Although sexual selection in nature has been studied intensively, much is still unknown about the evolution of mating systems in wild populations: for example, how male competition and female choice interact, or the effect of environmental heterogeneity on selection. Further, important questions remain about the consequences of sexual selection for genetic structuring and genetic variation within populations. In this thesis, I investigate the causes and consequences of sexual selection in a polygynous mammal, the red deer Cervus elaphus. This species is characterized by high male reproductive skew resulting from competition to defend harems of females. Here however, I present evidence for previously unappreciated complexity in the mating system, in terms of female mating behaviour and environmental influences on male-male competition. I then go on to investigate the consequences of non-random mating on co-ancestry and inbreeding in the population. Finally, I investigate methods for separating genetic and environmental sources of covariance between individuals. Specifically, I: (i) Show a surprising degree of female mobility during the breeding season (the 'rut‘). Around 40% of females change harem when in oestrus and almost half of these movements result in paternity for the novel male; however I show that these movements are unlikely to be explained by female choice for mates. (ii) Reveal that variance in male mating success is affected by variation in ecological parameters, in particular the interaction between the number of immigrant males in the rutting population and the temporal synchrony of females. (iii) Demonstrate substantial inter-individual differences in the plasticity of acoustic signals produced by rutting males with changes in social context. (iv) Reveal the existence in this population of three rarely reported mating behaviours in polygynous mammals. I find around a fifth of females mate with the same male in multiple years; female relatives frequently mate with the same male; and males rut in locations close to their relatives. Further, I show these behaviours are associated with higher co-ancestry and inbreeding in the population than expected under random mating. (v) Finally, I investigate how spatial associations between relatives upwardly bias estimates of heritability in four phenotypic traits. I do this by accounting for shared environment effects in animal models by i) inclusion of spatial autocorrelation parameters and ii) a novel multi-matrix approach.

Animals’ personality traits are defined as consistent behavior tendencies and the function of them in life-history strategy and reproductive success has been given a lot of explanations in a large amount of research. However, the behavior consistency of individuals in different sexes, mating status and selection regimes is rarely mentioned. In this research, we were interested in personality traits and their consistency in inter-individuals and intra-individuals, and proposed that with the removal of fecundity selection males would evolve to be more female-like and decrease their locomotor activity, and copulation would change the physiological status of females and thus alter their levels of activity.   In the experiment, seed beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus) that were artificially selected in monogamy, polygamy and male-limited selection regimes were weighed, dropped in a designed arena and their behaviors were recorded with a camera for four minutes in the first day when they were newborn and virgin. In the next day, the virgin beetles were randomly paired to mate, weighed afterwards, and dropped in the arena again for videoing the same setting as yesterday. In data collection step, with these videos four behaviors types including walking, entering squares, time spent on roof and entering a new area were observed, scored and noted down. To process the data, we made correlation analysis and it was found that walking, entering square and a new area were positively correlated. After building the linear mixed effect models we found that sex together with mating significantly act in modifying beetles’ behaviors, males were more active than females but the difference was narrowed after mating, and copulation caused a significant increase in the level of locomotor activity in females. To our disappointment, selection regimes did not have any significant impact on locomotor activity. Our work gave an insight that copulation changed individuals’ behaviors more in females than in males and dimorphic expression of sex-biased genes differed due to mating effect.

