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Sexual selection in relation to pest-management strategies
C R Boake1, T E Shelly, K Y Kaneshiro
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37996, USA.
Annual Review of Entomology
|January 1, 1996
Summary
Sexual selection principles can disrupt pest mating behaviors. Understanding intermale competition and female choice aids in developing effective pheromonal and sterile insect technique pest management strategies.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Pest Management
Background:
- Sexual selection, encompassing male competition and female choice, influences mating behaviors.
- These selection pressures operate across various stages of courtship and reproduction.
- Understanding sexual selection is crucial for pest control strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review key aspects of sexual selection theory.
- To illustrate the application of sexual selection principles to pest management.
- To explore novel pest control methods using pheromones and sterile insect technique (SIT).
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on sexual selection.
- Analysis of how sexual selection mechanisms apply to pest mating systems.
- Illustration of applications in pheromonal and SIT-based pest control programs.
Main Results:
- Sexual selection provides a framework for analyzing pest mating behavior.
- Pheromones and parapheromones are critical in mate attraction and choice.
- Identifying critical traits for sterile males can enhance SIT program efficacy.
Conclusions:
- Sexual selection theory offers novel approaches to pest management.
- Targeting mating behaviors through pheromones and improved SIT strategies can be effective.
- Encourages further study of pest mating systems by behavioral ecologists.
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.
01:32What is Natural Selection?
Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population, the trait controlling the variation must be heritable, and there must be an evolutionary advantage for variation in the trait.The Theory of Natural...
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...
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...