Correlated responses to selection on female egg size in male reproductive traits in a butterfly |
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Authors: | Klaus Fischer Katja Zimmer Nina Wedell |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Animal Ecology I, Bayreuth University, P.O. Box 101 251, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany;(2) Present address: BayCEER, Laboratory of Isotope Biogeochemistry, Bayreuth University, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany;(3) Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Str. 11/12, 17489 Greifswald, Germany;(4) School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ, UK |
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Abstract: | Genetic correlations between male and female traits can act as evolutionary constraints and, if involving reproductive traits,
potentially influence sexual selection. Artificial selection on egg size in the tropical butterfly Bicyclus anynana has yielded highly divergent lines. Here we report evidence for correlated evolution in male traits. Males from the large-egg
selected lines produced significantly heavier spermatophores independent of body size and tended to have more fertile sperm
stored in their reproductive tracts than those from the small-egg selected lines. This may be due to an underlying genetic
correlation in reproductive effort between the sexes. However, non-fertile sperm number and testis size remained unaffected
by selection on egg size. Phenotypic correlations within an unselected population revealed that spermatophore mass and fertile
sperm number, but not testis size and non-fertile sperm number, were positively related to male body size, and that larger
spermatophores contained more fertile, but not non-fertile sperm. In addition, males provided larger females with bigger spermatophores
and more fertile sperm, indicating males may be exercising mate choice during copulation. |
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Keywords: | Apyrene sperm Artificial selection Body size Eupyrene sperm Genetic correlation Spermatophore size |
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