Abstract
Weapons used in male fighting can be costly to males and are often reported to trade off with other characters such as wings or spermatogenic investment. This study investigated whether increased investment into weapons can generate evolutionary changes in mating strategy for armed males. Male flour beetles, Gnatocerus cornutus, have enlarged mandibles that are used in male-male competition. We subjected these weapons to 12 generations of bidirectional selection and found trade-offs between weapons and two other male characters: wing and testis size. In addition, probably as a consequence of the observed changes in investment, dispersal ability and ejaculatory volume differ significantly between the lines. This indicates that the exaggeration of a weapon can be associated with dispersal and ejaculatory strategies. Thus, altered investment into weapons can lead to correlated changes in life-history traits.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1705-1710 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
| Volume | 277 |
| Issue number | 1688 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 7 2010 |
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Keywords
- Exaggerated trait
- Resource allocation
- Sexual selection
- Sperm competition
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Environmental Science(all)
- Immunology and Microbiology(all)
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Dispersal and ejaculatory strategies associated with exaggeration of weapon in an armed beetle. / Yamane, Takashi; Okada, Kensuke; Nakayama, Satoshi; Miyatake, Takahisa.
In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 277, No. 1688, 07.06.2010, p. 1705-1710.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Dispersal and ejaculatory strategies associated with exaggeration of weapon in an armed beetle
AU - Yamane, Takashi
AU - Okada, Kensuke
AU - Nakayama, Satoshi
AU - Miyatake, Takahisa
PY - 2010/6/7
Y1 - 2010/6/7
N2 - Weapons used in male fighting can be costly to males and are often reported to trade off with other characters such as wings or spermatogenic investment. This study investigated whether increased investment into weapons can generate evolutionary changes in mating strategy for armed males. Male flour beetles, Gnatocerus cornutus, have enlarged mandibles that are used in male-male competition. We subjected these weapons to 12 generations of bidirectional selection and found trade-offs between weapons and two other male characters: wing and testis size. In addition, probably as a consequence of the observed changes in investment, dispersal ability and ejaculatory volume differ significantly between the lines. This indicates that the exaggeration of a weapon can be associated with dispersal and ejaculatory strategies. Thus, altered investment into weapons can lead to correlated changes in life-history traits.
AB - Weapons used in male fighting can be costly to males and are often reported to trade off with other characters such as wings or spermatogenic investment. This study investigated whether increased investment into weapons can generate evolutionary changes in mating strategy for armed males. Male flour beetles, Gnatocerus cornutus, have enlarged mandibles that are used in male-male competition. We subjected these weapons to 12 generations of bidirectional selection and found trade-offs between weapons and two other male characters: wing and testis size. In addition, probably as a consequence of the observed changes in investment, dispersal ability and ejaculatory volume differ significantly between the lines. This indicates that the exaggeration of a weapon can be associated with dispersal and ejaculatory strategies. Thus, altered investment into weapons can lead to correlated changes in life-history traits.
KW - Exaggerated trait
KW - Resource allocation
KW - Sexual selection
KW - Sperm competition
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77953512854&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2009.2017
DO - 10.1098/rspb.2009.2017
M3 - Article
C2 - 20129986
AN - SCOPUS:77953512854
VL - 277
SP - 1705
EP - 1710
JO - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
JF - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
SN - 0962-8436
IS - 1688
ER -