I studied the reproductive characteristics and mating systems of a central Florida population of gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus). Using x-radiography, females were monitored for stage in egg-shelling and clutch size. Eggs began to appear on x-ray photographs in the first week of May in both 2001 and 2002; however, fully shelled eggs were not found before the end of May. In total 55% of the females x-rayed were gravid. Clutch sizes ranged from 4-12 with a mean of 7.29, with a mean clutch mass of 40.9 g. Clutch size increased with an increase in mean carapace length and mean plastron length. Mean clutch mass also increased with mean carapace length of females. Hatchlings began to emerge in late August, with incubation times ranging from 83 to 96 days. 50% of the eggs hatched, with 16.2% of the eggs showing no signs of development when opened. Hatchling mass averaged 30.7 g and was positively correlated with egg mass. DNA was extracted from blood samples obtained from females and their offspring, and from the sexually mature males in the population. Nine microsatellite loci were amplified and genotypes constructed for each individual. There is evidence for promiscuous mating in gopher tortoises. Multiple paternity was detected in two of the seven clutches (28.6 %). In the clutches with multiple fathers, fertilization was highly skewed to one male, with primary male fertilizing over 70% of the clutch. Females with multiple-sired clutches were significantly smaller than females with single-sired clutches. Among the clutches assayed only one male fertilized more than one clutch, indicating that insemination of females is evenly spread among males of similar sizes. However, males assigned as fathers were significantly larger than other sampled males which may mean that larger males have an advantage in fertilization of clutches. Conservation efforts should consider the impact of the mating system on reproduction in a population, and the possible impact of the relocation of larger males on recipient populations.

This thesis presents a new high level robot programming system. The programming system can be used to construct strategies consisting of compliant motions, in which a moving robot slides along obstacles in its environment. The programming system is referred to as high level because the user is spared of many robot-level details, such as the specification of conditional tests, motion termination conditions, and compliance parameters. Instead, the user specifies task-level information, including a geometric model of the robot and its environment. The user may also have to specify some suggested motions. There are two main system components. The first component is an interactive teaching system which accepts motion commands from a user and attempts to build a compliant motion strategy using the specified motions as building blocks. The second component is an autonomous compliant motion planner, which is intended to spare the user from dealing with "simple" problems. The planner simplifies the representation of the environment by decomposing the configuration space of the robot into a finite state space, whose states are vertices, edges, faces, and combinations thereof. States are inked to each other by arcs, which represent reliable compliant motions. Using best first search, states are expanded until a strategy is found from the start state to a global state. This component represents one of the first implemented compliant motion planners. The programming system has been implemented on a Symbolics 3600 computer, and tested on several examples. One of the resulting compliant motion strategies was successfully executed on an IBM 7565 robot manipulator.

In species where males do not provide immediate benefits to females in the form of resources or parental care to offspring, adaptive mate choice may be maintained by selection because preferred males sire offspring that are genetically superior. I test the hypothesis that female mating preferences result in enhanced performance of their larvae, owing to genetic variation among sires in two species of red-eyed treefrogs. This variation in males may be manifested as body size or in advertisement call parameters. I examined natural pairing patterns and found that both species display a size-based mating pattern with substantial seasonal effects. In lean years, females mate with males that are larger on average, yet females also seem to favor a constant size ratio of the male relative to her body size. I documented significant call trait variation both within and among males and have evidence to support size-related call traits as indicators of mating success for some properties. Finally, I provide evidence for a pronounced effect of sire size on offspring traits, most notably upon hatching that may have significant post-metamorphic fitness benefits. My study provides data on the basis of female choice and may provide a link between female preference for male traits and enhanced offspring performance by larvae sired by preferred males in the evolution of anuran mating systems.

