Pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection favor aggressive, young males in polyandrous groups of red junglefowl

A challenge in evolutionary biology is to understand the operation of sexual selection on males in polyandrous groups, where sexual selection occurs before and after mating. Here, we combine fine-grained behavioural information (>41,000 interactions) with molecular parentage data to study sex...

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Main Author: Pizzari, T
Format: Journal article
Published: Wiley 2017
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author Pizzari, T
author_facet Pizzari, T
author_sort Pizzari, T
collection OXFORD
description A challenge in evolutionary biology is to understand the operation of sexual selection on males in polyandrous groups, where sexual selection occurs before and after mating. Here, we combine fine-grained behavioural information (>41,000 interactions) with molecular parentage data to study sexual selection in replicated, age-structured groups of polyandrous red junglefowl, Gallus gallus. Male reproductive success was determined by the number of females mated (precopulatory sexual selection) and his paternity share, which was driven by the polyandry of his female partners (postcopulatory sexual selection). Pre- and postcopulatory components of male reproductive success covaried positively; males with high mating success also had high paternity share. Two male phenotypes affected male pre- and postcopulatory performance: average aggressiveness towards rival males and age. Aggressive males mated with more females and more often with individual females, resulting in higher sexual exclusivity. Younger males mated with more females and more often with individual females, suffering less intense sperm competition than older males. Older males had a lower paternity share even allowing for their limited sexual exclusivity, indicating they may produce less competitive ejaculates. These results indicate that - in these populations - postcopulatory sexual selection reinforces precopulatory sexual selection, consistently promoting younger and more aggressive males.
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spelling oxford-uuid:ef54c214-7acb-4e81-993b-564ec92588602022-03-27T11:39:34ZPre- and postcopulatory sexual selection favor aggressive, young males in polyandrous groups of red junglefowlJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:ef54c214-7acb-4e81-993b-564ec9258860Symplectic Elements at OxfordWiley2017Pizzari, TA challenge in evolutionary biology is to understand the operation of sexual selection on males in polyandrous groups, where sexual selection occurs before and after mating. Here, we combine fine-grained behavioural information (>41,000 interactions) with molecular parentage data to study sexual selection in replicated, age-structured groups of polyandrous red junglefowl, Gallus gallus. Male reproductive success was determined by the number of females mated (precopulatory sexual selection) and his paternity share, which was driven by the polyandry of his female partners (postcopulatory sexual selection). Pre- and postcopulatory components of male reproductive success covaried positively; males with high mating success also had high paternity share. Two male phenotypes affected male pre- and postcopulatory performance: average aggressiveness towards rival males and age. Aggressive males mated with more females and more often with individual females, resulting in higher sexual exclusivity. Younger males mated with more females and more often with individual females, suffering less intense sperm competition than older males. Older males had a lower paternity share even allowing for their limited sexual exclusivity, indicating they may produce less competitive ejaculates. These results indicate that - in these populations - postcopulatory sexual selection reinforces precopulatory sexual selection, consistently promoting younger and more aggressive males.
spellingShingle Pizzari, T
Pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection favor aggressive, young males in polyandrous groups of red junglefowl
title Pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection favor aggressive, young males in polyandrous groups of red junglefowl
title_full Pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection favor aggressive, young males in polyandrous groups of red junglefowl
title_fullStr Pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection favor aggressive, young males in polyandrous groups of red junglefowl
title_full_unstemmed Pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection favor aggressive, young males in polyandrous groups of red junglefowl
title_short Pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection favor aggressive, young males in polyandrous groups of red junglefowl
title_sort pre and postcopulatory sexual selection favor aggressive young males in polyandrous groups of red junglefowl
work_keys_str_mv AT pizzarit preandpostcopulatorysexualselectionfavoraggressiveyoungmalesinpolyandrousgroupsofredjunglefowl