Sexual selection on cuticular hydrocarbons of male sagebrush crickets in the wild |
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Authors: | Sandra Steiger Geoffrey D. Ower Johannes St?kl Christopher Mitchell John Hunt Scott K. Sakaluk |
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Affiliation: | 1.Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120, USA;2.Institute of Experimental Ecology, University of Ulm, Ulm 89081, Germany;3.Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg 93053, Germany;4.Centre for Ecology and Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn TR10 9EZ, UK |
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Abstract: | Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) play an essential role in mate recognition in insects but the form and intensity of sexual selection on CHCs has only been evaluated in a handful of studies, and never in a natural population. We quantified sexual selection operating on CHCs in a wild population of sagebrush crickets, a species in which nuptial feeding by females imposes an unambiguous phenotypic marker on males. Multivariate selection analysis revealed a saddle-shaped fitness surface, suggesting a complex interplay between the total abundance of CHCs and specific CHC combinations in their influence on female choice. The fitness surface resulting from two axes of disruptive selection reflected a trade-off between short- and long-chained CHCs, suggesting that males may be sacrificing some level of desiccation resistance in favour of increased attractiveness. There was a significant correlation between male body size and total CHC abundance, suggesting that male CHCs provide females with a reliable cue for maximizing benefits obtained from males. Notwithstanding the conspicuousness of males’ acoustic signals, our results suggest that selection imposed on males via female mating preferences may be far more complex than previously appreciated and operating in multiple sensory modalities. |
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Keywords: | chemical communication Cyphoderris strepitans fitness surface mate choice multivariate selection analysis |
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