THE ECOLOGY OF SEXUAL CONFLICT: BACKGROUND MORTALITY CAN MODULATE THE EFFECTS OF MALE MANIPULATION ON FEMALE FITNESS

Sexual and parental conflicts can arise because males benefit by inducing elevated reproductive effort in their mates. For females, the costs of such manipulation are often manifested later in life, and may therefore covary with female life expectancy. Here, I outline a simple female life‐history model where female life expectancy reflects extrinsic mortality rate, and elevated reproductive effort causes accelerated senescence. Using this model, I show that variation in extrinsic mortality rate can modulate the magnitude and sign of fitness effects that male manipulation has on females. This result has several interesting implications. First, it suggests that the fitness effects of sexual interactions can depend on ecological factors, such as predation, that influence life expectancy. Second, if mortality risk is condition‐dependent but reproductive effort is not fully optimized in relation to individual condition, then sexual conflict intensity may increase with individual condition, selecting for condition‐dependent reproductive strategies. Third, if males vary in manipulativeness, then the fitness effects of mating with a given male phenotype may depend on both female condition and extrinsic mortality rate. Fourth, life span extension in the laboratory can lead to overestimation of sexual and parental conflicts. Life expectancy may therefore be a key factor in sexual coevolution.     

MATERNAL EFFECTS ON OFFSPRING SIZE: VARIATION THROUGH EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF CHINOOK SALMON

We performed two breeding experiments with chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) to explore maternal effects on offspring size. We estimated the magnitude of maternal effects as the differences between sire-offspring and dam-offspring regression slopes. Early in life, offspring size is largely influenced by maternal size, but this influence decreases through early development, with the maternal effect becoming negative at intermediate offspring ages (corresponding to a period of reduced growth of progeny hatching from large eggs) and converging on zero as offspring age. Also, egg size was positively correlated with early survival, but negatively correlated with maternal fecundity.     

THE RESPONSE TO SELECTION FOR FAST LARVAL DEVELOPMENT IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER AND ITS EFFECT ON ADULT WEIGHT: AN EXAMPLE OF A FITNESS TRADE-OFF

A selection experiment using Drosophila melanogaster revealed a strong trade-off between adult weight and larval development time (LDT), supporting the view that antagonistic pleiotropy for these two fitness traits determines mean adult size. Two experimental lines of flies were selected for a shorter LDT (measured from egg laying to pupation). After 15 generations LDT was reduced by an average of 7.9%. The response appeared to be controlled primarily by autosomal loci. A correlated response to the selection was a reduction in adult dry weight: individuals from the selected populations were on average 15.1% lighter than the controls. The lighter females of the selected lines showed a 35% drop in fecundity, but no change in longevity. Thus, there is no direct relationship between LDT and adult longevity. The genetic correlation between weight and LDT, as measured from their joint response to selection, was 0.86. Although there was weak evidence for dominance in LDT, there was none for weight, making it unlikely that selection acting on this antagonistic pleiotropy could lead to a stable polymorphism. In all lines, sex differences in weight violated expectations based on intrasex genetic correlations: Females, being larger than males, ought to require a longer LDT, whereas there was a slight trend in the opposite direction. Because the sexual dimorphism in size was not significantly altered by selection, it appears that the controlling loci are either invariant or have very limited pleiotropic effect on developmental time. It is suggested that they probably control some intrinsic, energy-intensive developmental process in males.     

THE EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON BODY SIZE AND FECUNDITY IN FEMALE DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER: EVIDENCE FOR ADAPTIVE PLASTICITY

The reaction norm linking rearing temperature and size in Drosophila melanogaster results in progressively larger flies as the temperature is lowered from 30°C to 18°C, but it has remained unclear whether this phenotypic plasticity is part of an adaptive response to temperature. We found that female D. melanogaster reared to adulthood at 18°C versus 25°C showed a 12% increase in dry weight. Measurements of the fecundity of these two types of fly showed that the size change had no effect on lifetime fecundity, regardless of the adult test temperature. Thus the phenotypic plasticity breaks the usual positive correlation between body size and fecundity. However, at a given temperature, early fecundity (defined as productivity for days 5 through 12 after eclosion at 25°C and days 7 through 17 at 18°C) was highest when the rearing and test temperatures were the same. The early fecundity advantage due to rearing at the test temperature was 25% at 18°C and 16% at 25°C, a result consistent with the overall phenotypic response to temperature being adaptive. This conclusion is further supported by the finding that the temperature treatments resulted in a trade-off between early fecundity and longevity, a trade-off that parallels the known genetic correlation. Another parallel is that both the temperature-induced and genetic effects are independent of total fecundity. By contrast, within the temperature treatments, the phenotypic correlation between early fecundity and longevity was positive, illustrating the danger of assuming that phenotypic and genetic correlations are similar, or even of the same sign.     

