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1.
Evolution from a solitary way of life to sociality involves changes in the modalities of within-population aggression. This
paper is concerned with environmental causes of variation in aggression within the complex of mole-rat species Spalax ehrenbergi. We focus on physiological constraints associated with aggressive behaviour, i.e. those resulting from emotional arousal
and thus stress. Aggression, social stress sensitivity and urine osmolarity were studied in males of two chromosomal species
of Spalax ehrenbergi, 2n = 52 (occurring in cool humid areas) and 2n = 60 (occurring in warm arid zones). Males with 2n = 52 reached a higher level of within-population aggression during a 3-round tournament (an average, 488 ± 140 acts) than
males with 2n = 60 (163 ± 54 acts). The species with 2n = 52 displayed a higher corticosterone response after a social encounter (in average, 5.15 ± 0.54 μg/100 ml) than that with
2n = 60 (3.0 ± 0.3 μg/100 ml) whereas resting levels of this hormone were low and not different between the two species. Urine
osmolarity was significantly higher in males with 2n = 60 (331.9 ± 18.6 mmol/kg) than males with 2n = 52 (267.3 ± 10.9 mmol/kg). Considering the overall general trend urine osmolarity tended to be negatively related to the
level of aggression, while corticosterone levels tended to vary positively with aggressiveness (Fig. 3). Our results allow
further discussion of the hypothesis that high levels of aggression could be selected against in arid habitats due to their
physiological correlates (decrease in water economy, increased corticosterone leading to potential energy mobilisation and
loss). We propose that behavioural ecophysiology could have contributed to the radiation of the S. ehrenbergi superspecies into increasingly arid environments, and may favour evolution toward social tolerance.
Received: 10 June 1995/Accepted after revision: 25 October 1995 相似文献
2.
Martine Perret 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1990,27(6):447-454
Summary In order to determine whether social factors influence sex ratio at birth in lesser mouse lemurs, experiments were conducted during 5 successive breeding periods on 51 females. At the beginning of the breeding season, females were either isolated (I) or grouped (G) in heterosexual groups with an increasing number of females (2, 3 or 4). To ensure mating, I females were introduced in a group only during the oestrous period. After mating, both I and G females were isolated during pregnancy and lactation. Reproductive capacities of females in terms of oestrus occurrences (n = 324), impregnations (n–210), pregnancies (n = 136) or abortions (n = 38) or litter sizes (1–3 young) were affected neither by age and parity of females nor by group housing prior to conception. G females produced significantly more sons than daughters (67% males for 189 newborn) while females living alone except during the mating period demonstrated a significant inverse tendency (39.6% males for 96 newborn). Distribution of sexes in litters was statistically different from random and varied according to the shift of sex ratio at birth. In G females, the shift in the sex ratio towards males was consistent across the different groups, independent of the number of females living together, suggesting that the presence of only 1 female is sufficient to induce a bias in the sex ratio. No correlation was found between infant survival at weaning and age, parity or group housing of the mother. The maternal investment allocated to male or female newborn was similar provided the litter contained at least 1 male. In litters without males, growth and survival of female infants were significantly less. These results on sex ratio bias in captive female mouse lemurs agree with directions of bias predicted by the local resource competition model for facultative sex ratio adjustment (Clark 1978). Nevertheless, the pattern observed in mouse lemurs appears to be independent of the nutritional state of the female and of differential maternal investment. 相似文献
3.
