Department of Animal Ecology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
PLoS One. 2007 Jun 27;2(6):e580. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000580.
Genetic and phenotypic variation in female response towards male mating attempts has been found in several laboratory studies, demonstrating sexually antagonistic co-evolution driven by mating costs on female fitness. Theoretical models suggest that the type and degree of genetic variation in female resistance could affect the evolutionary outcome of sexually antagonistic mating interactions, resulting in either rapid development of reproductive isolation and speciation or genetic clustering and female sexual polymorphisms. However, evidence for genetic variation of this kind in natural populations of non-model organisms is very limited. Likewise, we lack knowledge on female fecundity-consequences of matings and the degree of male mating harassment in natural settings. Here we present such data from natural populations of a colour polymorphic damselfly. Using a novel experimental technique of colour dusting males in the field, we show that heritable female colour morphs differ in their propensity to accept male mating attempts. These morphs also differ in their degree of resistance towards male mating attempts, the number of realized matings and in their fecundity-tolerance to matings and mating attempts. These results show that there may be genetic variation in both resistance and tolerance to male mating attempts (fitness consequences of matings) in natural populations, similar to the situation in plant-pathogen resistance systems. Male mating harassment could promote the maintenance of a sexual mating polymorphism in females, one of few empirical examples of sympatric genetic clusters maintained by sexual conflict.
在几项实验室研究中发现，女性对雄性求偶尝试的反应存在遗传和表型上的变异，这表明交配成本对雌性适应性的性拮抗协同进化。理论模型表明，雌性抗性的遗传变异的类型和程度可能会影响性拮抗交配相互作用的进化结果，导致生殖隔离和物种形成的快速发展，或遗传聚类和雌性性多态性。然而，在非模式生物的自然种群中，这种遗传变异的证据非常有限。同样，我们也缺乏关于自然环境中雌性繁殖力——交配后果和雄性交配骚扰程度的知识。在这里，我们从一种颜色多态性的蜻蜓自然种群中提供了这样的数据。利用一种新的野外雄性颜色粉尘实验技术，我们发现可遗传的雌性颜色形态在接受雄性求偶尝试的倾向方面存在差异。这些形态在抵抗雄性求偶尝试的程度、实际交配的数量以及对交配和求偶的繁殖力耐受性方面也存在差异。这些结果表明，在自然种群中，可能存在对雄性求偶尝试的抗性和耐受性（交配的适应性后果）的遗传变异，类似于植物-病原体抗性系统中的情况。雄性交配骚扰可能促进了雌性中存在的性交配多态性的维持，这是少数几个由性冲突维持的同域遗传聚类的实证例子之一。
