1. Reproduction
BIOL 3100

2. How do ecological factors influence the evolution of ornamental traits?

3. The streak-backed oriole is sedentary and monocrhomatic
The migratory Bullock’s orioles are sexually dichromatic

4. Alternative mating tactics
Generally, it pays to be dominant, but what happens when dominance isn’t an option?

5. Dominant male baboons may be expected to control access to females and sire all the offspring, but they don’t. Why?

7. Other alternative tactics
While dominant gray seal males fight over access to females that are hauled out on beaches with their pups, sub-dominant males look for and find mates swimming out in the water near the colony
It takes 3 minutes for a male marine iguana to ejaculate and small males are forcibly removed from females.
To cope, small males ejaculate prior to mating and store their sperm in their bodies, then evert their penis when mating with their partner.

8. Conditional Mating Strategies
Or…making the best of a bad situation
Going to be scrawny and uncompetitive with the large males?
No problem, grow big testes!

11. Distinct mating tactics
Orange – dominant, polygynous
Blue – monogamous, mate guarding
Yellow – sneakers

14. Sperm Competition
Competition among males to fertilize females doesn’t stop at ejaculation
1st male advantage – often seen in external fertilizing species, as well as species with sperm storage capabilities
Last male advantage – Common in species that can remove competing sperm

15. Sperm competition
Selection can act on sperm morphology, sperm number, as well as females’ ability to control fertilization success
Drosophila bifurca have 58mm long sperm!
Wood mice sperm have an apical hook used to attach to other sperm and create mobile trains, which have higher fertilization success than individual sperm
A splendid fairy wren male may have 8 billion sperm at any given time

16. Across taxonomic groups, in species that have a high potential for sperm competition, there are relationships between sperm competition and ejaculate quality/sperm production

17. In birds, there is a direct relationship between levels of extra-pair paternity and testis mass

18. Sperm Competition Selection on sperm can also occur within a species
Older, territorial males nesting in the interior of a colony produce ejaculates with more sperm that swim faster, giving them a fertilization advantage
Sneakers may release their sperm at exactly the same time, but sneakers will fertilize more eggs
Sperm competition occurs across the animal kingdom

19. Removing competing sperm
Male black-winged damselflies use a spiky, modified penis to scrub out and remove gametes from the female’s sperm storage organ before transferring their own sperm.
Male dunnocks peck at the cloaca of their partners if they find another male near her. This behaviour results in her ejecting a droplet of ejaculate from the other male.

20. Copulatory plugs
Observed in mammals, spiders, reptiles, and insects, copulatory plugs are inserted just after copulation in order to limit subsequent copulations by another male.
The golden orb spider, Nephila fenestra males take this to a whole new level

22. Females still hold the cards
Females may store the sperm of their social partner, but instead use recently received sperm from an extra-pair partner to fertilize the egg.

23. Tree swallows are socially monogamous migratory passerines
Both males and females provide parental care to offspring
Have one of the highest rates of extra-pair paternity in any bird species (83% of nests, 47% of nestlings in an Ontario Population; Stapelton et al. 2007)
Thus, selection will act strongly on males to assure fertilization success.

25. Copulation attempts drop quickly after the first egg is laid
Frequent copulations decrease the risk of cuckoldry in presence of sperm competition

26. Types of Mating Systems
Polygyny
Polyandry
Polygynandry
Monogamy

27. Types of Mating Systems
Polygyny
Polyandry
Polygynandry
Monogamy

28. Polygynous Mating Systems
Female defense polygyny
Resource defense polygyny
Lek polygyny
Scramble competition polygyny

29. Female Defense Polygyny
Theory: When receptive females cluster, males may compete directly for those clusters, resulting in female defense polygyny
Evidence: Monogamy (in mammals) never occurs when females live in groups
In many groups, females congregate for protection against predators and males compete to control sexual access to the group.

30. Montezuma oropendolas monopolize females in small colonies, but once the colony gets large, it becomes difficult to defend and maintain

31. How do we know it’s actually female defense?
Couldn’t it just be territory defense?

32. Marine siphonoecetine amphipods construct elaborate homes
Marine siphonoecetine amphipods construct elaborate homes. When males encounter a female, they glue her home to their own, creating an apartment complex

33. Resource Defense Polygyny
This African cichlid, Lamprologus callipterus, creates a shell midden that he defends against predators and other males. Females bring their eggs to the midden and nest within one of the shells. Up to 14 females may nest within the male’s large midden

34. Changes in the distribution of resources can change the mating system of dunnocks