Males responding to sperm competition cues have higher fertilization success in a soldier fly
Abstract
Sperm competition has been demonstrated to be an important force shaping male behavior in a number of species. For example, males may prolong copulation duration when they perceive sperm competition to be high. Although male behavioral responses to sperm competition have been shown in several species, their effects on reproductive success have rarely been demonstrated. In the soldier fly Merosargus cingulatus, males prolong copulations when sperm competition is high and when mating with more fecund females. Here, I tested the hypothesis that this behavioral response results in higher reproductive success for males. I exposed males to different simulated levels of sperm competition (high or low male density at the oviposition site) then introduced a female. I allowed the pair to mate and the female to oviposit. I determined the percentage of offspring sired by the male using amplified fragment length polymorphism profiles. Sperm competition did not affect clutch size, but it did affect fertilization success: males under higher simulated sperm competition increased copulation duration and fertilized a higher percentage of a female's egg clutch than did males under lower sperm competition.
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Retention duration, sperm viability and selective sperm use suggest potential for cryptic female choice in BSF, as described in other stratiomyids.
“Retention duration, sperm viability and selective sperm use suggest potential for cryptic female choice as described in other stratiomyids (Barbosa 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015).”
From Beyond the Black Box: Reproductive Strategies of the Black Soldier Fly as a Model for Bridging Evolutionary Biology and Applied Entomology (2026) · cites this paper as Barbosa 2012
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- Authors
- Barbosa, F.
- Affiliations
- University of Missouri (US)
- Corresponding author
- Barbosa, Flavia
- ORCID
- Barbosa, Flavia
- Venue
- Behavioral Ecology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2012-03-14
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 815-819
- ISSN
- 1045-2249 (ISSN-L)
- 1465-7279
- OpenAlex
- W2123531498
- Cited by
- 23
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 3.28
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Behavioral Ecology (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Smithsonian Digital Repository (Smithsonian Institution) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Keywords
- sperm competition, Stratiomyidae, copulation duration, male reproductive success, fertilization success, male density, female fecundity, mating behavior
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