Definition
In some taxa, molecules in the ejaculate can lower the longevity of females that receive them.
Introduction
Mating requires cooperation between the sexes. In species in which there are separate sexes, females and males of the same species must communicate to find each other, and sperm and eggs need to be united in the correct manner to achieve fertilization. And, at least in some organisms with parental care, cooperation between parents continues after the progeny are produced. Yet, against this background of cooperation, there are less salutary interactions. For example, in some taxa, males transfer in their seminal fluid molecules that result in premature death of their mates (e.g., in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, bean beetle Callosobruchus maculatus, Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata (see Chapman et al. 1995; Shi and Murphy 2014for...
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References
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Wolfner, M.F., Chapman, T. (2016). Semen Toxicity. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3081-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3081-1
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