Variation in polyandry and its fitness consequences among populations of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum

Abstract

Female mating with multiple males in a single reproductive period, or polyandry, is a common phenomenon in animals. In this study we investigated variation in female mating behavior and its fitness consequences among three genetic strains of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. We found that the extent of polyandry and its fitness consequences varied significantly among the strains. In the first strain PRUZ, females mated multiply but incurred costs of polyandry in the form of reduced offspring production. Females of the second strain, NDG11, mated readily with multiple partners and benefited because polyandry led to higher offspring quality. Finally, TIW1 females were resistant to multiple mating and polyandry resulted in lower offspring production but improved offspring quality. Thus, in the first population we observed only costs of polyandry, in the second strain only benefits of polyandry whereas in the third we detected both costs and benefits of polyandry. Possible explanations for such a pattern are discussed.

Strain-specific priming of resistance in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum

“…Recently, T. castaneum has been further developed into a model system for embryonic development and pesticide resistance (Lorenzen et al 2005;, population genetics (Zhong et al 2004;Demuth & Wade 2007), mate choice (Bernasconi & Keller 2001;Pai & Yan 2002;Pai et al 2007;Pai & Bernasconi 2008) and for the study of host-parasite coevolution (Pai & Yan 2003;Fischer & Schmid-Hempel 2005). As its genome sequence has been completed, it is likely that other fields of biology will adopt this model system as well (Richards et al 2008; http://www.hgsc.bcm.tmc.edu/projects/tribolium/ ).…”

Characterisation of variables associated with the flight behaviour of the rust-red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum)

“…Studies on Drosophila serrata (Malloch) have, however, estimated similar levels of polyandry in laboratory and field populations (Frentiu & Chenoweth, 2008), and that is the pattern reflected in our data (Figures 3.1, 3.2, 3.3). The levels of polyandry recorded in the field-collected insects and newly established laboratory cultures of T. castaneum were less than predicted based on laboratory assessments of multiple mating involving long-term laboratory reference strains of this species (Pai & Yan, 2003;Pai et al, 2007 years in some cases (Wade, 1977)]. Culturing has been demonstrated to impact negatively upon movement, fecundity and development time in T. castaneum (Malekpour et al, 2016;Ahmad et al, 2012;White, 1984).…”

“…Tribolium castaneum is commonly used in studies of polyandry and sexual selection as it is easy to rear and highly polyandrous in the laboratory (e.g. Demont et al, 2014;Fedina & Lewis, 2008;Pai et al, 2007). Most studies have focused on reproductive success (Lewis et al, 2005), offspring fitness (Pai & Yan, 2002), sperm competition (Lewis & Austad, 1990;Lewis, 2004), cryptic female choice (Fedina, 2007;Fedina & Lewis, 2007) and the possible selective advantages of polyandry (Michalczyk et al, 2011;Grazer & Martin, 2012), and all of these studies have been conducted in the laboratory.…”

“…Most studies have focused on reproductive success (Lewis et al, 2005), offspring fitness (Pai & Yan, 2002), sperm competition (Lewis & Austad, 1990;Lewis, 2004), cryptic female choice (Fedina, 2007;Fedina & Lewis, 2007) and the possible selective advantages of polyandry (Michalczyk et al, 2011;Grazer & Martin, 2012), and all of these studies have been conducted in the laboratory. The number of times that females mate evidently varies substantially across laboratory strains, with females of one particular strain never mating more than once and females of another mating up to 12 times within the hour under observation (Pai et al, 2007). It is also evidently impacted by density and parasite load (Kerstes et al, 2013).…”

“…Their ability to use a wide range of grain resources, processed food, and micro fungi (e.g., on cotton lint) (Good, 1933;Sokoloff, 1974;Ahmad et al, 2012ab;Ahmad et al, 2013ab) along with their high fecundity (Daglish, 2005) and polyandry (Chapter 3; Pai et al, 2007;Fedina & Lewis, 2008;Demont et al, 2014) are features that facilitate movement and colonization across extensive landscapes (Ridley et al, 2011).…”