The chase-away model of sexual selection posits that elaborate male sexual displays arise because... more The chase-away model of sexual selection posits that elaborate male sexual displays arise because they exploit preexisting biases in females' sensory systems and induce females to mate in a suboptimal manner. An essential element of this hypothesis is that such manipulation should quickly lead to female resistance to male displays. Nuptial food gifts may be a frequent conduit by which males attempt to influence the mating behavior of females against females' own reproductive interests. In decorated crickets Gryllodes sigillatus, such inducements come in the form of a spermatophylax, a gelatinous mass forming part of the male's spermatophore and consumed by the female after mating. We conducted experiments in which spermatophylaxes obtained from male G. sigillatus were offered as novel food gifts to females of a non-gift-giving species (Acheta domesticus) having no evolutionary history of spermatophylax consumption. Female A. domesticus that were allowed to consume the sp...
Male sagebrush crickets, Cyphoderris strepitans, offer an unusual nuptial food gift to females du... more Male sagebrush crickets, Cyphoderris strepitans, offer an unusual nuptial food gift to females during copulation: females feed on the hindwings of males and ingest haemolymph seeping from the wounds they inflict. Previous work has shown that females prevented from wing feeding during initial copulations are more receptive to subsequent matings than females permitted to wing feed. In the present study,
Females of many species obtain benefits by mating polyandrously, and often prefer novel males ove... more Females of many species obtain benefits by mating polyandrously, and often prefer novel males over previous mates. However, how do females recognise previous mates, particularly in the face of cognitive constraints? Female crickets appear to have evolved a simple but effective solution: females imbue males with their own cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) at mating and utilise chemosensory self-referencing to recognise recent mates. Female CHC profiles exhibited significant additive genetic variation, demonstrating that genetically unique chemical cues are available to support chemosensory self-referencing. CHC profiles of males became more similar to those of females after mating, indicating physical transfer of CHCs between individuals during copulation. Experimental perfuming of males with female CHCs resulted in a female aversion to males bearing chemical cues similar to their own. Chemosensory self-referencing, therefore, could be a widespread mechanism by which females increase the...
Females of many species obtain benefits by mating polyandrously, and often prefer novel males ove... more Females of many species obtain benefits by mating polyandrously, and often prefer novel males over previous mates. However, how do females recognise previous mates, particularly in the face of cognitive constraints? Female crickets appear to have evolved a simple but effective solution: females imbue males with their own cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) at mating and utilise chemosensory self-referencing to recognise recent mates. Female CHC profiles exhibited significant additive genetic variation, demonstrating that genetically unique chemical cues are available to support chemosensory self-referencing. CHC profiles of males became more similar to those of females after mating, indicating physical transfer of CHCs between individuals during copulation. Experimental perfuming of males with female CHCs resulted in a female aversion to males bearing chemical cues similar to their own. Chemosensory self-referencing, therefore, could be a widespread mechanism by which females increase the diversity of their mating partners.
Male sagebrush crickets, Cyphoderris strepitans, offer an unusual nuptial food gift to females du... more Male sagebrush crickets, Cyphoderris strepitans, offer an unusual nuptial food gift to females during copulation: females feed on the hindwings of males and ingest haemolymph seeping from the wounds they inflict. Previous work has shown that females prevented from wing feeding during initial copulations are more receptive to subsequent matings than females permitted to wing feed. In the present study,
Although the effect of temperature on calling song of male crickets has been widely studied, its ... more Although the effect of temperature on calling song of male crickets has been widely studied, its influence on female mating behaviour remains largely unexplored. We examined the effect of varying temperature on female mating frequency in two cricket species (Gryllodes ...
The chase-away model of sexual selection posits that elaborate male sexual displays arise because... more The chase-away model of sexual selection posits that elaborate male sexual displays arise because they exploit preexisting biases in females' sensory systems and induce females to mate in a suboptimal manner. An essential element of this hypothesis is that such manipulation should quickly lead to female resistance to male displays. Nuptial food gifts may be a frequent conduit by which males attempt to influence the mating behavior of females against females' own reproductive interests. In decorated crickets Gryllodes sigillatus, such inducements come in the form of a spermatophylax, a gelatinous mass forming part of the male's spermatophore and consumed by the female after mating. We conducted experiments in which spermatophylaxes obtained from male G. sigillatus were offered as novel food gifts to females of a non-gift-giving species (Acheta domesticus) having no evolutionary history of spermatophylax consumption. Female A. domesticus that were allowed to consume the spermatophylax took significantly longer to remate than when given no such opportunity. In contrast, when female G. sigillatus were prevented from consuming their partners' nuptial gifts, there was no difference in their propensity to remate relative to females permitted to consume a food gift after mating. These results suggest that the spermatophylax synthesized by male G. sigillatus contains substances designed to inhibit the sexual receptivity of their mates but that female G. sigillatus have evolved reduced responsiveness to these substances.
Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2005
Females of many species mate repeatedly throughout their lives, often with many different males (... more Females of many species mate repeatedly throughout their lives, often with many different males (polyandry). Females can secure genetic benefits by maximizing their diversity of mating partners, and might be expected, therefore, to forego matings with previous partners in favour of novel males. Indeed, a female preference for novel mating partners has been shown in several taxa, but the mechanism by which females distinguish between novel males and previous mates remains unknown. We show that female crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) mark males with their own unique chemical signatures during mating, enabling females to recognize prior mates in subsequent encounters and to avoid remating with them. Because self-referent chemosensory cues provide females with a simple, but reliable mechanism of identifying individuals with whom they have mated without requiring any special cognitive ability, they may be a widespread means by which females across a broad range of animal mating systems maximize the genetic benefits of polyandry.
