Biting off more than you can chew: sexual selection on the free amino acid composition of the spermatophylax in decorated crickets.

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
Susan N GershmanJohn Hunt

Abstract

Nuptial food gifts function to enhance male fertilization success, but their consumption is not always beneficial to females. In decorated crickets, the spermatophore transferred at mating includes a gelatinous mass, the spermatophylax, which is consumed by females after mating. However, females often discard spermatophylaxes shortly after mating, whereupon they terminate sperm transfer. We hypothesized that females discard gifts based on their assessment of the gift itself, and specifically the composition of free amino acids. We tested this hypothesis by comparing spermatophylaxes discarded by females after mating with those that were destined to be fully consumed, and employed multivariate selection analysis to quantify the strength and form of multivariate sexual selection operating on the free amino acid composition of gifts. The analysis yielded a saddle-shaped fitness surface with two local peaks. Different amino acid profiles appear to elicit continued feeding on the spermatophylax either because they offer the same level of gustatory appeal, or because they differentially affect both the gustatory appeal and texture of the spermatophylax. We conclude that the gustatory response of females to males' nuptial food gifts r...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jun 7, 2013·Biology Letters·Benjamin J WegenerBob B M Wong
Jun 14, 2013·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Kevin P Oh, Kerry L Shaw
Nov 8, 2013·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Sandra SteigerScott K Sakaluk
Nov 14, 2015·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·James RapkinJohn Hunt
Mar 23, 2013·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·S N GershmanS K Sakaluk
Jul 24, 2015·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·K R DuffieldS K Sakaluk
Jan 1, 2014·Insects·Sandra Steiger, Johannes Stökl

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