Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Evolutionary trade-off between weapons and testes.

Leigh W Simmons1, Douglas J Emlen

  • 1Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology (M092), University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia. lsimmons@cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|October 21, 2006
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Solitary Confinement: Surprising Post-Copulatory Behaviour of an Australian Species of Wishbone Spider (Mygalomorphae: Anamidae: <i>Aname</i>).

Ecology and evolution·2026
Same author

Exaggerated male hindlegs function as pure weapons of male-male combat in thorny devil stick insects.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2026
Same author

Thirty Years of the Biology of Spermatozoa: The Rise and Future of an Evolutionary Paradigm.

Ecology and evolution·2026
Same author

Ejaculate investment differs by population, but not wing morph or perceived sperm competition risk, in Pacific field crickets.

Journal of evolutionary biology·2025
Same author

Social Interactions Are Related to Cognitive Development in Western Australian Magpie Fledglings.

Ecology and evolution·2025
Same author

Corrigendum to: Integrative taxonomy of the hooded wishbone spiders of the Aname mellosa-complex from Western Australia (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Anamidae).

Invertebrate systematics·2025

Male beetles face a trade-off between developing weapons for mating and investing in testes for sperm competition. Resource allocation impacts horn evolution and sperm production, influencing sexual competition strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Animal Behavior
  • Reproductive Biology

Background:

  • Male mating competition drives the evolution of weaponry for mate acquisition.
  • Post-mating sperm competition occurs when females mate with multiple males.
  • Theory predicts increased sperm production under sperm competition, assuming a trade-off with other life-history traits.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the trade-off between investment in testes (sperm production) and weapons (mate acquisition) in horned beetles (Onthophagus).
  • To examine how resource allocation influences the evolution of sexual traits and competition.

Main Methods:

  • Within-species study: Manipulated horn development in male beetles.
  • Cross-species analysis: Examined allometric relationships between horn size, testes size, and body size.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Investigated developmental mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity and canalization.

    • Main Results:

    • Males prevented from growing horns showed increased body size and relatively larger testes.
    • No general correlation between relative horn and testes size across species.
    • Negative association between allometric slopes of horn size and testes size on body size.

    Conclusions:

    • A resource allocation trade-off exists between pre-mating (weapons) and post-mating (sperm production) sexual traits.
    • Developmental mechanisms, including phenotypic plasticity, mediate this trade-off.
    • This trade-off significantly influences the evolutionary diversification of male weaponry and sexual competition.