Males perceive honest information from female released sex pheromone in a moth. (13th July 2021)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Males perceive honest information from female released sex pheromone in a moth. (13th July 2021)
- Main Title:
- Males perceive honest information from female released sex pheromone in a moth
- Authors:
- Gonzalez-Karlsson, Adrea
Golov, Yftach
Steinitz, Hadass
Moncaz, Aviad
Halon, Eyal
Horowitz, Rami
Goldenberg, Inna
Gurka, Roi
Liberzon, Alexander
Soroker, Victoria
Jurenka, Russell
Harari, Ally R - Editors:
- Snell-Rood, Emilie
- Abstract:
- Abstract: There is accumulating evidence that male insects advertise their quality to conspecific females through pheromones. However, most studies of female released sex pheromone assume information transfer regarding merely the species of the female and her mating status. We show that more information is conveyed through the female sex pheromone, positioning it as an honest sexual trait. We demonstrate that females in bad physical conditions (small, starved, or old) lay significantly fewer eggs than females in good conditions (large, fed, or young). The ratio of components in the sex pheromone blend in gland extracts of the female pink bollworm moths provided honest information on most of the phenotypic conditions tested, whereas the pheromone amount in the glands provided an honest signal of quality for extreme phenotypes only. Moreover, males used the information conveyed by the female pheromone to choose their mates, approaching females that signaled higher reproductive potential. In addition, when simulating the female effect, using the synthetic pheromone blend that represents higher quality females (0.6:0.4 ZZ:ZE), more males were attracted to this blend than to the blend representing the population mean (0.5:0.5 ZZ:ZE). Both, female advertisement for males and the male choosiness, suggest that pheromones have evolved as sexual traits under directional, sexual selection. We suggest that the pheromone blend may serve as a multicomponent signal whereby each componentAbstract: There is accumulating evidence that male insects advertise their quality to conspecific females through pheromones. However, most studies of female released sex pheromone assume information transfer regarding merely the species of the female and her mating status. We show that more information is conveyed through the female sex pheromone, positioning it as an honest sexual trait. We demonstrate that females in bad physical conditions (small, starved, or old) lay significantly fewer eggs than females in good conditions (large, fed, or young). The ratio of components in the sex pheromone blend in gland extracts of the female pink bollworm moths provided honest information on most of the phenotypic conditions tested, whereas the pheromone amount in the glands provided an honest signal of quality for extreme phenotypes only. Moreover, males used the information conveyed by the female pheromone to choose their mates, approaching females that signaled higher reproductive potential. In addition, when simulating the female effect, using the synthetic pheromone blend that represents higher quality females (0.6:0.4 ZZ:ZE), more males were attracted to this blend than to the blend representing the population mean (0.5:0.5 ZZ:ZE). Both, female advertisement for males and the male choosiness, suggest that pheromones have evolved as sexual traits under directional, sexual selection. We suggest that the pheromone blend may serve as a multicomponent signal whereby each component adds information concerning the current condition of the female, and all are necessary to elicit a mate searching response. Abstract : Most studies of mate choice focus on females choosing males, based on traits that indicate their quality. This study demonstrates that male moths choose females based on their pheromone characteristics. The pheromone reflects the female's body size, her age and nutrition level, which in turn reflects the female's lifetime fecundity. Thus, males that choose females based on the information in their pheromone also choose females that are more fecund. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Behavioral ecology. Volume 32:Number 6(2021)
- Journal:
- Behavioral ecology
- Issue:
- Volume 32:Number 6(2021)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 32, Issue 6 (2021)
- Year:
- 2021
- Volume:
- 32
- Issue:
- 6
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2021-0032-0006-0000
- Page Start:
- 1127
- Page End:
- 1137
- Publication Date:
- 2021-07-13
- Subjects:
- handicap principle -- mate choice -- phenotypic conditions -- sex pheromone -- moth -- sexual selection
Animal behavior -- Periodicals
Behavior evolution -- Periodicals
Ecology -- Periodicals
Psychology, Comparative -- Periodicals
591.5 - Journal URLs:
- http://beheco.oupjournals.org ↗
http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org ↗
http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/ ↗
http://firstsearch.oclc.org ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1093/beheco/arab073 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 1045-2249
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 1877.390000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 20270.xml