Does testis size track expected mating success in yellow dung flies?
| Autor: | David J. Hosken, Res Altwegg, Paul I. Ward, Barbara Hellriegel, P. Jann, Wolf U. Blanckenhorn |
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| Přispěvatelé: | University of Zurich, Blanckenhorn, Wolf U |
| Rok vydání: | 2004 |
| Předmět: |
biology
Ecology Sperm Numbers media_common.quotation_subject Zoology Scathophagidae biology.organism_classification 10127 Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Sexual selection 570 Life sciences 590 Animals (Zoology) Allometry Mating Scathophaga stercoraria Reproduction Sperm competition Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics media_common |
| Zdroj: | Functional Ecology. 18:414-418 |
| ISSN: | 1365-2435 0269-8463 |
| Popis: | Summary 1 We quantitatively compare the fitness function linking male mating success in the field to body size and the allometric relationship linking testis length (estimating sperm production) to body size, both empirically derived, for the yellow dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria (Diptera: Scathophagidae). 2 We find that both relationships are similarly non-linear (quadratic) and increasing. The most parsimonious interpretation of this congruence is that the evolution of testis size (and hence sperm numbers) evolutionarily ‘tracks’ the number of copulations a male of a given size can expect, resulting in the particular non-linear testis size-body size allometry evident. 3 We offer a general, two-tiered statistical approach for this kind of quantitative comparison. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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