All complex organisms possess a nervous system which they use to monitor environmental and internal stimuli. In higher vertebrates, the nervous system is comprised of billions of cells which form highly plastic neural networks from their synapses. These large neural circuits modulate complex behaviors. The nematode roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans uses a small but highly-interconnected nervous system to carry out complex behaviors. The nervous system of C. elegans is a tractable model to determine the effects of changes on a nervous system at the systemic, cellular, genetic, and molecular levels. The C. elegans male’s nervous system detects environmental conditions, mating cues, attractants, repellents, and the location and composition of possible food sources and integrates these inputs to compute the decision of whether or not to mate. Mating behavior in the C. elegans male is regulated at a number of steps by cholinergic signaling from various sensory and sensory-motor neurons, but a comprehensive model of how cholinergic signaling controls this circuit has not yet been elucidated. Previous studies have thoroughly dissected the cellular structure, neural connectivity, and signaling pathways of the male’s peripheral circuits located in the genital regions of the animal’s tail. However, no studies have been conducted to determine what role the cephalic cholinergic neurons have in regulating mating behavior. I hypothesized that cephalic cholinergic neurons exert regulatory control over the male-specific mating circuit. I inserted the transmembrane light-activated ion pore Channelrhodopsin-2 fused to YFP and expressed from the Punc-17small promoter into these neurons and selectively stimulated them using high-intensity blue light. Stimulation induced mating-like behaviors in the male tail consistent with behaviors seen during copulation with a hermaphrodite. Using behavioral assays, I demonstrated that these behaviors were male-specific and only occurred after direct stimulation in the absence of a hermaphrodite. Incidence of mating-like behaviors increased significantly as the worm aged, and the mating circuit retained a memory of the stimulus, indicated by the latency between stimulation and onset of mating-like behaviors. Brief food deprivation, which normally downregulates excitability of the mating circuit via UNC-103 ERG-like K+ channels, caused an unexpected increase in the number of blue light-stimulated behaviors displayed. Pharmacological assays using acetylcholine (ACh) agonists showed that stimulation of the cephalic cholinergic neurons increased propensity for spicule protraction in the presence of an ACh agonist, and partially restored the decline in spicule protraction associated with temporary food deprivation. I sought to identify the cephalic cholinergic neuron or neurons responsible for regulating mating-like behavior in the tail circuits. I looked for a reduction in mating-like behaviors after stimulation after removal of a cephalic cholinergic neuron pair via laser micro-ablation. Two cholinergic and chemosensory neuron pairs in the inner labial sensilla (IL2L/R and IL2VL/R) appear to generate and/or relay the signal that induces mating-like behaviors in the tail. I hypothesize that these neurons sense environmental cues before the male contacts a mate, and modulate lasting motivational changes within the male mating circuit.

The objective of this study was to investigate the diversity of fireflies and the mating behavior of Luciola anceyi in Guanziling, Tainan. The field study was carried out from September 2010 to April 2012. The nocturnal survey of number of individuals and species of firefly was within one hour after sunset weekly in two transects, Jiulongshan 1 (JS1) and Shiya valley (SV). The diurnal firefly survey was from 2011 March to May once for every two weeks in these two transects. In addition, vegetation species and layers was recorded in these two transects during winter and spring. The sex ratio, population size and mating behavior of L. anceyi were studied in three transects (Jiulongshan 2, Jiulongshan 3 and Dadongshan) with mark-recapture and digital video camera. Total 6 genus and 14 species of firefly were found in JS1 and SV, Guanziling from September 2010 to December 2011. The maximum number of firefly species reached its peak of 8 in May and June in Guanziling, but no adult firefly was found in January, February and September. Four species of fireflies were found active during daytime, including Drilaster olivieri, Pyrocoelia formosana, Vesta scutellonigra and L. anceyi . The Shannon-Wiener¡¦s diversity index and evenness of nocturnal fireflies were both highest in summer, significantly higher than those from other seasons (Tukey's HSD, P¡Õ0.05). During spring and summer, 12 species of firefly species were recorded but only 4 species was recorded during autumn and winter. In 2011, Luciola cerata was the most dominant species in firefly community in Guanziling, accounted for 68.21%. The second comeon one was Luciola praeusta (9.48 %), followed by Luciola anceyi (6.42%), Curtos mundulus (5.92%), Diaphanes citrinus (4.47%), and Pyrocoelia praetexta (3.29%). The highest average density within one hour after sunset of L. cerata was from April to May (22.77/ 100 m2 and 15.54/ 100 m2 in JS1 and 6.07/ 100 m2 and 5.91/ 100 m2 in SV). The number of L. cerata was positively correlated with temperature in SV (P¡Õ0.05), but the number of L. anceyi was negatively correlated with relative humidity in SV (P¡Õ0.001). The number of L. praeusta was positively correlated with temperature of these two transects (P¡Õ0.05), and C. mundulus was positively correlated with temperature and relative humidity (P¡Õ0.05) in SV. But the number of D. citrinus and P. praetexta were neither correlated with temperature nor relative humidity from these two transects (P¡Ö0.05). Vegetation stratification in SV was more complex than in JS1, and firefly communities were influenced by plant stratification. The relative frequency of plant layer was the highest in two layers of shrub and herb (winter¡G31.82%¡Fspring¡G33.64%) and three layers of tree, shrub and herb (winter¡G30.91%¡Fspring¡G34.55%) among seven layers of plants in SV. On the other hand, The relative frequency was the highest in the single herb layer in JS1 (winter¡G47.50%¡Fspring¡G48.75 %), and lacking herb layer, two layers of tree and shrub and three layers of tree, shrub and herb. L. cerata prefers to appear in the grasslands of JS1, and D. citrinus and P. praetexta prefer to appear in the habitat with complex vegetation in SV. The courtship and copulation behavior of L. anceyi were recorded during daytime as well as nighttime. The number of adult male L. anceyi captured during daytime flying was significantly higher than adult female captured (P¡Õ0.05). During nighttime, the recapture rate of marked adult males of L. anceyi was twice that of adult females (15.94 % versus 8.55 %). It indicates that the adult L. anceyi appears to be active in the daytime and nighttime in the same area. The mating behavior of L. anceyi occurrs both day and night, therefore, male L. anceyi most likely uses chemical signals to find mates during day time. The mating pattern of L. anceyi is not corresponded with any sexual communication systems known for fireflies. Therefore it can be regarded as a new type of activity and sexual communication systems for fireflies. Although Guanziling area is influenced by long-term cultivation and over development, the quantity and species number of fireflies are plentiful and fireflies occur in all four seasons. Therefore Guanziling has the potential for developing ecotourism and firefly-watch. However, firefly-watch can also increase the damage to the environment. How to appropriately develop ecotourism without destroying the habitat may become the challenge and test for the goal of sustainable management. Finally, the results of this study can provide useful information for habitat conservation and management of fireflies in Guanziling.

