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First-male sperm precedence and precopulatory and postcopulatory rituals in the parasitoid wasp Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2014

K.M. Ablard ,
K. Simonetto ,
L.K. Weir ,
B.J. Crespi ,
P.W. Schaefer  and
G. Gries
K.M. Ablard
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive., Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
K. Simonetto
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive., Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
L.K. Weir
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive., Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
B.J. Crespi
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive., Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
P.W. Schaefer
Affiliation:
4 Dare Drive, Elkton, Maryland 21921, United States of America
G. Gries*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive., Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
*
1Corresponding author (email: gries@sfu.ca)
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Abstract

Sperm competition generates selection for male traits to prevent it. These traits remain unclear in species where males compete for a virgin who is briefly receptive. Males of the parasitoid wasp Ooencyrtus kuvanae Howard (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) compete over females following emergence from host egg masses. Males engage virgins in a precopulatory ritual, mate, and then immediately perform a postcopulatory ritual after which the female becomes unreceptive. Often, sneaker (M2) males copulate with a female while she is engaged in the postcopulatory ritual, and they also perform the postcopulatory ritual. We investigated (i) paternity of M1 and M2 males using DNA microsatellite analysis, (ii) copulation and postcopulatory behaviour of both males, and (iii) morphological adaptations of the aedeagus for sperm removal. Eighty-eight percent of M1 males sired all daughters when they were first to perform the precopulatory and postcopulatory ritual, suggesting a linked effect of both rituals on paternity. The number and length of copulations by both males did not affect paternity, and the shape of the aedeagus does not seem to facilitate sperm removal. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that postcopulatory rituals represent forms of mate guarding that function to increase paternity in the context of sperm competition.

Type
Behaviour & Ecology
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 146 , Issue 5 , October 2014 , pp. 548 - 559
Copyright
© Entomological Society of Canada 2014 

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Footnotes

Subject editor:Heather Proctor

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