Costly sexual harassment in a beetle
Costly sexual harassment in a beetle
复制标题
DOI：
10.1111/j.1365-3032.2008.00656.x
复制
发表时间：
2009-03-01
影响因子：
1.5
通讯作者：
Tregenza, Tom
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Gay, LaurEne;Eady, Paul E.;Tregenza, Tom
女性的最佳交配伴侣数量很少与男性的一致，这导致了在交配频率上的性冲突。在斑孔甲虫（Callosobruchus maculatus）中，多次交配对雌性的适应性影响是复杂的，研究表明多次交配既有成本也有收益。然而，连续与雄虫交配的雌虫一生的产卵量比只交配一次就与雄虫分离的雌虫要低。这种适应性的降低可能是由男性生殖器造成的损伤和/或射精中的有毒物质造成的，因为男性生殖器上的刺会刺穿女性的生殖道。然而，雄性骚扰而不是交配成本本身也可以解释这一结果。本研究估算了雄性骚扰对雌性斑马鱼的适应成本。雌性在第一次交配后的自然不应期被用来区分骚扰的成本和交配的成本。雄性骚扰会导致雌性产卵减少，从而产生更少的后代。研究结果在配偶选择和性选择的背景下进行了讨论。
The optimal number of mating partners for females rarely coincides with that for males, leading to sexual conflict over mating frequency. In the bruchid beetle Callosobruchus maculatus, the fitness consequences to females of engaging in multiple copulations are complex, with studies demonstrating both costs and benefits to multiple mating. However, females kept continuously with males have a lower lifetime egg production compared with females mated only once and then isolated from males. This reduction in fitness may be a result of damage caused by male genitalia, which bear spines that puncture the female's reproductive tract, and/or toxic elements in the ejaculate. However, male harassment rather than costs of matings themselves could also explain the results. In the present study, the fitness costs of male harassment for female C. maculatus are estimated. The natural refractory period of females immediately after their first mating is used to separate the cost of harassment from the cost of mating. Male harassment results in females laying fewer eggs and this results in a tendency to produce fewer offspring. The results are discussed in the context of mate choice and sexual selection.