Brood sex ratio is dependent on female mating status in polygynous great reed warblers 总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2
Isao Nishiumi 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1998,44(1):9-14
Females capable of adjusting the sex ratio of their offspring should be more fit than females lacking such an ability. In
polygynous birds where breeding success in males is more strongly influenced by body size and/or attractiveness than in females,
females might produce more sons when predicting good conditions or when mating with attractive males. Polygynous great reed
warbler, Acrocephalusarundinaceus, males direct most of their feeding effort to the primary (first-hatching) nest and in these nests increase their feeding
effort in relation to the brood sex ratio (proportion of sons). Therefore, with the expectation of well-nourished sons, we
would predict that females which start breeding first within harems might produce more sons than those which start breeding
later, and in anticipation of sons with good genes, that females mated to polygynous males might produce more sons than females
mated to monogamous males. I took blood samples from hatchlings and determined the sex using DNA markers. The sex ratio of
primary (monogamous and polygynous primary) broods is more male-biased (mean 0.58 males, n = 50) than that of secondary (polygynous secondary and tertiary) broods (mean 0.46, n = 25). Moreover, in the secondary broods with the largest clutch (five eggs), in which offspring are most likely to suffer
food shortage, the sex ratio was distinctively female biased (mean 0.33, n = 10). In the primary broods, sex ratio was correlated to harem size. The results suggest that great reed warbler females
modify the brood sex ratio to produce both well-nourished sons and sons with good genes, but the former effect is probably
stronger than the latter factor.
Received: 11 March 1998 / Accepted after revision: 23 May 1998 相似文献
4.
Cor Dijkstra Bernd Riedstra Arjan Dekker Vivian C. Goerlich Serge Daan Ton G. G. Groothuis 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2010,64(9):1393-1402
When the reproductive value of male and female offspring varies differentially, parents are predicted to adjust the sex ratio
of their offspring to maximize their fitness (Trivers and Willard, Science 179:90–92, 1973). Two factors have been repeatedly linked to skews in avian offspring sex ratio. First, laying date can affect offspring
sex ratio when the sexes differ in age of first reproduction, such that the more slowly maturing sex is overproduced early
in the season. Second, position of the egg in the laying sequence of a clutch may affect sex ratio bias since manipulating
the sex of the first eggs may be least costly to the mother. We studied both factors in two non-domesticated pigeon species.
Both the Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) and the Rock pigeon (Columba livia) have long breeding seasons and lay two-egg clutches. In the field, we determined the sex of Wood pigeon nestlings. In Rock
pigeons, housed in captivity outdoors, we determined embryo sex after 3 days of incubation. On the basis of their sex-specific
age of first reproduction, we predicted that males, maturing at older age than females, should be produced in majority early
and females later in the year. This was confirmed for both species. The bias was restricted to first eggs. Rock pigeons produced
clutches throughout the year and show that the sex of the first egg followed an annual cycle. To our knowledge, this study
presents the first evidence of a full annual rhythm in adaptive sex allocation in birds. We suggest that this reflects an
endogenous seasonal program in primary sex ratio controlled by a preovulatory mechanism. 相似文献
5.
Historically, most mammals have been classified as polygynous; although recent molecular evidence suggests that many mammals
may be polygynandrous, particularly the ground-dwelling sciurids. We genotyped 351 round-tailed ground squirrels (Xerospermophilus tereticaudus) using seven microsatellite loci to determine paternity in 31 litters from 2004 to 2007. Polygyny was evident in all years
except in 2007, when the population size was reduced. Multiple paternity occurred in the majority of litters (55%) with 2.5 ± 0.26
sires/litter (n = 31). Forty-nine percent of resident males (n = 114) sired offspring, and of males that sired offspring (n = 56) 27% sired young in multiple litters in a single breeding season. Litter size was positively correlated with the number
of sires. Through an indirect analysis of paternity, we found 21 litters (68%) with an average relatedness of 0.5 or less.
Males had a greater opportunity for sexual selection (I
s = 1.60) than females (I
s = 0.40); Bateman’s gradient was also greater in males (1.07 ± 0.04, n = 56) than females (0.82 ± 0.08, n = 31). The mating system in round-tailed ground squirrels defined through genetic analyses and Bateman’s gradients is polygynandrous
compared to the previously suggested polygynous mating system as established by behavioral observations and fits within the
predictions of the ground squirrel sociality models. Upon evaluating the predictions of the sociality models among sciurid
species, we found a negative relationship between the level of sociality with litter size and the average percentage of multiple
paternity within a litter. Thus, recent genetic information and reclassification of mating systems support the predictions
of the ground-dwelling squirrel sociality models. 相似文献
6.
