Summary
Courtship food gifts can be a significant source of nutrition to females and costly for males to produce; hence, costs of reproduction should be reduced for multiple-mating females and increased for multiplemating males in a gift-giving species. We tested this hypothesis by experimentally manipulating mating opportunities of males and females of two cricket species,Gryllodes sigillatus, a gift-giving species andGryllus veletis, a non-gift-giving species. Females of both species consume the externally attached spermatophore after mating, but inG. sigillatus, the sperm-containing ampulla is accompanied by a large gelatinous spermatophylax. In both species, survival of mated females given limited access to males was reduced relative to virgin females, thus suggesting a cost of reproduction to females. However, females given unlimited mating opportunities lived as long as virgins and also produced significantly more offspring than limited-access females. These results suggest that benefits of repeated matings, particularly those arising through spermatophore consumption, offset costs of reproduction in females. Lack of a treatment by species interaction suggests that females of both species derive nutritional benefits through spermatophore consumption, and that any additional advantage to the consumption of the spermatophylax inG. sigillatus is offset by more frequent mating byG. veletis females. In contrast to females, varying mating opportunities had no effect on male survival, suggesting that mating effort is not very costly to males. Male survival increased linearly with body mass but only when males were food-deprived, suggesting that larger males possess greater initial energy reserves to sustain their longevity when food-stressed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander, R. D. and Otte, D. (1967) The evolution of genitalia and mating behavior in crickets (Gryllidae) and other Orthoptera.Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich. 133 1–62.
Banks, M. J. and Thompson, D. J. (1985) Lifetime mating success in the damselflyCoenagrion puella.Anim. Behav. 33, 1175–83.
Bell, G. (1983) Measuring the cost of reproduction. III. The correlation structure of the early life history ofDaphnia pulex.Oecologia 60, 378–83.
Bell, G. (1984a) Measuring the cost of reproduction. I. The correlation structure of the life table of a plankton rotifer.Evolution 38, 300–13.
Bell, G. (1984b) Measuring the cost of reproduction. II. The correlation structure of the life tables of five freshwater invertebrates.Evolution 38, 314–26.
Bidochka, M. J. and Snedden, W. A. (1985) Effect of nuptial feeding on the mating behaviour of female ground crickets.Can. J. Zool. 63, 207–8.
Boggs, C. L. and Gilbert, L. E. (1979) Male contribution to egg production in butterflies: evidence for transfer of nutrients at mating.Science 206, 83–4.
Bowen, B. J., Codd, C. G. and Gwynne, D. T. (1984) The katydid spermatophore (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae): male nutritional investment and its fate in the mated female.Aust. J. Zool. 32, 23–31.
Bownes, M. and Partridge, L. (1987) Transfer of molecules from ejaculate to females inDrosophila melanogaster andDrosophila pseudoobscura.J. Insect Physiol. 33, 941–7.
Butlin, R. K., Woodhatch, C. W. and Hewitt, G. M. (1987) Male spermatophore investment increases female fecundity in a grasshopper.Evolution 41, 221–5.
Clutton-Brock, T. H., Albon, S. D. and Guinness, F. E. (1988) Reproductive success in male and female red deer. InReproductive Success (T. H. Clutton-Brock, ed.). pp. 325–43. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
Dean, J. M. (1981) The relationship between lifespan and reproduction in the grasshopperMelanoplus.Oecologia 48, 385–8.
Destephano, D. B. and Brady, U. E. (1977) Prostaglandin and prostaglandin synthetase in the cricket,Acheta domesticus.J. Insect Physiol. 23, 905–11.
Fowler, K. and Partridge, L. (1989) A cost of mating in female fruitflies.Nature 338, 760–1.
Friedel, T. and Gillott, C. (1977) Contribution of male-produced proteins to vitellogenesis inMelanoplus sanguinipes.J. Insect Physiol. 23, 145–51.
Gwynne, D. T. (1983) Male nutritional investment and the evolution of sexual differences in Tettigoniidae and other Orthoptera. InOrthopteran Mating Systems: Sexual Competition in a Diverse Group of Insects. (D. T. Gwynne and G. K. Morris, eds). pp. 337–66. Westview Press, Boulder, CO.
Gwynne, D. T. (1984) Courtship feeding increases female reproductive success in bushcrickets.Nature 307, 361–3.
Gwynne, D. T. (1988) Courtship feeding and the fitness of female katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae).Evolution 42, 545–55.
Heller, K.-G. and von Helversen, D. (1991) Operational sex ratio and individual mating frequencies in two bushcricket species (Orthoptera, Tettigonioidea,Poecilimon).Ethology 89, 211–28.
Loher, W. (1979) The influence of prostaglandin E2 on oviposition inTeleogryllus commodus.Entomol. Exp. Appl. 25, 107–19.
Loher, W. and Rence, B. (1978) The mating behavior ofTeleogryllus commodus (Walker) and its central and peripheral control.Z. Tierpsychol. 46, 225–59.
Markow, T. A., Gallagher, P. D. and Krebs, R. A. (1990) Ejaculate-derived nutritional contribution and female reproductive success inDrosophila mojavensis (Patterson and Crow).Funct. Ecol. 4, 67–73.