嗜卷书虱的实验生态研究

在8种温度(17.5～35℃)及5种相对湿度(50%、60%、70%、80%和90%)条件下,以全麦粉、酵母粉、脱脂奶粉(10∶1∶1)为食料,系统研究了嗜卷书虱Liposcelis bostrychophila Badonnel实验种群生态学特性。获得了该虫在不同温、湿度条件下生长发育、生存和繁殖的一系列特性和参数,包括各虫态发育历期、存活率、发育起点温度、有效积温和平均繁殖力等,并建立了发育速率、存活率及繁殖力的理论模型。     

THE EFFECT OF CONSTANT TEMPERATURES ON THE HATCHING OF EGGS AND SURVIVAL OF THE FRESHWATER SNAIL BIOMPHALARIA GLABRATA (SAY)

SUMMARY

The incubation period and percentage hatching of eggs of pigmented and unpigmented Biomphalaria glabrata at constant temperatures were investigated in the range 14 °C to 34 °C. In order to determine the influence of extreme temperatures on adult snails, specimens of the same species were exposed to 0 °C and 40 °C for selected time periods. The results indicate that sustained temperatures below 16 °C and above 32 °C are detrimental to the development and hatching of B. glabrata embryos. The optimum temperatures for incubation period and hatching differ from each other. As far as temperature is concerned, this foreign snail species should be capable of successfully colonizing the warmer parts of southern Africa.     

THE EFFECT OF INFLORESCENCE SIZE ON MALE FITNESS: EXPERIMENTAL TESTS IN THE ANDROMONOECIOUS LILY,ZIGADENUS PANICULATUS

We studied the relationship between inflorescence size and male fitness in the andromonoecious lily Zigadenus paniculatus, using experimentally manipulated inflorescences to eliminate possible correlations between flower number, resource availability, and other floral traits. Allozyme markers were used to determine the siring success of large versus small plants in 14 arrays of plants, each array containing five large and five small plants. The inflorescence size of small plants was held constant both within and among arrays; the size of large plants was held constant within an array but was varied among arrays. Large plants sired more than half the seeds in 12 of the 14 arrays, and significantly more than half in six of these 12. However, in eight of the arrays, large plants sired significantly fewer seeds than expected on the basis of their size advantage. Furthermore, there was no significant relationship between relative size and relative siring success in comparisons among arrays. A maximum-likelihood model estimated that 28% of seeds were sired by imported pollen, with 95% confidence limits of 13% and 50%. Within these limits, high import rates tended to mask the relative success of large plants in several arrays. These results suggest that the evolution of inflorescence size in Z. paniculatus is at least partly driven by selection for increased male success, assuming genetic variation for flower number. However, the data also support a growing body of evidence that estimates of male fitness in plants can be highly variable. We discuss the sources of this variability and the possible effects of inflorescence design on the relationship between inflorescence size and fitness.     

A PHYLOGENETIC PERSPECTIVE ON THE EVOLUTION OF SEXUAL DICHROMATISM IN TANAGERS (THRAUPIDAE): THE ROLE OF FEMALE VERSUS MALE PLUMAGE

The evolution of sexual dichromatism in tanagers (family Thraupidae) was studied from a phylogenetic perspective using a molecular-based phylogeny. Mapping patterns of sexual dimorphism in plumage onto the phylogeny reveals that changes in female plumage occur more frequently than changes in male plumage. Possible explanations for this pattern include sexual selection acting on female plumage and natural selection for background matching. The results of this study and other recent phylogenetic and comparative studies suggest that factors affecting female plumage are important in shaping patterns of sexual dimorphism.     

