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Related Experiment Videos

Dimensionless invariants from foraging theory's marginal value theorem.

E L Charnov1, G A Parker

  • 1Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|February 28, 1995
PubMed
Summary

In dung flies, larger males have shorter mating durations but transfer sperm faster, ensuring consistent fertilization success regardless of size. This study explores how natural selection favors this size-independent reproductive strategy.

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ON IRREVERSIBLE EVOLUTION.

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ENIGMATIC REPTILIAN SEX RATIOS.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2017
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THE REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR AND THE NATURE OF SEXUAL SELECTION IN SCATOPHAGA STERCORARIA L. (DIPTERA: SCATOPHAGIDAE). VII. THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE PASSIVE PHASE.

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Reproductive Strategies

Background:

  • Male body size influences mating duration and sperm transfer rate in dung flies.
  • The dimensionless product of sperm transfer rate and copula duration (c.t) remains constant across male sizes.
  • Fertilization success is largely independent of male body size due to this constant product.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the evolutionary conditions favoring phenotypic invariance in fertilization success.
  • To model how natural selection acts on reproductive strategies in dung flies.
  • To generalize findings on optimal foraging and patch residence times to include phenotypic variation.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized fitness optimization models to study natural selection.

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  • Analyzed the relationship between male body size, copula duration (t), and sperm transfer rate (c).
  • Calculated the dimensionless product (c.t) and its impact on fertilization probability.

    • Main Results:

    • Copula duration (t) decreases as male body size increases; sperm transfer rate (c) increases with male body size.
    • The dimensionless product (c.t) is approximately constant (~2.2) across male sizes.
    • Fertilization success is consistently high (~89%) for the most recent male, irrespective of his body size.

    Conclusions:

    • Natural selection may favor a constant fertilization efficiency despite varying male phenotypes.
    • The observed reproductive strategy in dung flies demonstrates phenotypic invariance driven by evolutionary pressures.
    • The principles derived can inform broader ecological theories on foraging and resource utilization.