Female distribution affects mate searching and sexual selection in male northern water snakes (Nerodia sipedon) 总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2
Mating systems and sexual selection are assumed to be affected by the distribution of critical resources. We use observations
of 312 mating aggregations to compare mate-searching success of male northern water snakes (Nerodia sipedon) in two marshes in which differences in mating substrate availability resulted in more than fourfold differences in female
dispersion. Reproductive males had significantly larger home ranges where females were dispersed than where females were clumped.
The number of females encountered by males increased significantly with male home range size where females were dispersed,
and decreased significantly where females were clumped. Where females were clumped, males were more likely to encounter other
males when they located females. We found no evidence in either population that mate searching was energetically expensive
or that males with relatively more energy had larger home ranges. However, males with greater fat reserves at the start of
the season participated in more mating aggregations when females were dispersed, suggesting that fat reserves could affect
a male’s willingness to attempt mating or to persist in aggregations. When females were dispersed there was weak stabilizing
selection acting to maintain male body size (β=–0.14), but strong directional selection favoring larger (β=0.50) and fatter
(β=0.37) males. Over 7 years, the intensity of selection favoring larger males varied substantially (β=0.14–1.15), but that
variation was not related to variation in the operational sex ratio. We found no evidence of directional selection on either
body size (β=0.05) or fat reserves (β=0.10) of males when females were spatially clumped. Overall, the distribution of females
had a pronounced effect on male behavior, on the factors that affected male success in locating females, and probably on the
extent of sperm competition once females had been located.
Received: 23 November 1998 / Received in revised form: 9 August 1999 / Accepted: 18 August 1999 相似文献
7.
Population structure and growth in captivity of the spiny lobsterPanulirus penicillatus from Dahab,Gulf of Aqaba,Red Sea 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Panulirus penicillatus (Olivier, 1791) (Decapoda: Palinuridae) is the most common spiny lobster in the Red Sea and is widely distributed in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Lobsters (n=377) were collected on four occasions during 1986 on the coral reef at Dahab, Sinai, Egypt. Average size of the collected individuals was 70.5±24.6 mm carapace length (CL) for males and 63.2±15.9 mm CL for females. The sex ratio was 1:1.64 males to females. Length increment per molt was inversely correlated with size and ranged from 2.1 mm per molt in the 40 to 50 mm CL size class to less than 1 mm in the 60 to 70 mm CL size class. Average intermolt period was ca. 136 d for all size classes. The relationship between carapace length and body weight was expressed by the equation:W
b=6.43 × 10–4 × (CL)2.89.P. penicillatus from Dahab differ in size, sex ratio and growth rate compared to other palinurid populations throughout their range. This might represent the effect of isolation and location at the edge of the geographical range for this species. It may also indicate an adaptation to their unique habitat in the coral reef in comparison to other palinurid species. 相似文献
8.
Using a biopsy dart system, samples of skin tissue were collected from southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) in 1995 on two wintering grounds, southwest Australia (n = 20) and the Auckland Islands of New Zealand (n = 20); and on offshore feeding grounds at Latitudes 40 to 43°, south of Western Australia (n = 5). A variable section of the mitochondrial DNA control-region (289 nucleotides) was amplified and sequenced from these
45 individuals (21 males, 20 females and 4 of unknown sex), distinguishing a total of seven unique sequences (i.e. mtDNA haplotypes).
Two haplotypes were found on both wintering grounds (including a common type representing 45% of each sample), and five types
were unique to only one wintering ground. An analysis of variance adapted for molecular information revealed significant genetic
differentiation between the two wintering grounds (p = 0.017). The feeding-ground sample was too small for statistical comparison with the wintering grounds, but included two
haplotypes found only in the Auckland Islands as well as the common haplotype found on both wintering grounds. The nucleotide
diversity and differentiation of mtDNA among the right whales was similar to that among humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from the same regions (Baker et al. 1998), but haplotype diversity was significantly reduced, perhaps as a result of more
intensive hunting during the last century and continued illegal hunting during this century.
