the data were adjusted to take into account several possible biases. Comparative analyses within particular taxonomic groups also failed to show the predicted trends, as did less extensive data on other non-genitalic male display traits. Arms races, as defined in some recent models, seem to have been less important in male•female coevolution of genitalic structures than has been suggested. By elimination, alternative interpretations, such as traditional female choice, which do not predict associations between female protection from harassment and rapid divergent evolution, are strengthened.

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“…In June-July, P. interrupta form large aggregations on Acacia spp. trees where they feed and mate, and the most obvious underlying reasons for the observed female attraction are facilitation of food and mate finding, as has been suggested for other insect species (Thornhill and Alcock 1983). The aggregations have been observed to increase in frequency and size later in the mating season.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Pheromone-based Mating and Aggregation in the Sorghum Chafer, Pachnoda interrupta

et al. 2010

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Adults of the sorghum chafer, Pachnoda interrupta Olivier (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae), form aggregations during the mating period in July, but also in October. The beetles aggregate on food sources, e.g., Acacia spp. trees or sorghum with ripe seeds, to feed and mate. During the mating season, field trapping experiments with live beetles as bait demonstrated attraction of males to unmated females, but not to mated females or males, indicating the presence of a female-emitted sex pheromone. Unmated females combined with banana (food source) attracted significantly more males and females than did unmated females alone. Other combinations of beetles with banana were not more attractive than banana alone. Thus, aggregation behavior appears to be guided by a combination of pheromone and host volatiles. Females and males were extracted with hexane during the mating period, and the extracts were compared by using GC-MS. In a field trapping experiment, 19 compounds found only in females were tested, both singly and in a mixture. Traps baited with one of the female-associated compounds, phenylacetaldehyde, caught significantly more beetles than any other treatment. However, the sex ratio of beetles caught in these traps did not differ from that of control traps and it is possible that other components may be involved in the sex pheromone signal. Furthermore, traps baited with a mixture of all 19 compounds attracted significantly fewer beetles than did phenylacetaldehyde alone.

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The Evolution of Insect Mating Systems

Cited by 2,048 publications

References 0 publications

Nocturnal mating behaviour and dynamic male investment of copulation time in the southern blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae)

Nocturnal mating behaviour and dynamic male investment of copulation time in the southern blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae)

Male–female conflict and genitalia: failure to confirm predictions in insects and spiders

Pheromone-based Mating and Aggregation in the Sorghum Chafer, Pachnoda interrupta

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