Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2026
15:19
Effect of Male Accessory Gland Products on Egg Laying in Gastropod Molluscs
Published on: June 22, 2014
How cuckoldry can decrease the opportunity for sexual selection: data and theory from a genetic parentage analysis of
A G Jones1, D Walker, C Kvarnemo
1Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. jonesa@bcc.orst.edu
Summary
In sand gobies, sneaker males steal fertilizations in about 50% of nests, reducing sexual selection opportunities. This contrasts with cuckoldry
Area of Science:
- * Behavioral Ecology
- * Evolutionary Biology
- * Marine Biology
Background:
- * Alternative mating strategies, like sneaking, are widespread in nature.
- * Cuckoldry (fertilization thievery) can decrease sexual selection intensity, especially in polygamous species.
- * The sand goby (Pomatoschistus minutus) exhibits male nest-building and defense behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To investigate the impact of sneaking on sexual selection opportunity in the sand goby.
- * To analyze the mating system dynamics, including sneaker male fertilization success and female multiple mating.
Main Methods:
- * Microsatellite-based genetic analysis of a natural sand goby population.
- * Quantification of sneaker male fertilization rates and female mating frequencies.
- * Development of a mathematical model to assess the effect of sneaking on sexual selection.
Main Results:
- * Sneaker males fertilized eggs in approximately 50% of analyzed nests.
- * Multiple sneaker males were observed fertilizing eggs from a single female.
- * Nesting males received eggs from an average of 3.4 females per nest.
- * Mathematical modeling indicated that sneaking significantly decreases sexual selection opportunity in this species.
Conclusions:
- * Sneaking in the sand goby reduces the opportunity for sexual selection, contrary to some cuckoldry effects in monogamous species.
- * The relationship between cuckoldry rates and sexual selection intensity is more complex than previously assumed.
- * Findings highlight the intricate interplay between mating strategies and sexual selection dynamics in polygynous systems.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Mate Choice
Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
01:46Types of Selection
Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
01:21Frequency-dependent Selection
When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.Positive Frequency-Dependent SelectionIn positive...
02:16Genetics of Speciation
Speciation is the evolutionary process resulting in the formation of new, distinct species—groups of reproductively isolated populations.The genetics of speciation involves the different traits or isolating mechanisms preventing gene exchange, leading to reproductive isolation. Reproductive isolation can be due to reproductive barriers that have effects either before or after the formation of a zygote. Pre-zygotic mechanisms prevent fertilization from occurring, and post-zygotic mechanisms...
01:24Testing a Claim about Population Proportion
A complete procedure for testing a claim about a population proportion is provided here.
There are two methods of testing a claim about a population proportion: (1) Using the sample proportion from the data where a binomial distribution is approximated to the normal distribution and (2) Using the binomial probabilities calculated from the data.
The first method uses normal distribution as an approximation to the binomial distribution. The requirements are as follows: sample size is large...
There are two methods of testing a claim about a population proportion: (1) Using the sample proportion from the data where a binomial distribution is approximated to the normal distribution and (2) Using the binomial probabilities calculated from the data.
The first method uses normal distribution as an approximation to the binomial distribution. The requirements are as follows: sample size is large...
01:06Natural Selection and Mating Preferences
The principle of natural selection posits that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is closely intertwined with mating preferences, a key aspect of sexual selection, which evolutionary psychologists believe is driven by instincts to propagate one's genes. Such instincts significantly influence mating behaviors and preferences between genders.
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing, inherently...
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing, inherently...