Received: 16 March 1998 / Accepted: 18 December 1998 相似文献
9.
We examined the mating behaviour of the New Zealand ocypodid crab Macrophthalmus hirtipes in the laboratory between February and June 1998. This species has a discrete breeding season. Mating and moulting were not
linked and only intermoult females with mobile gonopore opercula were attractive to males. Allometry and compatibility of
gonopods and gonopores of different-sized crabs was investigated. Under laboratory conditions, the opercula of intermoult
females remained mobile on average for 11.4 d, but the duration of receptivity did not appear to be under female control.
The operational sex ratio in the laboratory fluctuated greatly, but was always male-dominated. During the period of opercular
mobility, females mated many times with several different males. Matings in the absence of burrows were relatively short (mean
duration = 23 min, max. = 122 min) and the mating behaviour of M. hirtipes lacked courtship and mate-guarding. Males used a search-intercept method to acquire mates, with very low levels of intrasexual
competition. There was no evidence of mate preference in M. hirtipes, and males spent just as long mating with ovigerous females as with non-ovigerous ones. Although M. hirtipes has ventral-type spermathecae, as do several other ocypodid crabs, it is unclear whether this promotes last-male sperm precedence.
The role of burrows in modifying the mating behaviour of M. hirtipes in the field remains to be established.
Received: 7 January 2000 / Accepted: 5 June 2000 相似文献
10.
Pierrick Blanchard Nicolas Hanuise Stéphanie Dano Henri Weimerskirch 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,61(5):767-773
Sex ratio theory is one of the most controversial topics in evolutionary ecology. Many deviations from an equal production
of males and females are reported in the literature, but few patterns appear to hold across species or populations. There
is clearly a need to identify fitness effects of sex ratio variation. We studied this aspect in a population of a long-lived
seabird, the wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans), using molecular sex-identification techniques. We report that parental traits affect both (1) fledgling traits in a sex-dependent
way and (2) chick sex: Sons are overproduced when likely to be large at fledging and, to a lesser extent, daughters are overproduced
when likely to be in good body condition at fledging. Because for the same population, a previous study reported that post-fledging
survival was positively affected by size in males and by body condition in females, our results suggest that wandering albatrosses
manipulate offspring sex to increase post-fledging survival. 相似文献
11.
Birth sex ratios were examined for ringtailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at the Duke University Primate Center. This population provides a long-term database of births under a variety of demographic
and management conditions, including two semi-freeranging groups between which males transfer freely and females defend stable
territorial boundaries. We examined three hypotheses usually considered in studies of primate sex ratio bias. The Trivers-Willard
hypothesis predicts that dominant females produce males, local resource competition at the population level (LRC-population)
predicts that the dispersing sex (males) will be overproduced in dense populations, and local resource competition among individuals
(LRC-individual) predicts that dominant females overproduce the philopatric sex (females). We also examined a fourth hypothesis,
local resource enhancement (LRE), which is usually subsumed under LRC-individual in studies of primate sex ratio evolution.
LRE predicts that under certain conditions, females will produce the sex that provides later cooperative benefits, such as
alliance support for within- or between-group competition. Our data provide support for LRE: females overproduce daughters
given prospects of new group formation, either through group fission or threatened expulsion of young mothers. Behavioral
data from Duke and also wild populations show that daughters serve mothers as important allies in this context and LRE effects
also have been documented in other mammals that experience similar group histories. Nonsignificant trends in the data supported
the LRC-population hypothesis, and we suggest that LRC interacts with LRE to explain offspring sex ratios in ringtailed lemurs.
