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Phenotypic manipulation reveals sexual conflict over precopula duration

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Abstract

Sexual conflict is common in nature, but detailed behavioral studies on the role female resistance behavior plays in shaping mating patterns are rare. I manipulated female resistance to examine its effects on pairing dynamics in two ecologically different freshwater amphipods. I found evidence for female behavior playing a role in both the outcome of pre-pairing interactions and the initiation of pairing in both species. In these species, the male optimum pairing duration is greater than the value preferred by females or compromised pairing durations observed under natural conditions, thus indicating sexual conflict. Furthermore, the proportion of male–female encounters producing male grasping was greater and the duration of such interactions was longer when female resistance was reduced. Thus, sexual conflict over pairing duration may select simultaneously for female resistance and for male persistence both of which mediate the outcome of pre-pairing interactions in Hyalella. Contact precopulatory mate guarding and the interactions that precede it are common components of crustacean and insect mating systems, suggesting that such conflicts may play an important role in the evolution of mating traits in many taxa.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by grants from The University of Oklahoma Graduate Student Senate, and scholarships from the University of Oklahoma, College of Arts and Sciences (Sturgis Scholarship), Department of Zoology (Blanche Adams Memorial Scholarship) and Biological Station (Summer Fellowship). My graduate advisor Gary Wellborn provided insightful comments and encouragement throughout the preparation of the manuscript. I thank my advisory committee Wayne Elisens, Ola Fincke, Rosemary Knapp, and Douglas Mock for guidance and constructive criticisms. Veijo Jormalainen and an anonymous reviewer offered constructive comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This manuscript formed part of the requirements for a Doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of Oklahoma. The experiments herein comply with the current laws of the United States of America.

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  1. Department of Zoology and Biological Station, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

    Rickey D. Cothran

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Correspondence to Rickey D. Cothran.

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Communicated by P. Backwell

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Cothran, R.D. Phenotypic manipulation reveals sexual conflict over precopula duration. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 62, 1409–1416 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-008-0570-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-008-0570-z

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