Complex patterns of grooming and sexual activity in Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

Grooming in primates is often considered a “currency” that can be exchanged for other “services” or “commodities” such as reciprocal grooming, coalitionary support, infant handling, tolerance around food sources, active food sharing, or mating opportunities. Previous studies on primate grooming‐for‐sex exchange viewed the males as the demanding class, with the females as suppliers of mating opportunities. In this study, we examine the broader context of grooming‐for‐mating exchange in Barbary macaques in Gibraltar. Our data show that Barbary macaque males groom females with whom they are mating more frequently and for longer periods than other females, and the relationship between grooming and mating remains significant in both sexual and nonsexual contexts. In addition, females groomed males with whom they were mating more frequently and for longer periods than other males. In both sexes, grooming was observed to be far more frequent and to occur for longer durations in sexual compared to nonsexual contexts. We did not find any difference in grooming behavior between presexual and postsexual contexts. Our data suggest that there is no simple model to describe Barbary macaque grooming patterns in sexual contexts. Although our results are partly consistent with male use of grooming as payment for mating, broadly assessed grooming‐mating patterns cannot be solely explained by a male‐driven grooming‐for‐mating exchange.     

Effects of Autogamy In Paramecium Tetraurelia On Catalase Activity and On Radiosensitivity to Natural Ionizing Radiations

SYNOPSIS Catalase activity of Paramecium tetraurelia decreased during autogamy and recovered to normal 5 days later. Autogamy also caused changes in the ciliate's sensitivity to natural ionizing radiations—the decrease in cell growth rate previously described in shielded cultures did not occur when autogamous cells were used. Maximum effect of shielding was observed in 11-day-old postautogamous cells. the role of the catalase in the mechanism of natural irradiation effect is discussed.     

Understanding plant reproductive diversity

Flowering plants display spectacular floral diversity and a bewildering array of reproductive adaptations that promote mating, particularly outbreeding. A striking feature of this diversity is that related species often differ in pollination and mating systems, and intraspecific variation in sexual traits is not unusual, especially among herbaceous plants. This variation provides opportunities for evolutionary biologists to link micro-evolutionary processes to the macro-evolutionary patterns that are evident within lineages. Here, I provide some personal reflections on recent progress in our understanding of the ecology and evolution of plant reproductive diversity. I begin with a brief historical sketch of the major developments in this field and then focus on three of the most significant evolutionary transitions in the reproductive biology of flowering plants: the pathway from outcrossing to predominant self-fertilization, the origin of separate sexes (females and males) from hermaphroditism and the shift from animal pollination to wind pollination. For each evolutionary transition, I consider what we have discovered and some of the problems that still remain unsolved. I conclude by discussing how new approaches might influence future research in plant reproductive biology.     

Sexual receptivity and post-emergence ovarian development in females of Coproica vagans (Diptera: Sphaeroceridae)

Abstract .Males and females of the dung fly species Coproica vagans Haliday 1833 (Diptera: Sphaeroceridae) mate soon after emergence from the puparium. At this time females still have immature ovaries. Therefore, mating precedes vitellogenesis in this species. Data presented here show that mating enhances oogenesis in C. vagans females. Mated females mature their first egg batch sooner and oviposit four days earlier than virgin conspecifics. Mating-related enhancement of oogenesis could be explained either through nutritional benefits to females or male chemical or stimulatory manipulation of the females. Oogenesis was divided into six arbitrary stages, with vitellogenesis beginning in stage 4. Ovarian development beyond stage 4 is rapid compared with pre-vitellogenetic development. Virgin females pause oogenesis in stage 4. The genital opening of mated females is blocked by a mating plug that persists until oviposition begins. The plug seems to ensure the paternity of the last male to mate by preventing females from remating. The operational sex ratio in C. vagans populations is presumed to be strongly male-biased.     

Character displacement in the fighting colours of Hetaerina damselflies

Aggression between species is a seldom-considered but potentially widespread mechanism of character displacement in secondary sexual characters. Based on previous research showing that similarity in wing coloration directly influences interspecific territorial aggression in Hetaerina damselflies, we predicted that wing coloration would show a pattern of character displacement (divergence in sympatry). A geographical survey of four Hetaerina damselfly species in Mexico and Texas showed evidence for character displacement in both species pairs that regularly occurs sympatrically. Hetaerina titia, a species that typically has large black wing spots and small red wing spots, shifted to having even larger black spots and smaller red wing spots at sites where a congener with large red wing spots is numerically dominant (Hetaerina americana or Hetaerina occisa). Hetaerina americana showed the reverse pattern, shifting towards larger red wing spots where H. titia is numerically dominant. This pattern is consistent with the process of agonistic character displacement, but the ontogenetic basis of the shift remains to be demonstrated.     

Starvation and the Mating Success of Wild Male Mediterranean Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Recent evidence suggests that the nutritional state of male Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Wied.) (medfly), is an important influence on various components of their reproductive biology, including mating success. The objective of the present study was to examine experimentally the effect of temporary starvation on the mating success of wild male C. capitata. Males were maintained on protein–sugar or sugar-only diets, and for each diet we compared the mating success of continuously fed males versus males starved for 18 or 24 h immediately before testing. In trials conducted on field-caged, host trees, males starved for 24 h obtained only about half as many matings as fed males for both diets. However, when the starvation period was 18 h, starved males reared on the protein–sugar diet mated significantly less frequently than fed males, whereas starved males reared on sugar mated as often as fed males. Measurements of male pheromone calling and female attraction revealed that reduced mating success likely reflected the decreased signaling activity of starved males.     

Effects of delayed mating on preimplantation embryos in spontaneously ovulated mice

The effects of delayed mating on mouse preimplantation embryos (78 ± 1 hours) were studied by setting up different mating periods in relation to the estimated time of spontaneous ovulation. Copulation occurred even in the late morning and early afternoon after the night of spontaneous ovulation. However, females mated in the early afternoon had no viable embryos at the time of laparotomy. Although embryonic development was not affected in the groups mated 6 or 10 hours after estimated ovulation, the percentage of degenerated embryos was increased in these groups. These results suggest that prolonged intervals between the estimated time of ovulation and mating have some deleterious effects on preimplantation embryos.     

Potential interspecific competition and host specificity: hispine beetles on Heliconia

Abstract. 1. Adults of rolled-leaf hispine beetles (Chrysomelidae, Coleoptera) spend their lives in the scrolls formed by immature leaves of Heliconia (Heli-coniaceae, Monocotyledonae) in Tropical America. As many as eight hispine species can intermingle in the host scrolls at a single site. Scrolls of single host species are invariably occupied by adults of more than one hispine species, and as many as five species can simultaneously occupy one scroll.
2. I made virgin scrolls, which had never contained any insects, by growing leaves under the cover of plastic bags.
3. Thirty-seven combinations of single hispine and Heliconia species were experimentally created in the virgin scrolls, at two sites and in two seasons, in Costa Rica. Combinations included all abundant host species at the sites.
4. All beetles left all leaves of the twenty-eight unnatural beetle—host combinations, within 24 h. On the other hand, none of the nine natural combinations was completely abandoned within the experimental period.
5. Thus, host specificity is not broader in the absence of similar hispine species that might be competitors, and interspecies competition does not affect this obvious aspect of resource utilization for these phytophagous insects.