Received: 27 August 1999 / Received in revised form: 6 March 2000 / Accepted: 18 March 2000 相似文献
12.
Condition-dependent control of paternity by female purple martins: implications for coloniality 总被引:9,自引:0,他引:9
Proposed causal links between extra-pair copulation (EPC) and colony formation in socially monogamous birds hinge on the
question of which sex controls fertilizations. We examined in colonial purple martins Progne subis (1) whether EPCs were forced or accepted by females, and (2) the degree to which apparently receptive females were able to
obtain EPCs against their mates’ paternity defenses. Paternity analyses of multilocus DNA fingerprinting confirmed previous
findings of a marked relationship between age class and extra-pair fertilizations (EPFs), with young males losing paternity
of 43% (n = 53) of their putative offspring compared to 4% (n = 85) by old males. All assignable extra-pair offspring were sired by old males, with one male obtaining most EPFs each year.
Contrary to the hypothesis that EPCs are forced, EPF frequency within age class did not increase with seasonal increases in
the number of males per fertile female. Whereas the male control hypothesis predicted that the male age class that mate-guarded
more would be cuckolded less, the reverse was true: young males guarded significantly more intensely. The male age class difference
in cuckoldry could not be explained by the possibility that young and inexperienced females (which are usually paired to young
males) were more vulnerable to forced copulation because EPFs were unrelated to female age. These findings suggest that females
(1) pair with old males and avoid EPCs, or (2) pursue a mixed mating strategy of pairing with young males and accepting EPCs
from old males. The receptivity to EPCs by females paired to young males put them in conflict with their mates. Two factors
determined the paternity achieved by young males: (1) the relative size of the male to the female, with young males achieving
much higher paternity when they were larger than their mates, and (2) the intensity of mate-guarding. Both variables together
explained 77% of the variance in paternity and are each aspects of male-female conflict. Given female receptivity to EPCs,
mate-guarding can be viewed as male interference with female mating strategies. We conclude that EPCs are rarely or never
forced, but the opportunity for females paired to young males to obtain EPCs is relative to the ability of their mates to
prevent them from encountering other males. Evidence of mixed mating strategies by females, combined with other features of
the martin mating system, is consistent with the female-driven “hidden lek hypothesis” of colony formation which predicts
that males are drawn to colonies when females seek extra-pair copulations.
Received: 23 March 1995/Accepted after revision: 14 January 1996 相似文献
13.
Eugene S. Morton Bridget J. M. Stutchbury Ioana Chiver 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2010,64(6):947-954
We investigated sexual conflict over parental care in blue-headed vireos (Vireo solitarius) and documented the first example of unvarying unisexual brood desertion in passerines. Females at all nests (N = 24) that were monitored closely near fledgling, deserted their broods on or near the day of fledging leaving males alone
to complete parental care of young. No males deserted. This observational evidence was confirmed with radiotracking of females
(2004, 2007) and both pair members (2008). Radiotracked females began visiting distant males 1–4 days before young left the
nest, subsequently paired with males 355–802 m away, and laid first eggs in new nests less than 5 days after deserting. In
contrast, females suffering nest predation did not desert and renested with the same male. We suggest equal parental care
(nest building, incubation, feeding) in the sexes, genetic monogamy, and an adult sex ratio biased towards males has led to
female control of brood desertion in this species. Unisexual desertion may be more important in altricial birds than generally
realized and we discuss prerequisites to predict its occurrence. One is genetic monogamy, which may be a female tactic that
reduces the likelihood of males evolving counter-adaptations to female desertion. 相似文献
14.
Marissa L. Parrott Simon J. Ward Peter D. Temple-Smith 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,61(7):1075-1079
Females show mate preferences for males that are genetically dissimilar to themselves in a variety of taxa, but how females
choose these males is not clearly understood. In this study, we examined the effects of olfactory stimuli and genetic relatedness
on female mate choice in a small carnivorous marsupial, the agile antechinus (Antechinus agilis), during two breeding seasons. Captive female antechinus in oestrus were provided with a combination of male urine and body
scent from two novel males, one more genetically similar and one more dissimilar to the females, in a Y-maze olfactometer.
