Moth Mating: Modeling Female Pheromone Calling and Male Navigational Strategies to Optimize Reproductive Success
Moth Mating: Modeling Female Pheromone Calling and Male Navigational Strategies to Optimize Reproductive Success
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DOI：
10.3390/app10186543
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发表时间：
2020-09-01
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Lindsay, Alan E.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Stepien, Tracy L.;Zmurchok, Cole;Lindsay, Alan E.
雄蛾和雌蛾通过复杂的方式进行交流，以寻找和选择配偶。在一种被称为叫声的过程中，雌性会释放少量的信息素，产生羽毛并在环境中传播。雄性通过它们的触角探测到羽毛，并导航到雌性。生殖过程是以雌性选择和雄性竞争为标志的，因为多只雄性的目标是接触雌性，但只有第一只可以与她交配。这为雌性在对信息素分子的化学敏感性和流动性等雄性特征上进行选择提供了机会。我们开发了一个数学框架来研究在典型的一周交配期间展开的四种实验观察的雌性呼叫策略的总体交配可能性、平均首次到达时间以及第一个到达雌性的雄性的质量。我们给出了一个简化模型的解析解以及基于主体的数值模拟结果。我们的发现表明，通过调整叫声时间和释放的信息素数量，雌性可以优化交配过程。特别是，在交配期开始时，较短的叫声时间和较低的信息素滴度随着时间的推移逐渐增加，这使得雌性能够瞄准更高质量的雄性，同时仍然确保在交配期结束时进行交配。
Male and female moths communicate in complex ways to search for and to select a mate. In a process termed calling, females emit small quantities of pheromones, generating plumes that spread in the environment. Males detect the plume through their antennae and navigate toward the female. The reproductive process is marked by female choice and male-male competition, since multiple males aim to reach the female but only the first can mate with her. This provides an opportunity for female selection on male traits such as chemosensitivity to pheromone molecules and mobility. We develop a mathematical framework to investigate the overall mating likelihood, the mean first arrival time, and the quality of the first male to reach the female for four experimentally observed female calling strategies unfolding over a typical one-week mating period. We present both analytical solutions of a simplified model as well as results from agent-based numerical simulations. Our findings suggest that, by adjusting call times and the amount of released pheromone, females can optimize the mating process. In particular, shorter calling times and lower pheromone titers at onset of the mating period that gradually increase over time allow females to aim for higher-quality males while still ensuring that mating occurs by the end of the mating period.