Département des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888 succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, QC H3C 3P8, Canada.
Proc Biol Sci. 2020 Jul 29;287(1931):20200975. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0975.
Alternative mating strategies are widespread among animal taxa, with strategies controlled by a genetic polymorphism (Mendelian strategy) being rarer in nature than condition-dependent developmental strategies. Mendelian strategies are predicted to have equal average fitnesses and the proportion of offspring produced by a strategy should equal the equilibrium proportion of individuals representing the strategy in a population. Developmental strategies are not expected to produce offspring in equilibrium proportions; however, whether the alternative phenotypes should have equal average fitness is debated. The Wellington tree wētā () (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae) is a harem polygynous insect in which intense sexual competition has favoured the evolution of three alternative mating strategies that differ in weapon size and the ability to fight for control of harems. Here, we use molecular genotyping to test the hypothesis that the alternative strategies in this species are maintained by having equal relative fitness and that morphs produce offspring in equilibrium proportions. As expected, the average relative fitness of the three strategies did not significantly differ and the proportion of offspring produced by each morph is equal to the frequency of that morph in the population. Our results support the hypothesis that the alternative male morphs in represent Mendelian strategies.
动物类群中广泛存在着替代交配策略，由遗传多态性（孟德尔策略）控制的策略比依赖条件的发育策略在自然界中更为罕见。孟德尔策略预计具有相等的平均适合度，并且一种策略产生的后代比例应等于该策略在种群中代表的个体的平衡比例。发育策略预计不会以平衡比例产生后代；然而，替代表型是否应该具有相等的平均适合度存在争议。惠灵顿树蟋蟀 ()（直翅目：Anostostomatidae）是一种后宫多配偶昆虫，强烈的性竞争促进了三种替代交配策略的进化，这些策略在武器大小和争夺后宫控制权的能力上存在差异。在这里，我们使用分子基因分型来检验以下假设：即该物种中的替代策略是通过具有相等的相对适合度来维持的，并且形态以平衡比例产生后代。正如预期的那样，三种策略的平均相对适合度没有显著差异，并且每种形态产生的后代比例等于该形态在种群中的频率。我们的结果支持这样的假设，即代表孟德尔策略的替代雄性形态在 中。
