The ecology of sexual conflict: ecologically dependent parallel evolution of male harm and female resistance inDrosophila melanogaster

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devin Arbuthnott ◽  
Emily M. Dutton ◽  
Aneil F. Agrawal ◽  
Howard D. Rundle
2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1855) ◽  
pp. 20170132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liam R. Dougherty ◽  
Emile van Lieshout ◽  
Kathryn B. McNamara ◽  
Joe A. Moschilla ◽  
Göran Arnqvist ◽  
...  

Traumatic mating (or copulatory wounding) is an extreme form of sexual conflict whereby male genitalia physically harm females during mating. In such species females are expected to evolve counter-adaptations to reduce male-induced harm. Importantly, female counter-adaptations may include both genital and non-genital traits. In this study, we examine evolutionary associations between harmful male genital morphology and female reproductive tract morphology and immune function across 13 populations of the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus . We detected positive correlated evolution between the injuriousness of male genitalia and putative female resistance adaptations across populations. Moreover, we found evidence for a negative relationship between female immunity and population productivity, which suggests that investment in female resistance may be costly due to the resource trade-offs that are predicted between immunity and reproduction. Finally, the degree of female tract scarring (harm to females) was greater in those populations with both longer aedeagal spines and a thinner female tract lining. Our results are thus consistent with a sexual arms race, which is only apparent when both male and female traits are taken into account. Importantly, our study provides rare evidence for sexually antagonistic coevolution of male and female traits at the within-species level.


2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh W. Simmons ◽  
Rebecca Holley

Traditional models of sexual selection posit that male courtship signals evolve as indicators of underlying male genetic quality. An alternative hypothesis is that sexual conflict over mating generates antagonistic coevolution between male courtship persistence and female resistance. In the scarabaeine dung beetle Onthophagus taurus , females are more likely to mate with males that have high courtship rates. Here, we examine the effects of exposing females to males with either high or low courtship rates on female lifetime productivity and offspring viability. Females exposed to males with high courtship rates mated more often and produced offspring with greater egg–adult viability. Female productivity and lifespan were unaffected by exposure to males with high courtship rates. The data are consistent with models of sexual selection based on indirect genetic benefits, and provide little evidence for sexual conflict in this system.


2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Zhong ◽  
Zi-Yi Qi ◽  
Bao-Zhen Hua

Firm coupling of genitalia is critical for copulation in most groups of insects. To counter female resistance that usually breaks off genital connection, male scorpionflies (Mecoptera: Panorpidae) usually provide nuptial gifts for the female and seize their mates with grasping devices. The notal organ, a modified clamp on tergum III of male scorpionflies, plays a significant role in seizing the female wings and helping maintain mating position during copulation. The mating behaviour remains unknown for the scorpionfly Furcatopanorpa longihypovalva (Hua and Cai, 2009) whose male lacks a notal organ. In this paper, we first attempt to study the mating behaviour of F. longihypovalva. The results show that the male provides liquid salivary secretion through a mouth-to-mouth mode for the female, and maintains copulation mainly by continuous provision of salivary secretion rather than by seizing the female with grasping devices. Thus the male copulates with the female in an atypical O-shaped position, with only their mouthparts and genitalia connected to each other. The salivary glands exhibit remarkable sexual dimorphism: short and bifurcated in the female, but well-developed and multi-furcated in the male. The extremely developed salivary glands of the male lay a structural foundation for the male to continuously provide liquid salivary secretion, and to help the male to mediate female resistance, being likely to serve as a compensation to his absence of the notal organ. We also investigated the functional morphology and copulatory mechanism of the male and female genitalia. The evolution of the atypical mating pattern of F. longihypovalva is putatively discussed as an adaptation in the context of sexual conflict.


Evolution ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Wigby ◽  
Tracey Chapman

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 449-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. GAY ◽  
E. BROWN ◽  
T. TREGENZA ◽  
D. PINCHEIRA-DONOSO ◽  
P. E. EADY ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 361 (1466) ◽  
pp. 235-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.A Parker

Sexual conflict is a conflict between the evolutionary interests of individuals of the two sexes. The sexes can have different trait optima but this need not imply conflict if their optima can be attained simultaneously. Conflict requires an interaction between males and females (e.g. mating or parental care), such that the optimal outcomes for each sex cannot be achieved simultaneously. It is important to distinguish between battleground models, which define the parameter space for conflict and resolution models, which seek solutions for how conflicts are resolved. Overt behavioural conflict may or may not be manifest at resolution. Following Fisherian principles, an immediate (i.e. direct) benefit to a male that has a direct cost to his female partner can have an indirect benefit to the female via her male progeny. Female resistance to mating has been claimed to represent concurrence rather than conflict, due to female benefits via sons (males with low mating advantage are screened out by resistance). However, the weight of current evidence (both theoretical and empirical) supports sexual conflict for many cases. I review (i) conflicts over mate quality, encounters between males and females of genetically diverged subpopulations, mating rate and inbreeding, (ii) the special features of postcopulatory sexual conflict and (iii) some general features of importance for conflict resolution.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 591-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn B McNamara ◽  
Nadia S Sloan ◽  
Sian E Kershaw ◽  
Emile van Lieshout ◽  
Leigh W Simmons

Abstract One conspicuous manifestation of sexual conflict is traumatic mating, in which male genitalia damage the female during copulation. The penis of the seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus, is covered in spines that damage the female reproductive tract. Females kick males ostensibly to shorten these harmful copulations. How these iconic conflict behaviors coevolve in response to sexual conflict intensity can provide insight into the economics of these traits. We examined whether male harm and female resistance coevolved in response to elevated sexual conflict. We quantified copulation behavior and female reproductive tract damage of individuals from replicated populations evolving for 32 generations under low or high sexual conflict (female- and male-biased treatments, respectively). First, we permitted females ad libitum matings with males from either sex-ratio treatment, recording her tract damage and longevity. Second, we performed a full-factorial cross of matings by males and females from each of the replicate populations, recording mating and kicking duration and reproductive output. We found manipulation of sexual conflict intensity led to the evolution of male harmfulness, but not female resistance to harm. We also demonstrate that female kicking does not respond to sexual conflict intensity, suggesting it does not function to mitigate male harm in this species. Our findings demonstrate the complexities of behavioral and morphological coevolutionary responses to sexual conflict intensity in an important model species.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne G. Rostant ◽  
Janet S. Mason ◽  
Jean-Charles de Coriolis ◽  
Tracey Chapman

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