Genetic relatedness between females and pairs of males was determined using highly polymorphic, species-specific, microsatellite
markers. Females consistently chose to visit the scents of males that were genetically dissimilar to themselves first, spent
significantly more time near the source of those scents and showed more sexual and non-exploratory behaviours near those scents.
These data demonstrate that chemosensory cues are important in mate choice in the agile antechinus and that females prefer
males that are genetically dissimilar to themselves. 相似文献
15.
Claire W. Varian-Ramos Jordan Karubian Vanessa Talbott Irma Tapia Michael S. Webster 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2010,64(6):967-977
The repayment hypothesis posits that primary sex ratios in cooperative species should be biased towards the helping sex because
these offspring “repay” a portion of their cost through helping behavior and therefore are less expensive to produce. However,
many cooperatively breeding birds and mammals do not show the predicted bias in the primary sex ratio. Recent theoretical
work has suggested that the repayment hypothesis should only hold when females gain a large fitness advantage from the presence
of auxiliary adults in the group. When auxiliaries provide little or no fitness advantage, competition between relatives should
lead to sex ratios biased towards the dispersing (non-helping) sex. We examined the benefits auxiliaries provide to females
and corresponding offspring sex ratios in the red-backed fairy-wren (Malurus melanocephalus), a cooperatively breeding Australian bird with male auxiliary helpers. We found that auxiliaries provide little or no benefit
to female reproductive success or survival. As predicted, the population primary sex ratio was biased towards daughters, the
dispersing sex, and females with auxiliaries produced female-biased broods whereas females without auxiliaries produced unbiased
broods. Moreover, offspring sex ratios were more strongly biased toward females in years when auxiliaries were more common
in the population. These results suggest that offspring sex ratios are associated with competition among the non-dispersing
sex in this species, and also that females may use cues to assess local breeding opportunities for their offspring. 相似文献
16.
Luc A. Wauters Simon A. de Crombrugghe Nadia Nour Erik Matthysen 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1995,37(3):189-193
In polygynous roe deer Capreolus capreolus, males are only slightly heavier than females and the overall sex ratio at birth is close to unity. We studied offspring sex ratio and litter size (range 1–4, n = 74) of culled females, in utero, which provided an opportunity to examine responses of sex ratio to maternal condition. Male embryos were heavier than their sisters, and male fawns (9 months old) heavier than female fawns, suggesting a higher growth rate in males. There was no evidence for differential mortality between the sexes from birth to 9 months old. Heavier adult females produced larger embryos than lighter, or primiparous females. The overall sex ratio of embryos did not differ from unity, but adult does had more male embryos (55%) than primiparous does (32%), and the proportion of male embryos in a litter increased with the mother's body mass. Litter size also tended to increase with maternal age and body mass. We argue that this pattern reflects adaptive variation in offspring sex ratio. 相似文献
17.
Sexual conflict in the snake den 总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3
Red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis) court and mate in spring, soon after they emerge from large communal overwintering dens in south-central Manitoba. Because
of a massive bias in the operational sex ratio, every female attracts intense courtship from dozens to hundreds of males.
We suggest that this courtship constitutes significant ”harassment,” because it delays the females’ dispersal from the den
and hence increases their vulnerability to predation. Small females may face the greatest costs, because they are less able
to escape from amorous males (who court all females, even juvenile animals). Our measurements show that males are stronger
and faster than females. Experimental trials confirm that the locomotor ability of females (especially small females) is greatly
reduced by the weight of a courting male. Arena trials show that intense courtship stimulates females to attempt to escape.