The chase-away model of sexual selection posits that elaborate male sexual displays arise because... more The chase-away model of sexual selection posits that elaborate male sexual displays arise because they exploit preexisting biases in females' sensory systems and induce females to mate in a suboptimal manner. An essential element of this hypothesis is that such manipulation should quickly lead to female resistance to male displays. Nuptial food gifts may be a frequent conduit by which males attempt to influence the mating behavior of females against females' own reproductive interests. In decorated crickets Gryllodes sigillatus, such inducements come in the form of a spermatophylax, a gelatinous mass forming part of the male's spermatophore and consumed by the female after mating. We conducted experiments in which spermatophylaxes obtained from male G. sigillatus were offered as novel food gifts to females of a non-gift-giving species (Acheta domesticus) having no evolutionary history of spermatophylax consumption. Female A. domesticus that were allowed to consume the sp...
Male sagebrush crickets, Cyphoderris strepitans, offer an unusual nuptial food gift to females du... more Male sagebrush crickets, Cyphoderris strepitans, offer an unusual nuptial food gift to females during copulation: females feed on the hindwings of males and ingest haemolymph seeping from the wounds they inflict. Previous work has shown that females prevented from wing feeding during initial copulations are more receptive to subsequent matings than females permitted to wing feed. In the present study,
Females of many species obtain benefits by mating polyandrously, and often prefer novel males ove... more Females of many species obtain benefits by mating polyandrously, and often prefer novel males over previous mates. However, how do females recognise previous mates, particularly in the face of cognitive constraints? Female crickets appear to have evolved a simple but effective solution: females imbue males with their own cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) at mating and utilise chemosensory self-referencing to recognise recent mates. Female CHC profiles exhibited significant additive genetic variation, demonstrating that genetically unique chemical cues are available to support chemosensory self-referencing. CHC profiles of males became more similar to those of females after mating, indicating physical transfer of CHCs between individuals during copulation. Experimental perfuming of males with female CHCs resulted in a female aversion to males bearing chemical cues similar to their own. Chemosensory self-referencing, therefore, could be a widespread mechanism by which females increase the...
Females of many species obtain benefits by mating polyandrously, and often prefer novel males ove... more Females of many species obtain benefits by mating polyandrously, and often prefer novel males over previous mates. However, how do females recognise previous mates, particularly in the face of cognitive constraints? Female crickets appear to have evolved a simple but effective solution: females imbue males with their own cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) at mating and utilise chemosensory self-referencing to recognise recent mates. Female CHC profiles exhibited significant additive genetic variation, demonstrating that genetically unique chemical cues are available to support chemosensory self-referencing. CHC profiles of males became more similar to those of females after mating, indicating physical transfer of CHCs between individuals during copulation. Experimental perfuming of males with female CHCs resulted in a female aversion to males bearing chemical cues similar to their own. Chemosensory self-referencing, therefore, could be a widespread mechanism by which females increase the diversity of their mating partners.
Male sagebrush crickets, Cyphoderris strepitans, offer an unusual nuptial food gift to females du... more Male sagebrush crickets, Cyphoderris strepitans, offer an unusual nuptial food gift to females during copulation: females feed on the hindwings of males and ingest haemolymph seeping from the wounds they inflict. Previous work has shown that females prevented from wing feeding during initial copulations are more receptive to subsequent matings than females permitted to wing feed. In the present study,
Although the effect of temperature on calling song of male crickets has been widely studied, its ... more Although the effect of temperature on calling song of male crickets has been widely studied, its influence on female mating behaviour remains largely unexplored. We examined the effect of varying temperature on female mating frequency in two cricket species (Gryllodes ...
The chase-away model of sexual selection posits that elaborate male sexual displays arise because... more The chase-away model of sexual selection posits that elaborate male sexual displays arise because they exploit preexisting biases in females' sensory systems and induce females to mate in a suboptimal manner. An essential element of this hypothesis is that such manipulation should quickly lead to female resistance to male displays. Nuptial food gifts may be a frequent conduit by which males attempt to influence the mating behavior of females against females' own reproductive interests. In decorated crickets Gryllodes sigillatus, such inducements come in the form of a spermatophylax, a gelatinous mass forming part of the male's spermatophore and consumed by the female after mating. We conducted experiments in which spermatophylaxes obtained from male G. sigillatus were offered as novel food gifts to females of a non-gift-giving species (Acheta domesticus) having no evolutionary history of spermatophylax consumption. Female A. domesticus that were allowed to consume the spermatophylax took significantly longer to remate than when given no such opportunity. In contrast, when female G. sigillatus were prevented from consuming their partners' nuptial gifts, there was no difference in their propensity to remate relative to females permitted to consume a food gift after mating. These results suggest that the spermatophylax synthesized by male G. sigillatus contains substances designed to inhibit the sexual receptivity of their mates but that female G. sigillatus have evolved reduced responsiveness to these substances.
Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2005
Females of many species mate repeatedly throughout their lives, often with many different males (... more Females of many species mate repeatedly throughout their lives, often with many different males (polyandry). Females can secure genetic benefits by maximizing their diversity of mating partners, and might be expected, therefore, to forego matings with previous partners in favour of novel males. Indeed, a female preference for novel mating partners has been shown in several taxa, but the mechanism by which females distinguish between novel males and previous mates remains unknown. We show that female crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) mark males with their own unique chemical signatures during mating, enabling females to recognize prior mates in subsequent encounters and to avoid remating with them. Because self-referent chemosensory cues provide females with a simple, but reliable mechanism of identifying individuals with whom they have mated without requiring any special cognitive ability, they may be a widespread means by which females across a broad range of animal mating systems maximize the genetic benefits of polyandry.
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Papers by Carie Weddle