SGER: Female Influences on Sperm Storage and Use in Two Species of Tephritid Flies with Divergent Mating Systems

“雌性选择”是性选择的一种形式，在交配前选择的层面上有很好的记录，有助于解释许多男性特征（例如孔雀羽毛）。然而，在交配后或交配期间，雌性可能会对两个或更多雄性射精的命运产生不同的影响，从而影响父亲的结果。这种现象被称为“隐性女性选择”（CFC），目前正在进行深入研究，因为1)它为两性之间的进化冲突增加了一个新的维度，2)它改变了我们对女性影响男性繁殖成功程度的看法。本研究探讨了具有不同交配系统的两种绦虫之间的关系，以及雌性对精子使用和储存的潜在影响。一个物种很少交配，有一个复杂的求偶行为，而另一个物种频繁交配，有一个最小的求偶行为。据预测，CFC在表现出多次交配而很少进行交配前选择的物种中更为重要。本研究采用多管齐下的方法，通过检查精子储存、交配行为、神经肌肉控制和父权结果与男性特征的关系，来估计女性对生殖结果影响的存在和程度。

'Female choice' is a form of sexual selection well documented at the level of precopulatory choice and helps to explain many male traits (e.g. peacock feathers). After or during copulation, however, females may differentially influence the fate of ejaculate from two or more males to affect paternity outcomes. This phenomenon, referred to as 'cryptic female choice' (CFC), is currently under intense investigation because 1) it adds a new dimension to the evolutionary conflict between the sexes, and 2) it changes our views on the degree to which females influence male reproductive success. This study examines the relationship between two species of tephritid flies with divergent mating systems and the potential for female influence on sperm use and storage. One species mates infrequently and has a complex courtship behavior, whereas the other species mates frequently and has minimal courtship behavior. CFC is predicted to be more important in species that exhibit multiple matings with little pre-copulatory choice. This study uses a multi-pronged approach to estimate the presence and degree of female influence on reproductive outcomes by examining sperm storage, mating behavior, neuromuscular control, and paternity outcomes in relation to male characters.