Lifetime mating success in male sagebrush crickets: sexual selection constrained by a virgin male mating advantage

Abstract

Lifetime mating success of individually marked, male sagebrush crickets, Cyphoderris strepitans, was studied in a field enclosure over 2 years. Male mating was inferred on the basis of damage to the hind wings upon which females feed during copulation. There was a virgin male mating advantage in both years. Male mating success was correlated with adult longevity and nights during the season spent singing, but not with male mass. The opportunity for sexual selection differed between years and appeared to be constrained by the observed virgin male mating advantage. The spatial distribution of males was variable within seasons, and changed over the course of both seasons. Mating in sagebrush crickets resembles that of some frog species where chorus tenure is the best predictor of male lifetime mating success.