DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The Consequences of Sexual Conflict on Offspring Fitness

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Scientists have long recognized that reproduction is costly to females. Research in various species finds that sexually active females have shorter lives than virgin females. Recent studies, in fruit flies, have discovered toxic compounds in the seminal fluid of males that shorten the longevity of females after copulation. What the toxic compounds are doing and why they have evolved is a largely unresolved question. Previous experiments conducted in the fruit fly indicate that the mating frequency of parents affects the fitness of offspring. The goal of this project is to determine whether females exposed to toxic seminal fluid compounds have offspring with improved fitness. This project will compare the fitness of offspring from females that re-mate after holding them for one week 1) as virgins, 2) with males, 3) with genetically altered males that produce seminal fluid but not sperm, 4) with genetically altered males that do not produce seminal fluid or sperm. This study will help determine whether female reproductive costs occur to improve the quality of offspring. This work is important for our general understanding of maternal care, sexual and parent-offspring conflict, and for the evolution of reproductive strategies.