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Do female black field crickets Teleogryllus commodus benefit from polyandry?
M D Jennions1, J M Drayton, R Brooks
1School of Botany and Zoology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia. micheal.jennions@anu.edu.au
Journal of Evolutionary Biology
|June 23, 2007
Summary
Multiple matings in female insects do not guarantee better offspring survival or development. Polyandry in field crickets did not improve egg hatching or post-hatching success, and offspring maturation was slower.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Behavioral Ecology
- Insect Reproduction
Background:
- Female insects often increase fitness through multiple mating (polyandry) due to resource acquisition.
- Polyandry is hypothesized to provide genetic benefits, enhancing offspring viability and performance.
- Previous studies suggest polyandry can improve early embryo survival and offspring quality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of polyandry on offspring survival and performance in field crickets (Teleogryllus commodus).
- To determine if multiple mating by females confers genetic benefits to offspring, specifically egg hatching success and post-hatching survival.
- To assess the impact of polyandry on offspring maturation time, body size, and male offspring mating competitiveness.
Main Methods:
- Conducted two experiments with field crickets (Teleogryllus commodus) comparing monandrous (one mate) and polyandrous (two, three, or four mates) females.
- Standardized the number of matings per female to isolate the effects of mating frequency.
- Measured egg hatching success, post-hatching offspring survival, offspring maturation time, offspring body size, and male offspring mating success in competitive arenas.
Main Results:
- Polyandrous females did not exhibit higher egg hatching success compared to monandrous females in either experiment.
- No significant effect of polyandry was observed on post-hatching offspring survival.
- Offspring of polyandrous females took longer to mature; daughters were smaller, and sons were not heavier than those of monandrous females.
- Monandrous females' sons showed greater success in direct mating competition when controlling for male size.
Conclusions:
- Polyandry in field crickets does not confer benefits in terms of offspring hatching success or survival.
- While polyandry affects offspring development time and size, these effects are not consistently beneficial.
- Monandry may provide a mating advantage for male offspring in competitive scenarios, challenging the broad assumption of polyandry's universal benefits.
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