Cotesia are parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) that are used for biological control of pest moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae, Pyralidae) that damage agricultural crops. This dissertation investigated courtship acoustics and mating, and their relevance to biological control, in members of the Cotesia flavipes species complex, and a noncomplex member, Cotesia marginiventris. The first study investigated whether courtship acoustics were species specific for two members of the Cotesia flavipes complex, C. flavipes and C. sesamiae, and for C. marginiventris. During courtship, male Cotesia fan their wings and produce low amplitude sounds and substrate vibrations. The airborne and substrate components of courtship were similar within a species. However, the courtship acoustics of each species was distinct. The duration and frequency of several courtship acoustic components distinguished each species, while some components did not differ among species. The second study investigated mating success and transmission of courtship vibrations on natural and artificial rearing substrates for Cotesia marginiventris. Mating success was measured on plastic, glass, corn and bean leaves, and chiffon fabric. Mating success was lowest on plastic and glass, intermediate on corn and bean leaves, and highest on chiffon. Substrate influenced transmission of courtship vibrations. Durations of courtship vibrations were longer on corn, bean and chiffon than on plastic. Frequency modulation occurred on corn, bean and chiffon, and amplitude was greatest on chiffon. The mating success of normal and dealated males was higher on chiffon than on glass, suggesting that courtship communication relied in part on substrate vibrations. The third study examined female and male mate choice in a solitary and a gregarious species, C. marginiventris and C. flavipes, respectively. Females of the solitary species, C. marginiventris, mated more frequently with large than small males, and this did not appear to be the result of male competition. Male choice for female size was not apparent in C. marginiventris. Females of the gregarious parasitoid, C. flavipes, mated with large or small males with similar frequencies, and male-male competition was not observed. In the male choice experiment, C. flavipes males attempted copulation and mated more with smaller females, and smaller females accepted males more than large females.

