scholarly journals The extraordinary mating system of Zeus bugs (Heteroptera:Veliidae:Phoreticovelia sp.)

2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Göran Arnqvist ◽  
Therésa M. Jones ◽  
Mark A. Elgar
Keyword(s):  
Mating System ◽  
Sex Role ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Evolutionary Divergence ◽  
Unique Form ◽  
Mating System Evolution ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Sexually Antagonistic Coevolution

Wingless female Zeus bugs (genus: Phoreticovelia) produce a secretion from dorsal glands that males feed upon when riding on females. This unique form of sex-role-reversed nuptial feeding may have set the stage for an unusual mating system. Here, we provide natural history details of the mating behaviour for two Zeus bug species. While these species have many mating behaviours in common, the wing morphs within species exhibit entirely different mating strategies. Adult wingless females are ridden permanently by adult wingless males. In the wild, adult sex-ratios among the wingless morph are male-biased; few unmounted adult females exist and many males instead ride immature females who also produce glandular secretions. In contrast, sex-ratios among the winged morph is not male-biased, sexual size dimorphism is less pronounced, females have no dorsal glands and are, consequently, not ridden by males. Field and laboratory observations show that mating is strongly assortative by wing morph. This assortment may allow evolutionary divergence between the two morphs. We discuss the implications of this mating system and suggest that it adds to those studies showing that sexually antagonistic coevolution can be a driver of mating system evolution.

The effect of crowding and density on male mating behaviour in the rose bitterling (Rhodeus ocellatus)

Behaviour ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 147 (8) ◽  
pp. 1035-1050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Reichard ◽  
Carl Smith ◽  
Mara Casalini
Keyword(s):  
Mating System ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Sexual Competition ◽  
Male Density ◽  
Mating System Evolution ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
Key Variables ◽  
Rhodeus Ocellatus

AbstractFemale density and resource availability are two key variables that shape mating systems. Theory predicts that reproductive skew will amplify with increased male density and decreasing availability of resources, though limited empirical evidence suggests that this may not always be the case. Here we tested mean crowding, defined as the number of males per unit of resource, and density per se, defined as the number of individuals present per unit area, to investigate their effect on the mating system of Rhodeus ocellatus, a fish with a promiscuous, resource-based mating system. Males were exposed to combinations of high and low levels of crowding and density, while the operational sex ratio was held constant. High levels of crowding significantly affected the proportion of mussel spawning sites defended by males and the proportion of mussels into which sperm was released. In contrast to theoretical predictions, neither density nor crowding influenced overall male aggressive behaviours. Density, but not crowding, had a significant effect on male courtship rate, which arose as a possible trade-off between intra-sexual competition and inter-sexual behaviour. We discuss the results in the context of mating system evolution.

Evolution of Animal Mating Systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Ahnesjö ◽  
Luc Bussière
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mating System ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Multiple Mating ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Secondary Sexual Traits ◽  
Mating System Evolution ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Patterns And Processes

Animal mating systems are fascinating and diverse, and their evolution is central to evolutionary biology. A mating system describes patterns and processes of how females and males mate and reproduce successfully, and how this relates to their reproductive ecologies, including demographic and environmental factors. One of the more stimulating challenges in biology is to provide a comprehensive explanation for the evolution of mating adaptations among animals. In the course of sexual reproduction, animals engage in a dizzying array of traits, behaviors, and strategies. Such diversity simultaneously requires and eludes categorization: it is required for a general understanding, but at once confounds any rigorous classification because an almost inexhaustible supply of animal examples disrupt otherwise neatly ordered systems (see Classifications of Animal Mating Systems). Historically, mating with a single partner was thought to be a common mating system among animals. However, increasing observations of multiple mating by both sexes, supported by genomic evidence of mixed parentage within families, has since revealed that strict genetic monogamy is rare. In this bibliography, the selected literature highlights a compelling diversity and flexibility among animal mating systems, and sexual selection emerges both as a contributing cause and consequence of this variation. Sexual selection plays a central role in animal mating system evolution, and key references provide insights into its operation before and after mating, and describe how it leads to the expression of secondary sexual traits and sexual conflicts. Efforts to explain diversity in animal mating systems have often focused on how acquiring mates or matings relates to variance in reproductive success. This variation and diversity can be approached at the level of an individual, among individuals in a population, or between species. However, a preoccupation with the mean or average pattern often leads to generalizations that obscure important diversity crucial to evolutionary understanding. To avoid unnecessary categorization, the presentation here focus`es on variation in mating patterns and contrasts multiple mating with mating with a single partner. Furthermore, it considers the wider effects of animal mating systems, and includes associations with patterns of parental care. The aim with this bibliography is to provide key citations demonstrating that animal mating systems evolve from diverse, interactive, complex and dynamic processes resulting in a variety of adaptive mating strategies in females and males. A grateful acknowledgment is given to C. Kvarnemo and D. Gwynne for insightful comments.

scholarly journals Mating-System Evolution: Rise of the Irresistible Males

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. R482-R484 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Pannell ◽  
Grazyna Korbecka
Keyword(s):  
Mating System ◽  
System Evolution ◽  
Mating System Evolution

scholarly journals Brief Mating Behavior at Dawn and Dusk and Long Nocturnal Matings in the Butterfly Melanitis leda

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2-4) ◽  
pp. 138-147
Author(s):  
Freerk Molleman ◽  
Sridhar Halali ◽  
Ullasa Kodandaramaiah
Keyword(s):  
Mating System ◽  
Mating Behavior ◽  
South India ◽  
Territorial Defense ◽  
Warm Up ◽  
Male Territoriality ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
The Common ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract Information on the mating system of an insect species is necessary to gain insight into sexual selection and population structure. Male territoriality of the common evening brown butterfly Melanitis leda has been studied in the wild, but other aspects of its mating system remain largely unknown. For a population of M. leda in South India, we observed male-male and male-female interactions in captivity, measured mating duration and spermatophore mass, and also determined the degree of polyandry in the wild. We found that mating behavior takes place for short periods of time around dawn and dusk. Our observations corroborate that males compete in aerial combats (twirling) and interfere with mating pairs. In the morning, they may use shivering to warm up. Females can twirl with males and refuse mating by pointing their abdomens upwards or by flying away. Males court females by fluttering their wings while perched behind females, and then initiate copulation by curling their abdomens ca. 180 degrees sideways to make genital contact. While in the morning, matings lasted on average one hour and twenty-three minutes and never exceeded three hours, in the evening, matings could be of similar duration, but 42% of butterflies only separated when dawn was approaching. However, such long nocturnal matings did not result in heavier spermatophores. The first spermatophore of a male tended to be larger than subsequent spermatophores. Together with previous studies on this species, our findings suggest that males compete mainly through territorial defense (as reported before), courtship performance, and interference, and to a lesser extent by providing spermatophores, while females exert some control over the mating system by the timing of their receptivity and mate choice.

scholarly journals Social Games and Genic Selection Drive Mammalian Mating System Evolution and Speciation

2020 ◽  
Vol 195 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-274
Author(s):  
Barry Sinervo ◽  
Alexis S. Chaine ◽  
Donald B. Miles
Keyword(s):  
Mating System ◽  
Social Games ◽  
System Evolution ◽  
Mating System Evolution
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