Mate choice and the operational sex ratio: an experimental test with robotic crabs

The operational sex ratio (OSR: sexually active males: receptive females) predicts the intensity of competition for mates. It is less clear, however, under what circumstances, the OSR predicts the strength of sexual selection – that is, the extent to which variation in mating success is attributable to traits that increase the bearer's attractiveness and/or fighting ability. To establish causality, experiments that manipulate the OSR are required. Furthermore, if it is possible to control for any OSR‐dependent changes in the chosen sex (e.g. changes in male courtship), we can directly test whether the OSR affects the behaviour of the choosing sex (e.g. female choice decisions). We conducted female mate choice experiments in the field using robotic models of male fiddler crabs (Uca mjoebergi). We used a novel design with two females tested sequentially per trial. As in nature, the choice of the first female to mate therefore affected the mates available to the next female. In general, we detected significant sexual selection due to female choice for ‘males’ with larger claws. Importantly, the strength of sexual selection did not vary across five different OSR/density treatments. However, as the OSR decreased (hence the number of available males declined), females chose the ‘males’ with the largest claws available significantly more often than expected by chance. Possible reasons for this mismatch between the expected and observed effects of the OSR on the strength of sexual selection are discussed.     

Mobility affects copulation and oviposition dynamics in Pieris brassicae in seminatural cages

When, how often and for how long organisms mate can have strong consequences for individual fitness and are crucial aspects of evolutionary ecology. Such determinants are likely to be of even greater importance in monandrous species and species with short adult life stages. Previous work suggests that mobility, a key dispersal? related trait, may affect the dynamics of copulations, but few studies have investigated the impact of individual mobility on mating latency, copulation duration and oviposition latency simultaneously. In this paper, we monitored the copulation dynamics of 40 males and 40 females, as well as the oviposition dynamics of the females of the Large White butterfly Pieris brassicae, a facultative long-distance disperser butterfly. Individuals from a breeding were selected to create a uniform distribution of mobility and we recorded the timing, number and duration of all copulations in a semiexperimental system. We showed that mobility, measured as the time spent in flight under stressful conditions (a proxy of dispersal tendency), correlates with all aspects of copulation dynamics: mobile males and females mated earlier and for shorter periods than less mobile individuals. In turn, late mating females increased the time between copulation and oviposition. These results feed the previously described mobility syndrome of R brassicae, involving morphological and physiological characters, with life-history traits. We suggest that the reduction of mating latency and copulation duration has an adaptive value in dispersing individuals, as their life expectancy might be shorter than that of sedentary individuals.     

绿洲农田三叶草夜蛾的种群动态及交配特征

三叶草夜蛾Scotogramma trifolii Rottemberg是一种多食性的害虫,其在农田生态系统中的种群动态及交配情况尚不清楚。本试验在库尔勒地区连续3年(2013-2015年4-9月)利用智能虫情测报灯监测了三叶草夜蛾的种群动态,并在实验室解剖雌蛾体内精包,评估野外雌蛾的交配情况。研究表明不同年际间相同月份其种群数量变化趋势相同,即每年的4月中下旬、6月中下旬和7月下旬均会出现三叶草夜蛾的种群高峰期;而相同年际内不同月份三叶草夜蛾的种群数量存在变异。解剖数据表明了三叶草夜蛾交配频率平均达到2.7次/头以上,同一年份内和不同年际间均存在一定比例的未成功交配雌蛾,其成功交配比例在55.56%~97.37%,2013年和2015年的成功交配比率较低,低于60%,而2014年的成功交配率却高于80%。通过本研究初步明确了野外三叶草夜蛾交配特征和种群动态,为绿洲农田三叶草夜蛾的综合防治提供了科学依据。     

韭菜迟眼蕈蚊雄虫日龄对其交配能力和雌虫生殖力的影响

为了提高韭菜迟眼蕈蚊性信息素监控水平,本文在25℃、RH70%±5%、光周期L∶D=14∶10的条件下研究韭菜迟眼蕈蚊不同日龄雄虫的交配能力及其对雌虫生殖力的影响。结果表明,未交配雄虫平均寿命4.5d,雌虫4.2d,雌雄成虫的平均寿命无显著差异。雄虫一生最多可交配13次,且随着雄虫日龄增加,雌虫交配成功率逐渐减少。随着雄虫交配经历的增加,雌虫交配的时间延长,最长达97min。雄虫的日龄并不影响与之交配雌虫的产卵量和卵孵化率,但是雄虫的交配经历与雌虫的产卵量和卵孵化率相关,尤其当雄虫交配经历超过8次时,与之交配的雌虫的产卵量和卵孵化率显著下降。研究阐明了韭菜迟眼蕈蚊的生殖行为特征,为其性信息素应用提供了参考。     

