The costs and benefits of multiple mating in a mostly monandrous wasp

The taxonomically widespread nature of polyandry remains a puzzle. Much of the empirical work regarding the costs and benefits of multiple mating to females has, for obvious reasons, relied on species that are already highly polyandrous. However, this makes it difficult to separate the processes tha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evolution 2015-04, Vol.69 (4), p.939-949
Main Authors: Boulton, Rebecca A., Shuker, David M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animal reproduction
Animals
Evolution
Evolutionary biology
Experiments
Fecundity
Female
Female animals
Fertility
Harassment
Hymenoptera
Insects
Local mate competition
Longevity
Male
Male animals
Mating behavior
Nasonia vitripennis
Original
Oviposition
Parasite hosts
Parasites
polyandry
Reproduction
sex allocation
Sex ratio
Sexual Behavior, Animal
sexual selection
Spermatozoa
Wasps - physiology
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Summary:The taxonomically widespread nature of polyandry remains a puzzle. Much of the empirical work regarding the costs and benefits of multiple mating to females has, for obvious reasons, relied on species that are already highly polyandrous. However, this makes it difficult to separate the processes that maintain the current level of polyandry from the processes that facilitate its expression and initiated its evolution. Here we consider the costs and benefits of polyandry in Nasonia vitripennis, a species of parasitoid wasp that is "mostly monandrous" in the wild, but which evolves polyandry under laboratory culture conditions. In a series of six experiments, we show that females gain a direct fecundity and longevity benefit from mating multiply with virgin males. Conversely, mating multiply with previously mated males actually results in a fecundity cost. Sexual harassment may also represent a significant cost of reproduction. Harassment was, however, only costly during oviposition, resulting in reduced fecundity, longevity, and disrupted sex allocation. Our results show that ecological changes, in our case associated with differences in the local mating structure in the laboratory can alter the costs and benefits of mating and harassment and potentially lead to shifts in mating patterns.
ISSN:0014-3820
1558-5646
DOI:10.1111/evo.12636