Animals display considerable phenotypic variation in their mating traits, and this
variation can have important consequences for the evolution of dimorphic traits
between the males and females within a species. In chapter 1, I outline the current
state of our understanding of plasticity in reproductive phenotypes, and argue that
more work needs to be done to connect the gap between plasticity in mating traits
and the outcomes of sexual conflict. Across my four data chapters, I used the fruit
fly as a model organism in series of experiments that attempt to better understand
how plasticity in mating traits influences the fitness outcomes of both males and
females. In chapter 2, I experimentally manipulated the outcome of a fighting
experience, and found that males who win a previous fight have higher precopulatory
reproductive success, but losers perform better in post-copulatory
areas. In chapter 3, I manipulated the amount of competition that a male
experiences and found that females mated to males who experience competition
produce more early-life offspring but live shorter lives compared to females
mated to males that experience no competition. In chapter 4, I manipulated the
intensity of sexual conflict that a female experiences and found that males mated
to females who experience high conflict have lower pre- and post-copulatory
reproductive success compared to males mated to females who experience low
conflict. In chapter 5. I manipulated the degree of sexual aggression that a female
experiences, and found that females that experience harassment and mating from
a male that displays high sexual aggression is subsequently less choosy compared
to females that experience a less aggressive male. Finally, in chapter 6, I discuss
the significance of my results as they relate to the evolution of reproductive traits
in males and females. / Dissertation / Doctor of Science (PhD) / Considerable phenotypic variation exists both within and across species. Within
species, one source of this variation is phenotypic plasticity, the ability for an
individual to alter its phenotype based on environmental influences. When it
comes to sex, both males and females in many species exhibit striking variation in
their reproductive behaviour as a result of plasticity. However, the causes and
consequences of this variation are not well understood. Throughout my doctoral
dissertation, I used the fruit fly as a model to explore how various social
experiences such as fighting, competition, sexual harassment, and mating shape
the subsequent reproductive behaviour of males and females, and quantified the
evolutionary consequences of this variation. The results of my studies have
important implications for understanding the evolution of various behavioural
strategies such as aggression and mate choice.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/25883 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Filice, David |
| Contributors | Dukas, Reuven, Psychology |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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