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46 results on '"House, Clarissa M."'

31. Same-sex sexual behaviour as a dominance display

Author

Lane, Sarah M., Haughan, Alice E., Evans, Daniel, Tregenza, Tom, and House, Clarissa M.

Subjects
musculoskeletal diseases, Gnatocerus cornutus, same-sex sexual behaviour, aggression, male mating success, dominance, eye diseases, male–male contests, stomatognathic diseases, stomatognathic system, courtship, Animal Science and Zoology, noninjurious display, skin and connective tissue diseases, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Abstract

Same-sex sexual behaviour (SSB) is widespread across taxa. One adaptive hypothesis to explain the occurrence and maintenance of SSB is that it acts to intensify or diminish aggression by providing males with a means to reinforce or resolve dominance. However, evidence for this hypothesis is very limited across taxa and the possibility that SSB acts as an extension of intrasexual competition remains contentious. We investigated the role of SSB in intensifying or diminishing aggression in the broad-horned flour beetle, Gnatocerus cornutus. We tested the hypothesis that SSB is an extension of male–male competition by observing how the occurrence of SSB and the stability of SSB courtship roles (i.e. whether males switched between mounting and being mounted) influenced levels of aggression within pairs. We found that, typically, males rapidly establish fixed SSB roles and moreover that the occurrence of SSB and the stability of SSB roles had a highly significant effect on levels of aggression observed within pairs. Pairs in which one male consistently mounted the other showed significantly lower levels of aggression than pairs in which neither male exhibited SSB or in which males continuously switched SSB roles and attempted to mount each other. Furthermore, males that were consistently on the receiving end of SSB demonstrated lower propensity to court females and had a lower mating success than active males. This pattern was analogous to that found in loser males as a result of fighting. Males that lost fights also courted less and had lower mating success than males that won fights. Our findings provide the first empirical support for the hypothesis that SSB is an extension of male–male competition. Furthermore, our results suggest that SSB may act as a display, allowing males to resolve dominance hierarchies without escalating into an injurious fight.

Published
2016
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34. Sexual selection

Author

Hosken, David J. and House, Clarissa M.

Subjects
Male, Sex Characteristics, Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all), Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all), Animals, Female, Mating Preference, Animal, Selection, Genetic, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Biological Evolution, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Abstract

SummarySexual selection is a concept that has probably been misunderstood and misrepresented more than any other idea in evolutionary biology, confusion that continues to the present day. We are not entirely sure why this is, but sexual politics seems to have played its role, as does a failure to understand what sexual selection is and why it was initially invoked. While in some ways less intuitive than natural selection, sexual selection is conceptually identical to it, and evolution via either mechanism will occur given sufficient genetic variation. Recent claims that sexual selection theory is fundamentally flawed are simply wrong and ignore an enormous body of evidence that provides a bedrock of support for this major mechanism of organic evolution. In fact it is partly due to this solid foundation that current research has largely shifted from documenting whether or not sexual selection occurs, to addressing more complex evolutionary questions.

Published
2011

46. Sexually antagonistic coevolution of the male nuptial gift and female feeding behaviour in decorated crickets.

Author

Burns-Dunn S, Mortys T, House CM, Mitchell C, Duffield KR, Foquet B, Sadd BM, Sakaluk SK, and Hunt J

Subjects
Animals, Male, Female, Biological Coevolution, Biological Evolution, Sex Ratio, Gryllidae physiology, Feeding Behavior, Sexual Behavior, Animal
Abstract

The evolution of nuptial gifts has traditionally been considered a harmonious affair, providing benefits to both mating partners. There is growing evidence, however, that receiving a nuptial gift can be actively detrimental to the female. In decorated crickets ( Gryllodes sigillatus ), males produce a gelatinous spermatophylax that enhances sperm transfer but provides little nutritional benefit and hinders female post-copulatory mate choice. Here, we examine the sexually antagonistic coevolution of the spermatophylax and the female feeding response to this gift in G. sigillatus maintained in experimental populations with either a male-biased or female-biased adult sex ratio. After 25 generations, males evolving in male-biased populations produced heavier spermatophylaxes with a more manipulative combination of free amino acids than those evolving in female-biased populations. Moreover, when the spermatophylax originated from the same selection regime, females evolving in male-biased populations always had shorter feeding durations than those evolving in female-biased populations, indicating the evolution of greater resistance. Across populations, female feeding duration increased with the mass and manipulative combination of free amino acids in the spermatophylax, suggesting sexually antagonistic coevolution. Collectively, our work demonstrates a key role for interlocus sexual conflict and sexually antagonistic coevolution in the mating system of G. sigillatus .

Published
2024
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