Sexual audience affects male's reproduction investment without consequences on reproductive outputs. (18th January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Louâpre, Philippe; Muller, Karen; Bettencourt‐Amarante, Soline; Thiery, Denis; Moreau, Jérôme
• Is Part Of: Insect science. Volume 29:Number 4(2022)
• Page Start: 1170
• Page End: 1180
• Publication Date: 2022-01-18
• Subjects: Lobesia botrana -- male–male competition -- mating behavior -- sexual conflict -- sexual selection -- sperm competition; Insects -- Periodicals; Entomology -- Periodicals; 595.705
• DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12990
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1672-9609

Abstract

Abstract: Males evolved plastic strategies to respond to male–male competition and exhibit adaptive traits and behaviors maximizing their access to the females and limiting sperm competition. Mating behaviors allow males to express quick responses to current sexual audience, that is, the number of nearby conspecifics prone to mate. In contrast, physiological responses are frequently delayed because they are constrained by the time and resources having to be mobilized to produce and export sperm and associated products. This is especially critical in species for which males produce spermatophores. Here we investigated in what extend moth males (the tortricid moth Lobesia botrana ) producing spermatophores exhibit plastic behavioral and physiological responses to different sexual audiences before and during mating and the consequences for their reproductive output. We found that males adjusted their mating behaviors and spermatophore size to a potentially elevated risk of sperm competition perceived before mating. In addition, males responded to the closed presence of females during mating by reducing their mating duration. Surprisingly, the various behavioral and physiological responses we highlighted here were not fully reflected in their reproductive performance as we did not reveal any effect on fecundity and fertility of their mate. The selective pressure exerted on males experiencing male–male competition could thus be sufficient to trigger adjustment in male mating behaviors but constrains physiological responses according to the perception of competition. Abstract : Graphical Abstract: Sexual audience, that is, the number and quality of nearby conspecifics prone to mate, is a key parameter informing males about male–male competition. Using an experimental approach, we show that Lepidopteran males producing spermatophores express different plastic physiological and behavioral responses to the sexual audience they perceive 24 h prior or during mating. Males express higher investment in mating, that is not fully reflected in their reproductive performance.