Male Mating Rate Is Constrained by Seminal Fluid Availability in Bedbugs, Cimex lectularius
Male Mating Rate Is Constrained by Seminal Fluid Availability in Bedbugs, Cimex lectularius
复制标题
雄性交配率受到臭虫（臭虫）精液可用性的限制
作者：
K. Reinhardt;R. Naylor;M. Siva
性选择，个体之间繁殖成功的差异，在获得配偶之外继续存在，并影响射精的大小和成分（精子竞争）。精子和精液在精子竞争中扮演着非常不同的角色，但这两种成分都包含了雄性的生产成本。理论模型预测，男性应该谨慎地使用射精成分，并对精子和精液进行区分，但精子数量和精液体积独立变化的经验证据很少。精子和精液的变异如何影响未来的交配率，在很大程度上也是未知的。在臭虫中，我们制定了一项协议，以检查精液在射精分配中的作用及其对未来雄性交配率的影响。利用与年龄相关的精子和精液量的变化，我们估计了交配活动开始时的最低能力。然后我们发现，性活跃的雄性在每次交配中会分配12%的精子和19%的精液，并预测雄性会耗尽精液，但不会耗尽精子。我们用经验检验（并证实）了这一预测。最后，与精子相比，精液的补充速度略快，但这并没有抵消交配过程中精液的减少速度。我们的研究结果表明，雄性交配率可能受到精液可用性的限制。我们的方案可能适用于一系列其他生物体。我们讨论了这样一种观点：区分射精剂量依赖的成本和收益与交配率本身的频率依赖的成本和收益，在性冲突研究中的经济考虑可能会受益。
Sexual selection, differences in reproductive success between individuals, continues beyond acquiring a mating partner and affects ejaculate size and composition (sperm competition). Sperm and seminal fluid have very different roles in sperm competition but both components encompass production costs for the male. Theoretical models predict that males should spend ejaculate components prudently and differently for sperm and seminal fluid but empirical evidence for independent variation of sperm number and seminal fluid volume is scarce. It is also largely unknown how sperm and seminal fluid variation affect future mating rate. In bedbugs we developed a protocol to examine the role of seminal fluids in ejaculate allocation and its effect on future male mating rate. Using age-related changes in sperm and seminal fluid volume we estimated the lowest capacity at which mating activity started. We then showed that sexually active males allocate 12% of their sperm and 19% of their seminal fluid volume per mating and predicted that males would be depleted of seminal fluid but not of sperm. We tested (and confirmed) this prediction empirically. Finally, the slightly faster replenishment of seminal fluid compared to sperm did not outweigh the faster decrease during mating. Our results suggest that male mating rate can be constrained by the availability of seminal fluids. Our protocol might be applicable to a range of other organisms. We discuss the idea that economic considerations in sexual conflict research might benefit from distinguishing between costs and benefits that are ejaculate dose-dependent and those that are frequency-dependent on the mating rate per se.
影响因子：
23.8
作者：
Avila FW;Sirot LK;LaFlamme BA;Rubinstein CD;Wolfner MF
通讯作者：
Wolfner MF