Abstract
Molecular markers have proved extremely useful in resolving mating patterns within individual populations of a number of species, but little is known about how genetic mating systems might vary geographically within a species. Here we use microsatellite markers to compare patterns of sneaked fertilization and mating success in two populations of sand goby (Pomatoschistus minutus) that differ dramatically with respect to nest-site density and the documented nature and intensity of sexual selection. At the Tvärminne site in the Baltic Sea, the microsatellite genotypes of 17 nest-tending males and mean samples of more than 50 progeny per nest indicated that approximately 35% of the nests contained eggs that had been fertilized by sneaker males. Successful nest holders mated with an average of 3.0 females, and the distribution of mate numbers for these males did not differ significantly from the Poisson expectation. These genetically deduced mating-system parameters in the Tvärminne population are remarkably similar to those in sand gobies at a distant site adjoining the North Sea. Thus, pronounced differences in the ecological setting and sexual selection regimes in these two populations have not translated into evident differences in cuckoldry rates or other monitored patterns of male mating success. In this case, the ecological setting appears not to be predictive of alternative male mating strategies, a finding of relevance to sexual selection theory.
Highlights
Lineages in which alternative mating strategies have evolved provide excellent opportunities to investigate behavioural and morphological evolution
Møller 1992; Taborsky 1994), perhaps the most common of which occurs as a dichotomy involving nest-holding males or suitors who attract females using dominance or courtship, and sneaker males who ‘parasitize’ the reproductive efforts of suitor males by fertilizing eggs through stealth or force (Taborsky 1994; Gross 1996; Henson & Warner 1997). This phenomenon certainly can affect the evolution of the male phenotype in interesting ways, but it may be important because of its potential influence on the dynamics of mating conflicts within and between the sexes (Alonzo & Warner 1999a)
The microsatellite loci were extremely polymorphic in the Klubban population from which they were originally identified (Jones et al submitted), and they proved to be hypervariable in the Tvärminne population as well, with 15 – 47 alleles per locus (Table 2)
Summary
Lineages in which alternative mating strategies have evolved provide excellent opportunities to investigate behavioural and morphological evolution. Møller 1992; Taborsky 1994), perhaps the most common of which occurs as a dichotomy involving nest-holding males or suitors who attract females using dominance or courtship, and sneaker males who ‘parasitize’ the reproductive efforts of suitor males by fertilizing eggs through stealth or force (Taborsky 1994; Gross 1996; Henson & Warner 1997) This phenomenon certainly can affect the evolution of the male phenotype in interesting ways, but it may be important because of its potential influence on the dynamics of mating conflicts within and between the sexes (Alonzo & Warner 1999a).
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