Spatial Aggregation, Body Size, and Reproductive Success in the Freshwater Mussel Elliptio complanata

1993 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Downing ◽  
Yves Rochon ◽  
Martin Pérusse ◽  
Hélène Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Freshwater Mussel ◽  
Spatial Aggregation ◽  
Elliptio Complanata

Size does not matter for male Marbled Salamanders (Ambystoma opacum)

2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (10) ◽  
pp. 735-740
Author(s):  
D.A. Croshaw ◽  
J.H.K. Pechmann
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Large Male ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Ambystoma Opacum ◽  
Positive Assortative Mating ◽  
Important Trait ◽  
Breeding Groups ◽  
Gravid Females

Understanding the phenotypic attributes that contribute to variance in mating and reproductive success is crucial in the study of evolution by sexual selection. In many animals, body size is an important trait because larger individuals enjoy greater fitness due to the ability to secure more mates and produce more offspring. Among males, this outcome is largely mediated by greater success in competition with rival males and (or) advantages in attractiveness to females. Here we tested the hypothesis that large male Marbled Salamanders (Ambystoma opacum (Gravenhorst, 1807)) mate with more females and produce more offspring than small males. In experimental breeding groups, we included males chosen specifically to represent a range of sizes. After gravid females mated and nested freely, we collected egg clutches and genotyped all adults and samples of hatchlings with highly variable microsatellite markers to assign paternity. Size had little effect on male mating and reproductive success. Breeding males were not bigger than nonbreeding males, mates of polyandrous females were not smaller than those of monogamous females, and there was no evidence for positive assortative mating by size. Although body size did not matter for male Marbled Salamanders, we documented considerable fitness variation and discuss alternative traits that could be undergoing sexual selection.

scholarly journals Aggression Type Influences Perceptions of a Woman’s Body Size, Personality, and Behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 147470492091793
Author(s):  
Jaime L. Palmer-Hague
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Physical Aggression ◽  
Mate Value ◽  
Risk Of Injury ◽  
And Behavior

Although women engage in both physical and nonphysical aggression, little is known about how aggression type influences perceptions of their morphology, personality, and social behavior. Evolutionary theory predicts that women avoid physical aggression due to risk of injury, which could compromise reproductive success. Engaging in physical aggression might therefore decrease women’s perceived mate value. However, physical aggression could be advantageous for some women, such as those who are larger in size and less vulnerable to injury. This presents the possibility that physically aggressive women might be perceived as larger and not necessarily lower in mate value. These hypotheses have not been tested. Across three studies, I used narratives to test the effect of aggression type (physical, verbal, indirect, nonaggressive) on perceptions of women’s height, weight, masculinity, attractiveness, and social status. In Studies 1 and 2, participants perceived a physically aggressive woman to be both larger and more masculine than nonphysically aggressive women. In Study 3, participants perceived both a physically aggressive woman and a nonaggressive woman to be larger than an indirectly aggressive woman; the effect of aggression type on perceptions of a hypothetical man’s height was not significant. I also found some evidence that aggression type influenced perceptions of attractiveness and social status, but these were small and inconsistent effects that warrant further study. Taken together, the results suggest that physical and indirect aggressive behavior may be associated with certain morphological and behavioral profiles in women.

scholarly journals Early‐life effects on body size in each sex interact to determine reproductive success in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (12) ◽  
pp. 1725-1734
Author(s):  
Eleanor K. Bladon ◽  
Sinead English ◽  
Sonia Pascoal ◽  
Rebecca M. Kilner
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Burying Beetle ◽  
Nicrophorus Vespilloides
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