Sperm Competition and Its Evolutionary Consequences in the Insects

by Simmons, Leigh W.

• ISBN13: 9780691059877
• ISBN10: 069105987X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-10-01
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

One hundred years after Darwin considered how sexual selection shapes the behavioral and morphological characteristics of males for acquiring mates, Parker realized that sexual selection continues after mating through sperm competition. Because females often mate with multiple males before producing offspring, selection favors adaptations that allow males to preempt sperm from previous males and to prevent their own sperm from preemption by future males. Since the 1970s, this area of research has seen exponential growth, and biologists now recognize sperm competition as an evolutionary force that drives such adaptations as mate guarding, genital morphology, and ejaculate chemistry across all animal taxa. The insects have been critical to this research, and they still offer the greatest potential to reveal fully the evolutionary consequences of sperm competition. This book analyzes and extends thirty years of theoretical and empirical work on insect sperm competition. It considers both male and female interests in sperm utilization and the sexual conflict that can arise when these differ. It covers the mechanics of sperm transfer and utilization, morphology, physiology, and behavior. Sperm competition is shown to have dramatic effects on adaptation in the context of reproduction as well as far-reaching ramifications on life-history evolution and speciation. Written by a top researcher in the field, this comprehensive, up-to-date review of the evolutionary causes and consequences of sperm competition in the insects will prove an invaluable reference for students and established researchers in behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology.

Author Biography

Leigh W. Simmons is an Australian Research Council Senior Research Fellow and Research Professor in the Department of Zoology, University of Western Australia. He is an Associate Editor for Behaviord Ecology and Sociobiology and Executive Editor of Animal Behavior

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Dedication and Acknowledgments	xv
Sexual Selection and Sperm Competition	1	(21)
Sexual Selection	1	(4)
Sexual Differences and the Evolution of Anisogamy	5	(5)
Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection	10	(10)
Summary	20	(2)
Sperm Utilization: Concepts, Patterns, and Processes	22	(47)
Introduction	22	(1)
Classification and Definition of Terms Used in the Sperm Competition Literature	23	(6)
Quantifying Paternity	29	(8)
Patterns of Sperm Utilization: An Overview	37	(3)
Mechanisms	40	(13)
Sperm Utilization and Multiple Mating	53	(2)
Sperm Utilization in Natural Populations	55	(1)
Mechanisms and the Potential for Selection	56	(4)
Summary	60	(9)
Avoidance of Sperm Competition I: Morphological Adaptations	69	(22)
Introduction	69	(1)
Internal Fertilization	69	(1)
Sperm Removal and Repositioning	70	(12)
Alternative Explanations for Complex Genitalia	82	(7)
Summary	89	(2)
Avoidance of Sperm Competition II: Physiological Adaptations	91	(53)
Introduction	91	(6)
Mating Plugs	97	(17)
Seminal Products	114	(27)
Pheromones	141	(1)
Summary	142	(2)
Avoidance of Sperm Competition III: Behavioral Adaptations	144	(54)
Introduction	144	(2)
Theoretical Models of Mate Guarding	146	(3)
Evidence for Mate Guarding in Insects	149	(19)
Alternative Hypotheses	168	(11)
Adaptations for Efficient Guarding	179	(4)
Male Mate Choice	183	(3)
Summary	186	(12)
Copula Duration	198	(25)
Introduction	198	(4)
Sperm Displacement: Optimal Copula Duration in Dung Flies	202	(10)
Copula Duration with Sperm Mixing	212	(1)
Evidence Consistent with an Optimization of Copula Duration	213	(5)
Female Influences	218	(2)
Alternative Explanations	220	(1)
Summary	221	(2)
Sperm in Competition I: Strategic Ejaculation	223	(27)
Introduction	223	(4)
Sperm Competition Games	227	(18)
Cryptic Male Choice	245	(2)
Cryptic Female Choice	247	(2)
Summary	249	(1)
Sperm in Competition II: Sperm Morphology	250	(27)
Introduction	250	(2)
Sperm Size	252	(11)
Sperm Polymorphism	263	(11)
Intraejaculate Sperm Competition	274	(1)
Summary	275	(2)
Ejaculate Manipulation: Mechanisms of Female Choice	277	(42)
Introduction	277	(2)
Influence over Remating	279	(3)
Influence over Sperm Transfer	282	(6)
Influence over Sperm Storage	288	(11)
Sperm Selection	299	(18)
Summary	317	(2)
Social Insects	319	(30)
Introduction	319	(1)
Multiple Mating and Multiple Paternity	320	(5)
Social Consequences of Sperm Competition	325	(9)
Alternative Hypotheses for Multiple Mating	334	(7)
Summary	341	(8)
Broader Significance	349	(8)
Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection	349	(1)
Life History Evolution	350	(4)
Speciation	354	(2)
Concluding Remarks	356	(1)
References	357	(70)
Taxonomic Index	427	(5)
Subject Index	432