似鮈类鱼类的系统发育研究（鲤形目：鲤科）

本文通过对似类８属１３种和外类群７属１０种鱼类的比较研究,选取３７个骨骼及外部特征,运用外类群比较法进行特征分析,根据分支系统学原理重建了似类的系统发育。特征分析和系统发育分析表明似类是具有许多共同离征的单系群,朝着流水性底栖生活和刮食性的主干方向发展;其中以似属最原始,胡属最特化构成７对姐妹群。蛇属是较早分化出的相对特化的类群,棒花鱼属和小鳔属的关系相对较远。     

印楝油对褐稻虱雌虫求偶鸣声和交尾行为的影响

笔者用印楝(Azadirachta indica A. Juss)油点滴褐稻虱[Nilaparvata lugens(stal)]初羽化雌虫背部,点滴量分别为1.0、2.5及5.0μg,或将试虫饲养在分别用3%、6%及9%印楝油乳液喷雾处理过的稻株上.结果表明印楝油对褐稻虱雌虫正常的发声和交尾行为有明显干扰.8.3—25.0%的处理雌虫不能发声,也不交尾;8.3—58.3%发出不正常的求偶鸣声;其余鸣声虽基本正常,但脉冲重复频率增高,鸣叫持续时间缩短.后者可完成交尾,交尾前历时明显延长,但交尾时间与对照无显著差异.     

FEMALE FECUNDITY IN A HYBRID ZONE BETWEEN TWO CHROMOSOME RACES OF THE SCELOPORUS GRAMMICUS COMPLEX (SAURIA,PHRYNOSOMATIDAE)

Individuals of the F5 and FM2 cytotypes of the Sceloporus grammicus complex form a narrow zone of parapatric hybridization near Tulancingo, Hidalgo, Mexico. Reproductive parameters were examined among chromosomally parental and hybrid females to assess the degree to which reduced clutch size is correlated with the level of chromosomal heterozygosity. Although clutch size in the two parental groups was highly correlated with female body size, this was not the case for females with intermediate karyotypes. These females displayed increased levels of infertility manifested as smaller clutches and as inviable embryos. F₁ females produced the smallest average clutches and suffered the most precipitous fecundity loss (up to 75%). The number of heterozygous marker chromosomes and heterozygosity at chromosome 2 had significant effects on the number of viable embryos. Analysis of embryo karyotypes revealed the production of triploid offspring and an excess number of embryos heterozygous at chromosome 1. Differences in viability, among females heterozygous for the same number of chromosomes, suggest that genetic background of the female and/or sire may be an important factor in determining reproductive success.     

蚤状蚤的生长和生殖

在３５、３０、２５℃３种温度下观察了蚤状（Ｄａｐｈｎｉａｐｕｌｅｘ）的生长和生殖。其生长随年龄的增加而逐渐减慢，寿命因温度升高而缩短。在２５℃条件下，蚤状寿命、产仔数和产仔率明显高于其他组，其平均寿命为６５．５天，累计产仔总数为４０１．６个，产仔率为２１．２２。     

INBREEDING: ITS EFFECT ON RESPONSE TO SELECTION FOR PUPAL WEIGHT AND THE HERITABLE VARIANCE IN FITNESS IN THE FLOUR BEETLE,TRIBOLIUM CASTANEUM

We report our studies of the effect of inbreeding on the response to selection for increased pupal weight in the flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. We also report the effects of inbreeding and selection for pupal weight on the heritable variation in fitness and fitness components. We created replicate and independent inbred lines with F-values of 0.00, 0.375, and 0.672, by 0, 2, and 5 generations, respectively, of brother-sister mating of adult beetles from an outbred stock population. Subsequently, we imposed artificial within-family selection for increased pupal weight in each of 15 inbred lines for eight generations; each line had its own paired, unselected control. We compared the response to selection across the three levels of inbreeding with theoretical expectation, and investigated the effects of inbreeding and selection on fitness variation among families within all 30 selected and control lines. Among-line variation in pupal weight increased with increased inbreeding prior to selection but diminished with directional selection. Inbreeding reduced the realized heritability of pupal weight concordant with quantitative predictions of additive theory. Mean fitness, measured in several ways, declined with inbreeding and declined further with selection. In contrast, the genetic variation for fitness in the inbred and selected lines lines equalled or exceeded that of the outbred controls. Our results suggest that inbreeding and selection may affect traits in different ways depending on the relative amounts of additive and nonadditive genetic variation.     

粘虫飞行对生殖及寿命的影响

该文报道了粘虫Mythimna separata（Walker）成虫飞行后产卵、交配及寿命的研究结果。1日龄成虫飞行6 h、12 h、18 h、24 h后的产卵前期均显著短于对照的,其中飞行6 h、12 h的比对照的短2天以上,产卵量均比对照的高。对1～5日龄成虫分别飞行23.5 h后的研究结果表明,1日龄飞行的产卵前期和上述结果相一致。2～4日龄飞行的与对照的没有显著差异,但产卵量则随飞行日龄的延迟而逐渐减少。5日龄飞行的产卵前期显著延长,产卵量已不到对照的一半。所有经过飞行的成虫产卵高峰日比对照的早1天。不同日龄成虫飞行时间、距离与成虫产卵量的关系为：1～3日龄飞行时间、距离长的个体产卵量也高;但4～5日龄的成虫飞行时间与距离越长,其产卵量越少,表现出明显的卵子发生飞行拮抗症(oogenesis-flight syndrome)。除了5日龄飞行的成虫交配率有所下降以外,所有经过飞行的成虫产卵历期、交配率及寿命与对照的没有显著差异。最后,根据这些结果,对粘虫迁飞的起飞时期,迁飞在粘虫生殖、种群动态及成灾规律中的作用进行了讨论。     

