Abstract
Sexual selection is a major force driving evolution and is intertwined with ecological factors. Differential allocation of limited resources has a central role in the cost of reproduction. In this paper, I review the costs and benefits of mating in tettigoniids, focussing on nuptial gifts, their trade-off with male calling songs, protandry and how mate density influences mate choice. Tettigoniids have been widely used as model systems for studies of mating costs and benefits; they can provide useful general insights. The production and exchange of large nuptial gifts by males for mating is an important reproductive strategy in tettigoniids. As predicted by sexual selection theory spermatophylax size is condition dependent and is constrained by the need to invest in calling to attract mates also. Under some circumstances, females benefit directly from the nuptial gifts by an increase in reproductive output. However, compounds in the nuptial gift can also benefit the male by prolonging the period before the female remates. There is also a trade-off between adult male maturation and mating success. Where males mature before females (protandry) the level of protandry varies in the direction predicted by sperm competition theory; namely, early male maturation is correlated with a high level of first inseminations being reproductively successful. Lastly, mate density in bushcrickets is an important environmental factor influencing the behavioural decisions of individuals. Where mates are abundant, individuals are more choosey of mates; when they are scarce, individuals are less choosey. This review reinforces the view that tettigoniids provide excellent models to test and understand the economics of matings in both sexes.
Highlights
Sexual selection is a major force driving evolution, based on variation in reproductive success among individuals of differing phenotypes [1]
Including ecological conditions into the research about sexual selection might be able to resolve conflicting results obtained from studies of sexual traits [12]
Theory shows that mating ‘economy’, i.e. the costs and benefits that mediate male–female interactions, is crucial for the extent to which traits are under sexual selection [18,19]
Summary
Sexual selection is a major force driving evolution, based on variation in reproductive success among individuals of differing phenotypes [1]. Costs and benefits of nuptial feeding for bushcricket females Females in sexual species generally need males to receive sperm. High density allows females to choose from a larger pool of males, leading to a mating advantage for males having a higher mass of the spermatophore secreting glands As this glandular a responsible for the production of the spermatophore, females benefit by receiving a larger nuptial gift at mating [169]. These results are in line with tactical models of search behaviour, which predict an adjustment of female behaviour to the number of potential mates and the length of the mating period [170]. A few field studies using tettigoniids demonstrate the value of this approach [113,169]
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