Presentation Details
| Plasticity of sexual roles under different competitive scenarios in houseflies Fátima Gonzalez Garcia, Leila Almanza Vico, Manuelita Mendez, Maria Jose Albi. Montevideo, Uruguay, Outside US/Canada, Uruguay |
Abstract
Plasticity of sexual roles under different competitive scenarios in houseflies
Fátima González Garcia¹, Leila Almanza Vico¹,2, Manuelita Mendez¹,2, Maria J. Albo¹
1Entomology Section, Faculty of Sciences, University of the Republic, Montevideo, Uruguay.
2Program for the Development of Basic Sciences (PEDECIBA), Uruguay
In several taxa, males respond to competition by increasing the number of matings and sperm transfer. Males mate competition has been usually described as the principal mechanism in which sexual selection acts. However, the traditional view of males competing for access to matings, and females choosing is nowadays controversial. Accumulated empirical data on different taxa shows that sexual roles can be modified, due to ecological and demographic factors, such as the operative sexual proportion (OSR). In this study, we investigated the role of sexual selection in females using the dipteran Musca domestica. We evaluated how different biases in the OSR can affect individuals mating success through two experimental groups (Female bias and Male bias) and a Control which had the same proportion of sexes. Our results showed that the probability of mating per experiment was similar between the Female and Male bias groups (30% and 31%, respectively) and both were significantly higher than the Control group (24%). In the Female bias group, each male accessed to 1.5 different females and mated on average 5 times, whereas in the Male Bias group each female accessed to slightly more partners (2 males and 7 matings). In the Control group each male and female accessed to 3 different mated pairs, and mated on average 14,5 times. These results show that mating probability increased in scenarios of either male or female mate competition, and shows that also females actively compete for males in M. domestica adding a new example that sexual selection operates in females too.
Keywords: Competition, operative sexual proportion, sexual selection, mating behavior
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
Fátima González Garcia¹, Leila Almanza Vico¹,2, Manuelita Mendez¹,2, Maria J. Albo¹
1Entomology Section, Faculty of Sciences, University of the Republic, Montevideo, Uruguay.
2Program for the Development of Basic Sciences (PEDECIBA), Uruguay
In several taxa, males respond to competition by increasing the number of matings and sperm transfer. Males mate competition has been usually described as the principal mechanism in which sexual selection acts. However, the traditional view of males competing for access to matings, and females choosing is nowadays controversial. Accumulated empirical data on different taxa shows that sexual roles can be modified, due to ecological and demographic factors, such as the operative sexual proportion (OSR). In this study, we investigated the role of sexual selection in females using the dipteran Musca domestica. We evaluated how different biases in the OSR can affect individuals mating success through two experimental groups (Female bias and Male bias) and a Control which had the same proportion of sexes. Our results showed that the probability of mating per experiment was similar between the Female and Male bias groups (30% and 31%, respectively) and both were significantly higher than the Control group (24%). In the Female bias group, each male accessed to 1.5 different females and mated on average 5 times, whereas in the Male Bias group each female accessed to slightly more partners (2 males and 7 matings). In the Control group each male and female accessed to 3 different mated pairs, and mated on average 14,5 times. These results show that mating probability increased in scenarios of either male or female mate competition, and shows that also females actively compete for males in M. domestica adding a new example that sexual selection operates in females too.
Keywords: Competition, operative sexual proportion, sexual selection, mating behavior
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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