scholarly journals A behavioral and genetic study of multiple paternity in a polygamous marine invertebrate, Octopus oliveri

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6927 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Ylitalo ◽  
Thomas A. Oliver ◽  
Iria Fernandez-Silva ◽  
James B. Wood ◽  
Robert J. Toonen
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Study ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Marine Invertebrate ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Behavioral Experiments ◽  
Male Trait ◽  
Mating Time

Octopus oliveri is a widespread and common rocky intertidal cephalopod that mates readily in the laboratory, but for which mating behavior has not been reported previously. Four sets of behavioral experiments were recorded wherein three males, small, medium & large in varying order, were introduced to each of six females, for a total of 24 individual females and 12 individual males utilized in the experiments. Video analysis shows that successful mating occurred in each of the mount, reach and beak-to-beak positions. Mating was observed for all males, regardless of size relative to the female, or order of introduction. Females showed preference for the first male to which they were introduced in experimental pairings rather than any specific male trait, and mating time increased significantly with increasing female size. Five novel microsatellite markers were developed and used to test paternity in the eleven broods resulting from these experimental pairings. We found skewed paternity in each brood, with early male precedence and male size being the best predictors of parentage. Multiple paternity was observed in every experimental cross but was estimated to be comparatively low in the field, suggesting that sperm limitation might be common in this species. We saw no evidence of direct sperm competition in Octopus oliveri, but larger males produced significantly more offspring. This study contributes to the growing research on cephalopod mating systems and indicates that octopus mating dynamics might be more variable and complex than thought previously.

scholarly journals Who’s your daddy? A behavioral and genetic study of multiple paternity in a polygamous marine invertebrate, Octopus oliveri

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Ylitalo ◽  
Thomas A Oliver ◽  
Iria Fernandez-Silva ◽  
James B Wood ◽  
Robert J Toonen
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Study ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Marine Invertebrate ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Behavioral Experiments ◽  
Male Trait ◽  
Mating Time

Octopus oliveri is a widespread and common rocky intertidal cephalopod that mates readily in the laboratory, but for which mating behavior has not been reported previously. Four sets of behavioral experiments were recorded wherein three males, in varying order, were introduced to each of the six females, for a total of 24 females and 12 males. Video analysis shows that successful mating occurred in each of the mount, reach and beak-to-beak positions. Mating was observed for all males, regardless of size relative to the female, or order of introduction. Females showed preference for the first male to which they were introduced in experimental pairings rather than any specific male trait, and mating time increased significantly with increasing female size. Five novel microsatellite markers were developed and used to test paternity in the eleven broods resulting from these experimental pairings. We find skewed paternity in each brood, with early male precedence and male size being the best predictors of parentage. Multiple paternity was observed in every experimental cross but was estimated to be comparatively low in the field, suggesting that sperm limitation may be common in this species. We see no evidence of direct sperm competition in Octopus oliveri, but larger males produce significantly more offspring, perhaps because they can include more spermatozoa in spermatophores. This study contributes to the growing research on cephalopod mating systems and indicates that octopus mating dynamics may be more variable and complex than thought previously.

scholarly journals Who’s your daddy? A behavioral and genetic study of multiple paternity in a polygamous marine invertebrate, Octopus oliveri

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Ylitalo ◽  
Thomas A Oliver ◽  
Iria Fernandez-Silva ◽  
James B Wood ◽  
Robert J Toonen
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Study ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Marine Invertebrate ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Behavioral Experiments ◽  
Male Trait ◽  
Mating Time

Octopus oliveri is a widespread and common rocky intertidal cephalopod that mates readily in the laboratory, but for which mating behavior has not been reported previously. Four sets of behavioral experiments were recorded wherein three males, in varying order, were introduced to each of the six females, for a total of 24 females and 12 males. Video analysis shows that successful mating occurred in each of the mount, reach and beak-to-beak positions. Mating was observed for all males, regardless of size relative to the female, or order of introduction. Females showed preference for the first male to which they were introduced in experimental pairings rather than any specific male trait, and mating time increased significantly with increasing female size. Five novel microsatellite markers were developed and used to test paternity in the eleven broods resulting from these experimental pairings. We find skewed paternity in each brood, with early male precedence and male size being the best predictors of parentage. Multiple paternity was observed in every experimental cross but was estimated to be comparatively low in the field, suggesting that sperm limitation may be common in this species. We see no evidence of direct sperm competition in Octopus oliveri, but larger males produce significantly more offspring, perhaps because they can include more spermatozoa in spermatophores. This study contributes to the growing research on cephalopod mating systems and indicates that octopus mating dynamics may be more variable and complex than thought previously.

