Bloch Qazi M C
Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA.
J Evol Biol. 2003 Jan;16(1):170-6. doi: 10.1046/j.1420-9101.2003.00501.x.
In polyandrous mating systems, events occurring during copulation can alter the fate of the mating male's sperm. These events may exert selective pressures resulting in the evolution of diverse reproductive behaviours, morphologies and physiologies. This study investigates the role of male and female copulatory behaviours on sperm fate in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. I describe and quantify copulatory behaviours for mating pairs, and examine sperm fate by quantifying sperm transfer, sperm storage and second male sperm precedence. Whereas female quiescence during copulation and male leg rubbing during copulation together account for significant variation (26%) in sperm precedence, female copulatory quiescence alone provides information about the timing and numbers of sperm transferred. These experiments show that a female copulatory behaviour predicts sperm fate, and emphasize the value of studying variation in both male and female copulatory behaviours for understanding factors affecting sperm use.
在一妻多夫制的交配系统中，交配过程中发生的事件会改变交配雄性精子的命运。这些事件可能施加选择压力，导致各种生殖行为、形态和生理特征的进化。本研究调查了赤拟谷盗（Tribolium castaneum）中雄性和雌性交配行为对精子命运的作用。我描述并量化了交配雌雄对的交配行为，并通过量化精子转移、精子储存和第二只雄性精子优先度来研究精子命运。虽然交配期间雌性的静止不动和雄性的腿部摩擦共同解释了精子优先度的显著差异（26%），但仅雌性交配静止不动就能提供有关精子转移时间和数量的信息。这些实验表明，雌性交配行为可预测精子命运，并强调了研究雄性和雌性交配行为的变异对于理解影响精子利用因素的价值。
