On Multiple Mating and Female Fitness: Comments on Loman et al. (1988)

Oikos ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Göran Arnqvist ◽  
Goran Arnqvist
Evolution ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monte E. Turner ◽  
Wyatt W. Anderson

2009 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 657-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katri Ronkainen ◽  
Arja Kaitala ◽  
Sami M. Kivelä

Behaviour ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  

AbstractTests of the effects of multiple mating by females on female fitness have been primarily with polyandrous species, where a benefit to multiple mating has usually been found. In contrast, no such benefit was found here for the parasitic wasp Spalangia endius, a highly monandrous species. Females that mated only once prior to oviposition exhibited a rapid decline in daughter production long before they died. The production of daughters, but not sons, is sexual in this species, i.e., requires sperm. Nevertheless, females with greatly decreased daughter production did not then remate. When such females were experimentally manipulated into copulating with a second male, additional sperm were stored in the females' sperm storage organs. However, this sperm increase had no significant effect on daughter production, total offspring production or longevity. There was no evidence that either immediate or delayed polyandry currently benefits females. The lack of benefit may be a general feature of highly monandrous species or a common feature of parasitic hymenopterans regardless of mating system.


2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1613) ◽  
pp. 20120046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Shuster ◽  
William R. Briggs ◽  
Patricia A. Dennis

Multiple mating by females is widely thought to encourage post-mating sexual selection and enhance female fitness. We show that whether polyandrous mating has these effects depends on two conditions. Condition 1 is the pattern of sperm utilization by females; specifically, whether, among females, male mating number, m (i.e. the number of times a male mates with one or more females) covaries with male offspring number, o . Polyandrous mating enhances sexual selection only when males who are successful at multiple mating also sire most or all of each of their mates' offspring, i.e. only when Cov ♂ ( m , o ), is positive. Condition 2 is the pattern of female reproductive life-history; specifically, whether female mating number, m , covaries with female offspring number, o . Only semelparity does not erode sexual selection, whereas iteroparity (i.e. when Cov ♀ ( m , o ), is positive) always increases the variance in offspring numbers among females, which always decreases the intensity of sexual selection on males. To document the covariance between mating number and offspring number for each sex, it is necessary to assign progeny to all parents, as well as identify mating and non-mating individuals. To document significant fitness gains by females through iteroparity, it is necessary to determine the relative magnitudes of male as well as female contributions to the total variance in relative fitness. We show how such data can be collected, how often they are collected, and we explain the circumstances in which selection favouring multiple mating by females can be strong or weak.


2008 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 963-970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle L. Taylor ◽  
Clare Wigmore ◽  
David J. Hodgson ◽  
Nina Wedell ◽  
David J. Hosken

Evolution ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 714-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monte E. Turner ◽  
Wyatt W. Anderson

2000 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Göran Arnqvist ◽  
Tina Nilsson

2007 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Backeljau ◽  
Kurt Jordaens ◽  
Lobke Dillen

AbstractThere are approximately 20 000 pulmonate gastropod species that are all hermaphroditic and (with a few exceptions) can act in both (i.e., male and female) sexual roles. Life history traits such as growth (rate), age at first reproduction, fecundity, fertility, future survival and offspring survival are highly variable within pulmonate species, even among individuals of the same population. Here, we review some aspects of reproduction (availability of partners, size-dependent sex allocation, courtship, (multiple) mating, sperm longevity/viability, social facilitation), breeding system (self-fertilisation, outcrossing or mixed) and parasitism that may influence an individual's reproductive success and therefore account for part of the intraspecific variation in life history traits. A literature study showed that fecundity, fertility and/or growth are significantly affected by: i) the mating group size through changes in interference competition (e.g., crowding), breeding system and sex allocation; ii) individual body size with larger individuals producing more eggs than smaller individuals; iii) mating whereby female fitness may be positively or negatively affected; iv) social facilitation whereby female fitness is positively affected by the presence of conspecifics; v) the breeding system including the phenomena of inbreeding and outbreeding depression; and vi) parasites that may suppress or stimulate reproduction, especially egg-laying, in parasitised individuals. Moreover, multiple mating and multiple paternity seem very common in pulmonates. Interestingly, several of the above-mentioned aspects seem to interact or even act synergetically. Although many aspects of life history variation in pulmonate gastropods are still poorly understood which makes it difficult to draw general conclusions, pulmonates offer ample opportunities to study the evolution of major topics in evolution and life history strategies. Indeed, there is a growing number of basommatophoran and stylommatophoran model species, experimental setups and molecular, histological and histochemical techniques that are used to test current hypothesis on sex allocation, sexual selection (sexual conflict, sperm competition or cryptic female choice), the evolution of breeding systems and host-parasite interactions which will yield much information for the study of life history strategies as well.


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