皱弱蛛属及其模式种的雌性新发现(蜘蛛目,弱蛛科)

首次报道了采自中国河北省赞皇县障石岩风景区(九女峰景区)的宽跗皱弱蛛Rhyssoleptoneta latitarsa Tong & Li,2007的雌性标本,并对该种的雄性模式标本进行重描述.标本保存与中国科学院动物研究所.     

FEMALE CHOICE FOR AN INDICATOR OF MALE SIZE IN THE SONG OF THE BLACK-HORNED TREE CRICKET,OECANTHUS NIGRICORNIS (ORTHOPTERA: GRYLLIDAE: OECANTHINAE)

The calling song of male crickets, including Oecanthus nigricornis (Walker), attracts females for mating and provides a model system of sexual communication. We give the first conclusive identification of a feature of cricket song that is both attractive to females and indicates a phenotypic feature (body size) that determines male mating success and female reproductive benefits. We do this by first testing for correlations between song characteristics and aspects of male phenotype that are hypothesized to indicate male quality. We show that song is a reliable indicator of male size and male age, and that large male size is associated with increased female fecundity. We then use playbacks of synthetic songs that mimic natural variation in song parameters to study song preferences and we compare preferences under different presentation regimes to determine whether choices are based on relative song quality or some fixed criterion. Females show a preference for the lower frequency songs produced by large males, but only during simultaneous playbacks. Thus female choice is based on the relative quality of calls that can be sampled simultaneously. These results provide strong support for the hypothesis that females use variation in calling song to assess male mate quality.     

温度对萼花臂尾轮虫卵的发育、种群增长和生产量的影响

1981—1983年,在不同的培养温度下,观察了萼花臂尾轮虫(Brachionus calyciflorus)卵的发育时间、种群的增长并用3种不同方法测算生产量。在5—30℃的培养温度下,轮虫卵的发育时间(D)随温度(T)升高而缩短,其曲线迴归方程为: LnD=2.0539+0.1097LnT-0.3046(LnT)2 在10,15,20,25℃的培养温度下,从休眠卵孵化出来的孤雌生殖雌体,其繁殖的种群增长曲线都呈“S”形,或称逻辑斯蒂曲线(Logistic curve)。不同的温度,种群达到高峰所需的时间有所不同,温度高者短,低者长;容纳量(carrying capacity)却随温度增加而有所增加。用线性和指数方法计算轮虫种群的生产量所得的结果相似;而与世代时间方法计算所获得的结果相比,差距很大。这种差距随着温度增加而增加。根据本文的研究结果和文献中报道的数据,获得了在0.6—35.2℃温度范围内,卵的发育时间(D)与温度(T)之间的迴归方程: LnD=2.1869-0.1919LnT-0.2218(LnT)2       

THE EFFECT OF Mn(II) ON THE AUTOINDUCING GROWTH INHIBITION FACTOR IN Deinococcus radiodurans

Decreases in cell division at the stationary phase in bacterial cultures are often due to the depletion of nutrients and/or accumulation of toxic waste products. Yet, during the stationary phase, the highly radiation-resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans undergoes new rounds of cell division when Mn(II) is added to the medium in a phenomenon known as manganese-induced cell division (MnCD). When cells were cultured in medium without Mn(II)-enrichment, a heat-resistant, proteinase K-resistant factor (or factors) with a molecular mass less than 10 kD accumulated in the spent medium. Inclusion of the concentrated spent medium in fresh medium could inhibit the growth of D. radiodurans significantly, and the degree of inhibition was dose dependent. However, the relative stimulatory effect of MnCD was also dose dependent—the higher the inhibition, the stronger was the MnCD response. Previous studies have shown that nutrients were not limiting and deinococcal cells would continue metabolizing its nutrients at stationary phase. Cells became more sensitive to radiation when nutrients in the medium eventually became depleted. We speculated that D. radiodurans might produce this factor in the medium to control its population density. The reduction in cell population would conserve the nutrients that in turn might enhance the survival of the species.