Effect of competitive cues on reproductive morphology and behavioral plasticity in male fruitflies.
Effect of competitive cues on reproductive morphology and behavioral plasticity in male fruitflies.
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DOI：
10.1093/beheco/arv170
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发表时间：
2016-03
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Chapman T
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Bretman A;Fricke C;Westmancoat JD;Chapman T
我们都会对我们的社会环境做出反应，以适应或变得更具竞争力-果蝇也不例外。男性幼虫回应他们的即时和预期未来的竞争环境发展较大的性附属腺成人。正如预期的那样，幼虫的竞争环境并没有改变成年雄性对直接性环境的反应程度。结果显示了男性对性环境的多方面反应。表型可塑性将有利于每当有显着的适应性的好处，对环境变化的反应。可塑性演化的程度和性质取决于环境波动的速率以及跟踪和应对这种变化的能力。生殖环境是一个变化迅速的竞技场。许多物种的雄性在交配前和交配后的生殖竞争（RC）中表现出形态、生理和行为的可塑性，这一发现表明可塑性是广泛有益的。发展环境，预计准确地预测RC的平均人口水平，但在任何特定的交配是一个相对较差的直接RC指标。因此，我们预测，在发育过程中对平均RC的操纵应该会导致发育过程中可塑性“集合”的反应（例如，成年生殖结构的大小），但不是由直接成年环境决定的柔性可塑性（例如，交配期的行为可塑性）。我们通过操纵发育过程中平均RC的2个独立线索在果蝇雄性中测试了这一预测：1）幼虫密度和2）幼虫培养瓶中成年雄性的存在或不存在。与预测一致，两种操作均导致雄性发育为具有显著更大的成年附腺（尽管将雄性添加到培养瓶中时睾丸尺寸减小）。对成虫的可塑性（交配持续时间，对竞争对手的反应延长交配）没有影响。结果表明，男性已经发展出独立的反应，长期和短期的变化RC。
We all respond to our social environment, to fit in or to become more competitive—fruitflies are no exception. Male larvae responded to their immediate and expected future competitive environments by developing larger sex accessory glands as adults. As expected, the larval competitive environment did not alter the extent to which adult males responded to their immediate sexual environment. The results show the multifaceted ways in which males respond to their sexual environments. Phenotypic plasticity will be favored whenever there are significant fitness benefits of responding to environmental variation. The extent and nature of the plasticity that evolves depends on the rate of environmental fluctuations and the capacity to track and respond to that variability. Reproductive environments represent one arena in which changes can be rapid. The finding that males of many species show morphological, physiological, and behavioral plasticity in response to premating and postmating reproductive competition (RC) suggests that plasticity is broadly beneficial. The developmental environment is expected to accurately predict the average population level of RC but to be a relatively poor indicator of immediate RC at any particular mating. Therefore, we predict that manipulation of average RC during development should cause a response in plasticity “set” during development (e.g., size of adult reproductive structures), but not in flexible plasticity determined by the immediate adult environment (e.g., behavioral plasticity in mating duration). We tested this prediction in Drosophila melanogaster males by manipulating 2 independent cues of average RC during development: 1) larval density and 2) the presence or absence of adult males within larval culture vials. Consistent with the prediction, both manipulations resulted in the development of males with significantly larger adult accessory glands (although testis size decreased when males were added to culture vials). There was no effect on adult plasticity (mating duration, extended mating in response to rivals). The results suggest that males have evolved independent responses to long- and short-term variation in RC.