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Sexual selection by the seashore: the roles of body size and weaponry in mate choice and competition in the maritime earwig (Anisolabis maritima)

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Abstract

The spatial distribution of organisms can provide insight into their mating systems, either revealing mating preferences (intersexual selection for ornaments), competition for mates (intrasexual selection for armaments), or both. Teasing apart the relative contributions of these selective forces is a critical step in understanding mating systems, particularly given the potential combinations and complexities that arise when both sexes possess weaponry. We examined the mating system of the maritime earwig Anisolabis maritima, an insect well suited for studies of sexual selection because males differ markedly from females in body size (males are more variable in size, and sometimes substantially larger, than females) and weaponry (males possess asymmetrical, curved forceps, whereas females have straight forceps). We varied sex, body size, and forceps asymmetry among trios of earwigs and examined their spatial distribution under conditions where movement was restricted to promote either intersexual choice or intrasexual competition. Our results indicate strong sexual selection for larger sizes through both competition and choice in both sexes. However, females had no preference for males based on forceps asymmetry. We discuss how the competition and cohabitation patterns provide insight into the mating system, including how the possession of weaponry by both sexes could operate in intrasexual competitive battles as well as serve as a basis for assessing the quality of a potential mate.

Significance statement

Sexually dimorphic traits are often the result of either intersexual selection, where one sex chooses the other based on phenotypic qualities, or intrasexual selection, where members of one sex compete with each other for mating opportunities. Although many mating systems lie squarely on one end of this spectrum, it is often less clear which selection forces shape mating systems when both sexes possess weaponry. We monitored cohabitation patterns to examine the relative roles of mate choice and competition in Anisolabis maritima, an earwig in which males have asymmetrical, curved pincers, whereas females have symmetrical, straight pincers. By restricting the movement of certain individuals within trios, we found that large size but not forceps asymmetry was important in both mate choice and competition. Our results indicate that weaponry and aggression may significantly affect both sexes and contribute to the complexity of the mating system.

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Acknowledgments

We thank A. Summers, B. Swalla, and the staff at Friday Harbor Laboratories for promoting this research and for access to lab facilities and field sites. We also thank E. Iyengar for assistance in collecting earwigs and A.G. Zink, A.L. Bezzerides, and two anonymous reviewers for providing insightful comments on this manuscript. This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (DBI 1262239).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Jessica M. Kendall-Bar

  2. Department of Biology, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, 19085, USA

    Vikram K. Iyengar

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  1. Jessica M. Kendall-Bar
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  2. Vikram K. Iyengar
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Correspondence to Vikram K. Iyengar.

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Communicated by J. C. Choe

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Kendall-Bar, J.M., Iyengar, V.K. Sexual selection by the seashore: the roles of body size and weaponry in mate choice and competition in the maritime earwig (Anisolabis maritima). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 71, 8 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-016-2233-9

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