Mays, D. L. (1971) Mating behavior of nemobiine cricketsHygronemobius, Nemobius and Pteronemobius (Orthoptera: Gryllidae).Fla. Entomol. 54, 113–26.
Murtaugh, M. P. and Denlinger, D. L. (1987) Regulation of long-term oviposition in the house crichet,Acheta domesticus: roles of prostaglandin and factors associated with sperm.Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 6, 59–72.
Nur, N. (1984) The consequences of brood size for breeding blue tits I. Adult survival, weight change and the cost of reproduction.J. Anim. Ecol. 53, 479–96.
Oberhauser, K. S. (1989) Effects of spermatophores on male and female monarch butterfly reproductive success.Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 25, 237–46.
Parker, G. A. and Simmons, L. W. (1989) Nuptial feeding in insects: theoretical models of male and female interests.Ethology 82, 3–26.
Partridge, L. and Farquhar, M. (1983) Lifetime mating success of male fruitflies (Drosophila melanogaster) is related to their size.Anim. Behav. 31, 871–7.
Partridge, L., Green, A. and Fowler, K. (1987) Effects of egg-production and of exposure to males on female survival inDrosophila melanogaster.J. Insect Physiol. 33, 745–9.
Pettifor, R. A., Perrins, C. M. and McCleery, R. H. (1988) Individual optimization of clutch size in great tits.Nature 336, 160–2.
Reznick, D. (1985) Costs of reproduction: an evaluation of the empirical evidence.Oikos 44, 257–67.
Sakaluk, S. K. (1984) Male crickets feed females to ensure complete sperm transfer.Science 223, 609–10.
Sakaluk, S. K. (1985) Spermatophore size and its role in the reproductive behaviour of the cricket,Gryllodes supplicans (Orthoptera: Gryllidae).Can. J. Zool. 63, 1652–6.
Sakaluk, S. K. (1986) Sperm competition and the evolution of nuptial feeding behavior in the cricket,Gryllodes supplicans (Walker).Evolution 40, 584–93.
Sakaluk, S. K. (1987) Reproductive behaviour of the decorated cricket,Gryllodes supplicans (Orthoptera: Gryllidae): calling schedules, spatial distribution, and mating.Behaviour 100, 202–25.
Sakaluk, S. K. and Cade, W. H. (1980) Female mating frequency and progeny production in singly and doubly mated house and field crickets.Can. J. Zool. 58, 404–11.
Sakaluk, S. K. and Cade, W. H. (1983) The adaptive significance of female multiple matings in house and field crickets. InOrthopteran Mating Systems: Sexual Competition in a Diverse Group of Insects. (D. T. Gwynne and G. K. Morris, eds). pp. 319–36. Westview Press, Boulder, CO.
Sakaluk, S. K., Morris, G. K. and Snedden, W. A. (1987) Mating and its effect on acoustic signalling behaviour in a primitive orthopteran,Cyphoderris strepitans (Haglidae): the cost of feeding females.Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 21, 173–8.
SAS Institute Inc. (1988)SAS/STAT User's Guide, Release 6.03 Edition. SAS Institute, Cary, NC.
Simmons, L. W. (1986) Female choice in the field cricketGryllus bimaculatus (De Geer).Anim. Behav. 34, 1463–70.
Simmons, L. W. (1988a) The contribution of multiple mating and spermatophore consumption to the lifetime reproductive success of female field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus).Ecol. Entomol. 13, 57–69.
Simmons, L. W. (1988b) Male size, mating potential and lifetime reproductive success in the field cricket,Gryllus bimaculatus (De Geer).Anim. Behav. 36, 372–9.
Simmons, L. W. (1990) Nuptial feeding in tettigoniids: male costs and the rates of fecundity increase.Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 27, 43–7.
Simmons, L. W. and Parker, G. A. (1989) Nuptial feeding in insects: mating effort versus paternal investment.Ethology 81, 332–43.
Steele, R. H. (1986) Courtship feeding inDrosophila subobscura. I. The nutritional significance of courtship feeding.Anim. Behav. 34, 1087–98.
Svärd, L. and Wiklund, C. (1988) Fecundity, egg weight and longevity in relation to multiple matings in females of the monarch butterfly.Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 23, 39–43.
Thornhill, R. (1976a) Sexual selection and paternal investment in insects.Am. Nat. 110, 153–63.
Thornhill, R. (1976b) Sexual selection and nuptial feeding behavior inBittacus apicalis (Insecta: Mecoptera).Am. Nat. 110, 529–48.
Tuomi, J. Hakala, T. and Haukioja, E. (1983) Alternative concepts of reproductive effort, costs of reproduction, and selection in life-history evolution.Am. Zool. 23, 25–34.
Wedell, N. and Arak, A. (1989) The wartbiter spermatophore and its effect on female reproductive output (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae,Decticus verrucivorus).Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 24, 117–25.
Wickler, W. (1985) Stepfathers in insects and their pseudo-parental investment.Z. Tierpsychol. 69, 72–8.
Williams, G. C. (1966a)Adaptation and Natural Selection. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Williams, G. C. (1966b) Natural selection, the costs of reproduction, and a refinement of Lack's principle.Am. Nat. 100, 687–90.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Burpee, D.M., Sakaluk, S.K. Repeated matings offset costs of reproduction in female crickets. Evol Ecol 7, 240–250 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01237742
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01237742