Mate Selection and the Role of Male-Donated Nutrients in Photinus Fireflies

动物行为计划非技术摘要提案编号：9816432 PI：Sara M. Lewis标题：萤火虫的配偶选择和雄性捐赠的营养物质的作用萤火虫壮观的生物发光显示引起了世界各地人类文化的钦佩。在北美常见的Photinus萤火虫中，这些求偶表演是由数百只雄性萤火虫在地面上缓慢飞行寻找雌性萤火虫时发出闪光而创造的。雌性会对栖息在低矮植被上的雄性闪光做出反应。 令人惊讶的是，除了这个高度可见的闪光显示之外，人们对萤火虫的求偶和交配知之甚少。 刘易斯博士和她的同事们最近的研究表明，在交配过程中，雄性萤火虫为雌性萤火虫提供了一个营养丰富、含有精子的包裹，称为精荚，它后来在雌性萤火虫体内消化，并用于为她发育中的卵子提供营养。 类似的婚姻礼物是由男性在生物体中产生的，如巨型章鱼和小型扁形虫，它们在如此多样化的群体中的出现表明，男性营养捐赠可能在动物交配系统的进化中发挥着重要作用。刘易斯博士的研究将集中在Photinus萤火虫上，以深入了解婚姻礼物在动物交配系统和求偶行为进化中的作用，将受控实验室操作与自然Photinus种群的实地观察相结合。这些研究将有助于我们理解有关男性和女性之间资源分配差异的关键进化问题。从保护的角度来看，这项研究是有趣的，因为萤火虫狭窄的栖息地要求和地点特异性使它们对栖息地干扰非常敏感。

Animal Behavior ProgramNontechnical AbstractProposal #: 9816432PI: Sara M. LewisTitle: Mate selection and the role of male-donated nutrients in Photinus fireflies The spectacular bioluminescent displays of fireflies have evoked admiration from human cultures around the world. In the common North American Photinus fireflies, these courtship displays are created by hundreds of males emitting flashes while flying slowly above the ground searching for females. Females respond to male flashes from perches in low vegetation. Surprisingly little is known about firefly courtship and mating beyond this highly visible flash display. Recent work by Dr. Lewis and her colleagues revealed that during mating, firefly males provide females with a nutrient-rich, sperm-containing package called a spermatophore, which is later digested within the female and used to provision her developing eggs. Similar nuptial gifts are produced by males in organisms as diverse as giant octopi and tiny flatworms, and their occurrence across such diverse groups suggests that male nutrient donations may play a fundamental role in the evolution of animal mating systems. Dr. Lewis' research will focus on Photinus fireflies to gain insight into the role of nuptial gifts in the evolution of animal mating systems and courtship behavior, combining controlled laboratory manipulations with field observations of natural Photinus populations. These studies will contribute to our understanding of key evolutionary issues concerning differences in resource allocation between males and females. This research is interesting from a conservation stand point, since the narrow habitat requirements and site specificity of fireflies make them extremely sensitive to habitat disturbance.