Ecological disjunction across the sexes in an alloparasitoid: Host requirements,sex ratios and mate localization (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)

The larval females of Coccophagus sp. nr gurneyi Compere are primary parasitoids of lantana mealybugs, whereas males develop hyperparasitically through other parasitoids (never their own females), so the species is alloparasitic. Males are seldom even reared from lantana mealybugs (<0.3%, n = 4,212), and have not yet been reared from any other host. Adults were sampled in the field to establish that this species is sexual (by assessing female spermathecal content), and to quantify relative abundance of the sexes around host infestations. Adult males were scarce above hosts (3%, n = 314), but were attracted in relatively high numbers to caged virgin females within those infestations. Caged females outside infestations did not attract males, suggesting that mate attraction requires environmental signals other than those from females. Most females collected in the field above host infestations had sperm in their spermathecal capsules. They presumably had mated with males that developed elsewhere (so mate localization might involve searching across substantial distances). Virgin females were present only early in the day and evidently mate soon after eclosion. Evidence of sperm depletion in mated females was not found. The spatial scale of male and female movements needs to be quantified, but the ongoing movement of individuals (as a consequence of their sex‐related host relationships) seems to be a regular aspect of their ecology. The spatial and temporal dynamics across the sexes illustrates that their abilities to localize one another for mating leaves the sexes free to diverge ecologically, and their sex ratios to vary.     

Ecology of giant water bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Belostomatidae)

Giant water bugs (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae) are aquatic predators of freshwater habitats, and include ca. 150 species distributed throughout the world's subtropical and tropical areas. They have unique mating systems, which involve female competition, and exhibit paternal care, wherein males attend eggs laid by the females on emergent plants (Lethocerinae) or on their backs (Belostomatinae). I review here the studies on the predator–prey relationships, morphology, migration, mating behavior and conservation of this family of insects.     

Mating preferences of two species of Eccritotarsus (Hemiptera: Miridae)

ABSTRACT

Eccritotarsus spp. are biological control agents that have been sourced from Brazil and Peru to control water hyacinth in South Africa. These agents have been released in over 30 sites and were thought to be the same species. The sequencing of mitochondrial DNA and interbreeding experiments have since confirmed the cryptic species to be separate species. The Brazilian population remains E. catarinensis while the Peruvian population is now E. eichhorniae. This paper assessed the mating behaviour of both species, to investigate behavioural traits that have resulted in reproductive isolation, which could have led to speciation. Mating choices in a form of no-choice, bi-choice and multi-choice tests were conducted within and between species in a 3:1, 2:1 and 1:1 sex ratio. The E. eichhorniae pair had more single and multiple copula incidences, higher average total copula duration and higher copula latency while the E.catarinensis♀×E.eichhorniae♂ pair had less single and multiple copula incidences, lower average total copula duration and lower copula latency. When the E.eichhorniae♀ and E.catarinensis♂ were given their respective choices, they only mated with conspecifics. However, when E.eichhorniae♀ are crossed with E.catarinensis♂ they do not produce offspring. These results suggest that interbreeding will be limited in South Africa.     

Do intraspecific life history patterns follow interspecific predictions? A test using latitudinal variation in ringed seals

Mammals adapted to unpredictable and low-energy environments often evolve a “bet-hedging” life history strategy characterized by less costly reproductive outputs over a longer and slower-growing life. In contrast, species adapted to more predictable (i.e., low variation) and higher energy environments may evolve greater fecundity over a shorter and faster-growing life. We tested whether this known interspecific pattern also occurs within a species. We compared life history traits of the ringed seal (Pusa hispida) in the Canadian High Arctic to those closer to the southern limit of the species' circumpolar distribution. We found that northern seals grew slower than southern seals (Brody growth coefficient), achieved a greater asymptotic body weight (82 and 69 kg vs. 74 and 54 kg female and male, respectively), reached sexual maturity later (6.1 years vs. 4.5 years), had lower fecundity (1.8 years vs. 1.3 years interbirth interval), longer average lifespan (5 years vs. 3 years median age), and greater movements (1,269 vs. 681 km). Mating systems also likely differed with northern seals showing morphological evidence of a promiscuous mating system with potential sperm competition as indicated by greater relative testes size. The northern region was also characterized by more unpredictable environmental timing of seasonal events, such as spring sea ice breakup. Life history variation between the intraspecific groups of seals appears to agree with interspecific patterns and provides a better understanding of how species' life history parameters shift in concert with environmental conditions.