Journal
ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
Volume 78, Issue 4, Pages 839-846Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.07.002
Keywords
accessory gland; Bactrocera tryoni; multiple mating; Queensland fruit fly; sperm competition; sperm depletion
Categories
Funding
- Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) [HG06040]
- UNESCO-L'Oreal Co-sponsored Fellowship
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Male insects that are unable to replenish sperm supplies between matings can suffer fitness costs either because their mates are more likely to accept subsequent suitors, or because their sperm are outnumbered when females do remate. We assessed the ability of fertile and sterile (irradiated) male Queensland fruit flies, Bactrocera tryoni ('Q-flies'), to have sperm stored by five sequential mates as well as the association between sperm depletion and female remating tendency. Sequential mates of fertile males stored similar numbers of sperm, indicating ample ability to replenish and maintain constant supplies between their once-daily mating opportunities. In contrast, sequential mates of sterile males stored progressively fewer sperm, with only trivial numbers of sperm stored by females mated by sterile males that had mated with two or more females previously. Despite the massive reduction in sperm storage by sequential mates of sterile males, fertile and sterile males were similar in their ability to induce sexual inhibition in their mates (to at least 30 days) and neither showed any decline in this ability across sequential matings. The ability of multiple-mated sterile males to induce sexual inhibition in their mates despite near or complete absence of sperm provides compelling evidence that sperm abundance plays no role in the induction of sexual inhibition in this species. (C) 2009 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available