Remarkably, some females that are too small to produce offspring may nonetheless copulate. This precocious sexual receptivity
may benefit juvenile females because copulation renders them unattractive to males, and thus allows them to escape more easily
from the den. Female ”tactics” to escape male harassment may explain other puzzling aspects of garter snake biology including
size-assortative mating, temporal patterns in dispersal from the den, avoidance of communal dens by young-of-the-year snakes,
and female mimicry. Hence, sexual conflict may have influenced important features of the mating system and behavioral ecology
of these animals.
Received: 8 May 2000 / Revised: 28 July 2000 / Accepted: 30 July 2000 相似文献
18.
K. Reinhold 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1996,39(3):189-194
Offspring sex ratio at hatching was examined in the bushcricket Poecilimon veluchianus. Offspring sex ratios varied significantly between females (Fig. 1). Low mortality prior to sex determination established
that this heterogeneity was already present in the primary offspring sex ratio. Sperm age and female age had no influence
on offspring sex ratio (Fig. 2). Male age at copulation, however, correlated significantly with offspring sex ratio (Fig. 3).
There were two types of males: one type produced predominantly daughters when young and an increasing proportion of sons with
age. The other type produced, independent of age, 1:1 offspring sex ratios (Fig. 4). The two types of males seem to occur
in approximately equal numbers. Sex ratio variation (1) may adaptively compensate for local sex ratio biases caused by sex-specific
motility, or (2) it may be adaptive if there is a sex-differential effect of laying date on offspring fitness.
Received: 14 March 1996/Accepted after revision: 24 June 1996 相似文献
19.
Environmental effects on sex allocation are common, yet the evolutionary significance of these effects remains poorly understood.
Environmental effects might influence parents, such that their condition directly influences sex allocation by altering the
relative benefits of producing sons versus daughters. Alternatively, the environment might influence the offspring themselves,
such that the conditions they find themselves in influence their contribution to parental fitness. In both cases, parents
might be selected to bias their sex ratio according to the prevailing environmental conditions. Here, we consider sex allocation
in the citrus mealybug Planococcus citri, a species with an unusual genetic system in which paternal genes are lost from the germline in males. We test environmental
factors that may influence either female condition directly (rearing temperature and food restriction) or that may be used
as cues of the future environment (age at mating). Using cytological techniques to obtain primary sex ratios, we show that
high temperature, older age at mating and starvation all affect sex allocation, resulting in female-biased sex ratios. However,
the effect of temperature is rather weak, and food restriction appears to be strongly associated with reduced longevity and
a truncation of the usual schedule of male and offspring production across a female’s reproductive lifetime. Instead, facultative
sex allocation seems most convincingly affected by age at mating, supporting previous work that suggests that social interactions
experienced by adult P. citri females are used when allocating sex. Our results highlight that, even within one species, different aspects of the environment
may have conflicting effects on sex allocation. 相似文献
20.
Darryl T. Gwynne Winston J. Bailey Amanda Annells 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1998,42(3):157-162
In katydids such as Kawanaphilanartee, a female bias in the operational sex ratio (OSR) results in female competition for mates and male choice of mates. Previous
work showed that the excess of sexually active females occurs when food availability is low, in part because less food increases
the propensity of females to mate as they forage for the large edible spermatophores produced by males. In this study with
K.nartee, a pollen-feeding species, we estimate natural variation in numbers of sexually active males and females by assessing male
calling activity and the propensity of females to respond to experimental calling males. We found an excess of sexually active
males at a site with many flowers and an excess of sexually active females at a site with few flowers about 900 m away. Between-site
differences in gut masses of calling males were consistent with the hypothesis that pollen availability controls OSR. Finally,
at a third site where flowers were at first scarce, we found that the initial excess in sexually active females changed to
an excess of sexually active males after a clump of grass-trees flowered. The mean gut mass of all sampled males from this
site increased after flowering. The large variation in OSR that we document for K. nartee highlights the importance of identifying the appropriate spatial and temporal scales over which OSRs are measured in studies
of factors controlling sexual selection.
Received: 13 May 1997 / Accepted after revision: 27 October 1997 相似文献