Collaborative Research: Reproductive Behavior and Pathogen Resistance

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Lay summaryThis project will examine the evolution of resistance to pathogens in the context of sexual selection and reproductive behavior. Using crickets as model organisms, the research has two components. First, the effect on immunity of a unique component of courtship, tibial spur feeding, will be examined in the ground cricket Allonemobius socius. The female feeds from a wound she makes on a spur on the male's tibia during mating, allowing her access to the male's circulatory system and potentially compromising his immune response. How has sexual selection via this nuptial gift influenced male and female ability to resist disease? A series of experiments on virgin and mated males and females will examine the effect of tibial feeding on encapsulation ability and resistance to pathogens. Second, a comparative study will investigate sex differences in immune response across several ground cricket species that differ in life history. Do seasonal species, in which females must sequester resources for reproduction over a restricted period, show a different pattern of sex bias in immunity than species in which investment is spread out over a longer period? Although male vertebrates have generally weaker immune responses than females, such a difference has rarely been explored in invertebrates, despite the advantages of performing experimental and field manipulations in these animals. Furthermore, little research has examined the relationship between reproductive behavior and disease resistance.