scholarly journals Nocturnal mating behaviour and dynamic male investment of copulation time in the southern blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae)

Behaviour ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 152 (14) ◽  
pp. 1883-1910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Morse ◽  
Kyall R. Zenger ◽  
Mark I. McCormick ◽  
Mark G. Meekan ◽  
Christine L. Huffard
Keyword(s):  
Mating Systems ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Male Preference ◽  
Video Footage ◽  
Mating History ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Strategic Allocation ◽  
Do So

The southern blue-ringed octopus,Hapalochlaena maculosaHoyle (1883), is a nocturnal species that exhibits a mating system in which females hold sperm from multiple males over a one to two month breeding window before laying a single egg clutch. Contrary to most studied animal mating systems where anisogamy exists, gamete package production is limited for both males and females of this species (approx. 50 spermatophores/eggs). This presents an animal model for studying aspects of sperm competition and dynamic mate choice behaviours. The present study reports on the mating behaviour ofH. maculosaobserved under laboratory conditions using infrared closed-circuit television video footage. Rates of male copulation attempts increased with male size, while female receptivity to mating attempts increased with female size, resulting in larger animals of both sexes gaining more copulations and spending more time per day in copulation. There was some evidence of female preference of larger males, but no male preference of females based on measured morphological traits. Both sexes terminated copulations in equal frequencies but male-terminated copulations were significantly shorter in duration. Males were more likely to terminate copulation early with females they had previously mated with, however were less likely to do so if the female had recently mated with a different male. Among male-terminated copulations, males mated for longer with females that had previously mated with other males in the trial. Male–male mounts were as common as male–female mounts, suggesting that maleH. maculosaare not able to discriminate the sex of conspecifics. These findings suggest male strategic allocation of spermatophores based female mating history is an important factor influencing mating behaviours of this species.

Sexual Size Dimorphism and Survival of Male and Female Blackbirds (Icteridae)

The Auk ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 457-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Searcy ◽  
Ken Yasukawa
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Relative Survival ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Survival Selection ◽  
Female Survival ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Dimorphic Species

Abstract In a between-species comparison of icterids, male survival decreases relative to female survival as the degree of sexual size dimorphism increases. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that male size is limited by survival selection in icterids; the degree of size dimorphism is known to correlate with the degree of polygyny in icterids, however, so the decreased relative survival of males in dimorphic species may be caused by some correlate of polygyny other than large size. Survival estimates based on records of recovery of dead birds show positive correlations between male size and male survival and between female size and female survival, but survival estimates based on recaptures of live birds fail to show such relationships.

scholarly journals Pipefish embryo oxygenation, survival, and development: egg size, male size, and temperature effects

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 1451-1460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malin Nygård ◽  
Charlotta Kvarnemo ◽  
Ingrid Ahnesjö ◽  
Ines Braga Goncalves
Keyword(s):  
Egg Size ◽  
Care Quality ◽  
Offspring Size ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Embryo Survival ◽  
Oxygen Levels ◽  
Syngnathus Typhle ◽  
Uniparental Care ◽  
Male Care

AbstractIn animals with uniparental care, the quality of care provided by one sex can deeply impact the reproductive success of both sexes. Studying variation in parental care quality within a species and which factors may affect it can, therefore, shed important light on patterns of mate choice and other reproductive decisions observed in nature. Using Syngnathus typhle, a pipefish species with extensive uniparental male care, with embryos developing inside a brood pouch during a lengthy pregnancy, we assessed how egg size (which correlates positively with female size), male size, and water temperature affect brooding traits that relate to male care quality, all measured on day 18, approximately 1/3, of the brooding period. We found that larger males brooded eggs at lower densities, and their embryos were heavier than those of small males independent of initial egg size. However, large males had lower embryo survival relative to small males. We found no effect of egg size or of paternal size on within-pouch oxygen levels, but oxygen levels were significantly higher in the bottom than the middle section of the pouch. Males that brooded at higher temperatures had lower pouch oxygen levels presumably because of higher embryo developmental rates, as more developed embryos consume more oxygen. Together, our results suggest that small and large males follow distinct paternal strategies: large males positively affect embryo size whereas small males favor embryo survival. As females prefer large mates, offspring size at independence may be more important to female fitness than offspring survival during development.

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