Understanding how anthropogenic activity impacts the health and viability of wildlife populations is one of the most important tasks of environmental biology. A key concern related to bi-products of human activity is the accumulation of environmental pollutants within aquatic environments. Pollutants such as endocrine disruptors and heavy metals have the potential to impact both human and wildlife populations in contaminated areas. While much research has focused on how these compounds impact natural selection processes, such as viability and reproduction, their effect on sexual selection processes is not as clear. The goal of this dissertation was to address how environmental contaminants impact sexual selection processes in a sex-role reversed pipefish and evaluate how these effects may impact long-term population viability. Here we show that short periods of exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of a synthetic estrogen result in male pipefish with female-like secondary sexual traits. While these males are capable of reproduction, exposed males are discriminated against by females in mate choice tests. In natural populations, this type of discrimination could reduce male mating opportunities, potentially reducing their reproductive success. In an additional component of this dissertation, it was discovered that pipefish populations around Mobile Bay, specifically Weeks Bay, are currently being exposed to significantly elevated levels of mercury. These populations are genetically distinct from coastal populations but moderate levels of gene flow occur among sites, and gene flow between contaminated and non-contaminated population may be influencing how environmental contaminants are impacting genetic diversity and population viability. In the case of endocrine disruptors, migration between contaminated and non-contaminated sites may negatively impact population viability. Morphological traits induced with exposure to contaminants may be maintained for extended periods of time, therefore, the effect the exposed phenotype has on mating dynamics and sexual selection could be carried to non-contaminated sites if exposed individuals move to new populations. On the other hand, immigration of individuals from non-contaminated sites into contaminated areas may help maintain genetic diversity within exposed populations. In conclusion, the work presented in this dissertation shows that the presence of environmental toxins can significantly impact sexual selection processes, which in turn can have profound effects on the viability and future evolutionary trajectory of populations. Future work in this area should not only address how these toxins impact individual fitness, but should also address how population structure may be influencing the severity of these compounds on natural populations.

The nervous system coordinates a sequence of muscle movements to give rise to animal behaviors. In complex invertebrates or lab-studied vertebrates, due to the large number of cells in their nervous systems and the complexities of their behaviors, it is difficult to address how circuits process information to direct each motor output of the behavior. In this dissertation, I used the Caenorhabditis elegans male copulation behavior as a model to address how a compact circuit coordinates different behavioral programs. Insertion of a male copulatory organ into a suitable mate is a conserved and necessary behavioral step for most terrestrial mating. However, the detailed molecular and cellular mechanisms for this distinct social interaction have not been elucidated in any animal. During mating, the C. elegans male cloaca is positioned over the hermaphrodite’s vulva as he attempts to insert his copulatory spicules repetitively. Rhythmic spicule thrusts cease when insertion is sensed. Circuit components consisting of sensory/motor neurons and sex muscles for these steps have been previously identified, but it was unclear how their outputs are integrated to generate a coordinated behavior pattern. Here, I show that contraction of the male oblique muscles is required to sustain genital contact between the sexes. These muscles are innervated by the postcloacal sensilla (p.c.s.) sensory/motor neurons, which secret ACh to activate the levamisole-sensitive AChR and the ACR-16-containing ionotropic AChR on the oblique muscles. For spicules to rhythmically thrust during genital contact, activity of the oblique muscles and the gubernacular muscles is transmitted to the spicule protractor muscles instantaneously via gap junctions between these muscles and causes shallow protractor contractions. The rhythmic protractor contractions eventually switch to sustained contraction, as the SPC sensory-motor neurons integrate information of spicule position at the vulva with inputs from the hook and cloacal sensilla. The ERG-like K+ channel, UNC-103, which decreases the spicule circuit excitability, is likely to set a threshold requirement for integration of these inputs, so that sustained spicule muscle contraction is not stimulated by fewer inputs. In addition, I demonstrate that a cholinergic signaling pathway mediated by a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor, GAR-3, is used to enhance the ionotropic AChRs-mediated fast synaptic transmission in the copulation circuit. GAR-3 is expressed in multiple cells of the copulation circuit, but mainly in the cholinergic p.c.s. neurons and SPC neurons. Activation of GAR-3 is coupled to Gαq to trigger downstream signal transduction events that modulate neurotransmitter release from these neurons. Males with a loss-of-function allele of the gar-3 gene are defective in inserting their spicules into the hermaphrodite’s vulva efficiently. Since the p.c.s. neurons regulate the male’s contact with the hermaphrodite’s vulva, and the SPC neurons are required for spicule insertion during mating, GAR-3 probably facilitates male mating behavior via enhancing synaptic transmission from these neurons to their postsynaptic partners.