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

Sex Allocation: L'Enfer C'est les Autres?

João Alpedrinha1, Sara Magalhães1

  • 1Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Edifício C2, 3° Piso, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisbon, Portugal.

Current Biology : CB
|June 9, 2016
PubMed
Summary

Brine shrimp produce too many sons when near a related asexual species. This skewed sex ratio might be beneficial if males avoid mating with their own species, potentially increasing overall reproductive success.

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

Harnessing complexity may strangle it: what is a well-controlled experiment?

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same author

Spider mite genotypes with higher growth rate suffer more from competition but exert stronger reproductive interference.

The Journal of animal ecology·2026
Same author

Co-circulation and co-infection: parasite interactions across scales.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026
Same author

Evolution in Response to an Abiotic Stress Shapes Species Coexistence.

Ecology letters·2025
Same author

Performance, Nutrient Digestibility and Physiological Resilience of Juvenile Gilthead Seabream (<i>Sparus aurata</i>) Fed Organic and Circular Economy-Derived Diets.

Aquaculture nutrition·2025
Same author

Suppression of Plant Resistance May Be a Common Trait Among Adapted Herbivores.

Ecology and evolution·2025

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Reproductive strategies
  • Interspecies interactions

Background:

  • Brine shrimp (Artemia) exhibit diverse reproductive modes, including sexual and parthenogenetic reproduction.
  • Interspecies interactions can significantly influence the reproductive dynamics and population structure of interacting species.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the adaptive significance of sex ratio bias in brine shrimp populations when interacting with a related parthenogenetic species.
  • To determine if the production of excess sons by sexual brine shrimp is a maladaptive consequence or an adaptive strategy in the presence of a competing parthenogenetic lineage.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of sex ratios in sympatric and allopatric populations of sexual brine shrimp.
  • Modeling of reproductive success under different scenarios of interspecies mating and resource competition.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Behavioral observations of mating preferences and success rates between sexual and parthenogenetic brine shrimp.

    • Main Results:

    • Sexual brine shrimp populations in sympatry with parthenogenetic species exhibit a significant male-biased sex ratio compared to allopatric populations.
    • Males of the sexual species show a tendency to mate with females of the related parthenogenetic species.
    • Theoretical models suggest that this skewed sex ratio can be adaptive if males forgo mating opportunities with their own species.

    Conclusions:

    • The observed excess of sons in sexual brine shrimp co-occurring with parthenogenetic species may represent an adaptive strategy to avoid wasted mating effort on non-receptive females.
    • This phenomenon highlights the complex interplay between reproductive modes and interspecies competition in shaping evolutionary trajectories.
    • Understanding these dynamics is crucial for predicting the long-term coexistence and evolutionary fate of sexual and asexual lineages.