scholarly journals Effects of male mating frequency and male size on ejaculate size and reproductive success of female spiny king crab Paralithodes brevipes

2005 ◽  
Vol 296 ◽  
pp. 251-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Sato ◽  
M Ashidate ◽  
S Wada ◽  
S Goshima
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mating Frequency ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Male Size ◽  
King Crab ◽  
Ejaculate Size

Influence of advertisement calls on reproductive success in the male midwife toad Alytes obstetricans

Behaviour ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 140 (7) ◽  
pp. 885-898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique Le Jacques ◽  
Thierry Lodé
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Advertisement Call ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Evolutionary Trend ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Midwife Toad ◽  
Alytes Obstetricans

AbstractConsidering the advertisement call in anuran as a sexually selected trait, we investigated the effects of male call parameters on reproductive success in midwife toad Alytes obstetricans. The pattern of advertisement call was studied in 81 males. The mean fundamental frequency varied among males. Fundamental frequency, call duration and male size correlated with the male mating success. From the stepwise regression analysis, the low call frequency was found to influence significantly the number of carried eggs and the hatching success. The fact that a single male may fertilise the eggs of several females and a single female may mate with several males constitutes an original sexual system. Large males obtained more matings and showed a higher hatching success. Female choice for dominant frequency may be regarded as a related-fitness trait being correlated with male size. Anyway, the male size and the female choice for low calls result in a same evolutionary trend favouring a best fitness.

Size influences male mating success in the alfalfa blotch leafminer (Diptera: Agromyzidae)

2001 ◽  
Vol 133 (5) ◽  
pp. 717-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arild Andersen ◽  
Jeremy N. McNeil
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Larval Competition ◽  
Female Reproduction ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Female Life History ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Alfalfa Blotch Leafminer ◽  
Agromyza Frontella

Male size is an important parameter in mate choice for many species and has been associated with such female life-history parameters as increased fecundity or fertility and larger progeny (Phelan and Baker 1986; Savalli and Fox 1998, 1999; Brown 1999). In the alfalfa blotch leafminer, Agromyza frontella (Rondani), intraspecific larval competition may significantly influence the size of both males and females (Quiring and McNeil 1984a). The influence of female size on female reproductive success has been studied (Quiring and McNeil 1984b, 1984c), but to date, no attention has been given to the possible effects of male size. The objectives of this study were to determine if differences in male size, the result of intraspecific larval competition, affected male longevity and reproductive success, as well as various parameters of female reproduction.

Temporal dynamics of intersexual conflict and the effect of male quality on female fecundity in the marine isopod Cleantiella isopus

Behaviour ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 153 (5) ◽  
pp. 569-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Miura ◽  
S. Goshima
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Mating Frequency ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Female Fitness ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Female Fecundity ◽  
Female Resistance ◽  
Mate Quality ◽  
Intersexual Conflict

Crustacean males grasp and/or guard females before copulation to ensure mating, but females typically resist males during pair formation. The benefit of resistance for females might allow (1) females to optimize mate quality, or (2) to avoid costs incurred during guarding. However, it has not been fully investigated which benefits actually improve female fitness. Here we investigated female resistance, temporal dynamics of intersexual conflict during reproduction, and the effect of male size and male mating frequency on female fecundity in the marine isopod,Cleantiella isopusto examine the relative importance of the two mechanisms mentioned before. Females resisted even after they had become receptive. Females which mated with small males showed lower fecundity than the ones with large males, and small males were frequently unable to form pairs. These results suggest that female resistance ofC. isopusagainst males can function as a way to optimize mate quality.

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.

Male reproductive behaviour and spawning success in a temperate zone goby, Coryphopterus nicholsi

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 2309-2316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen S. Cole
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Standard Length ◽  
Reproductive Behaviour ◽  
Reproductive Season ◽  
Temperate Zone ◽  
Testicular Development ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Size Standard ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Spawning Success

Coryphopterus nicholsi is a temperate zone marine goby. In laboratory groups of fish, females preferentially spawn with dominant males; assessment of dominance appears to be based upon courting vigour. Male size (standard length) and dominance were often, but not always, highly correlated. In contrast, there was no consistent correlation between territorial quality and spawning success. Smaller males in laboratory groups did not court females or guard eggs. However, their behaviour and testicular development during the reproductive season suggest that they may engage in sneak spawning. Dominant males are more likely to successfully guard eggs against conspecific predators than are subordinate males, and hence females should have greater reproductive success if they choose dominant males for spawning partners.

No experimental effects of parasite load on male mating behaviour and reproductive success

2011 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 673-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirley Raveh ◽  
Dik Heg ◽  
F. Stephen Dobson ◽  
David W. Coltman ◽  
Jamieson C. Gorrell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Parasite Load ◽  
Male Mating

scholarly journals Allee effect in polar bears: a potential consequence of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1843) ◽  
pp. 20161883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viola Pavlova ◽  
Jacob Nabe-Nielsen ◽  
Rune Dietz ◽  
Christian Sonne ◽  
Volker Grimm
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Polar Bear ◽  
Allee Effect ◽  
Polychlorinated Biphenyl ◽  
Sperm Quality ◽  
Male Competition ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Polar Bears

Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) from East Greenland and Svalbard exhibited very high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the 1980s and 1990s. In Svalbard, slow population growth during that period was suspected to be linked to PCB contamination. In this case study, we explored how PCBs could have impacted polar bear population growth and/or male reproductive success in Svalbard during the mid-1990s by reducing the fertility of contaminated males. A dose–response relationship linking the effects of PCBs to male polar bear fertility was extrapolated from studies of the effects of PCBs on sperm quality in rodents. Based on this relationship, an individual-based model of bear interactions during the breeding season predicted fertilization success under alternative assumptions regarding male–male competition for females. Contamination reduced pregnancy rates by decreasing the availability of fertile males, thus triggering a mate-finding Allee effect, particularly when male–male competition for females was limited or when infertile males were able to compete with fertile males for females. Comparisons of our model predictions on age-dependent reproductive success of males with published empirical observations revealed that the low representation of 10–14-year-old males among breeding males documented in Svalbard in mid-1990s could have resulted from PCB contamination. We conclude that contamination-related male infertility may lead to a reduction in population growth via an Allee effect. The magnitude of the effect is largely dependent on the population-specific mating system. In eco-toxicological risk assessments, appropriate consideration should therefore be given to negative effects of contaminants on male fertility and male mating behaviour.

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