Resource quality affects weapon and testis size and the ability of these traits to respond to selection in the leaf-footed cactus bug, Narnia femorata
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It is shown that the developmental diet has profound effects on both weapon and testis expression and scaling, and normal, seasonal fluctuations in the nutritional environment may play a large role in the expression of sexually selected traits and the ability of these traits to respond to selection.Abstract:
The size of weapons and testes can be central to male reproductive success. Yet, the expression of these traits is often extremely variable. Studies are needed that take a more complete organism perspective, investigating the sources of variation in both traits simultaneously and using developmental conditions that mimic those in nature. In this study, we investigated the components of variation in weapon and testis sizes using the leaf-footed cactus bug, Narnia femorata (Hemiptera: Coreidae) on three natural developmental diets. We show that the developmental diet has profound effects on both weapon and testis expression and scaling. Intriguingly, males in the medium-quality diet express large weapons but have relatively tiny testes, suggesting complex allocation decisions. We also find that heritability, evolvability, and additive genetic variation are highest in the high-quality diet for testis and body mass. This result suggests that these traits may have an enhanced ability to respond to selection during a small window of time each year when this diet is available. Taken together, these results illustrate that normal, seasonal fluctuations in the nutritional environment may play a large role in the expression of sexually selected traits and the ability of these traits to respond to selection.read more
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Pre‐ and postcopulatory sexual selection favor aggressive, young males in polyandrous groups of red junglefowl
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Seasonal resource value and male size influence male aggressive interactions in the leaf footed cactus bug, Narnia femorata.
TL;DR: It is found that males have more interactions on cactus with high value ripe fruit, as the predicted and that males that were closer in size were more likely to interact, and larger males were morelikely to become dominant.
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The tale of the shrinking weapon: seasonal changes in nutrition affect weapon size and sexual dimorphism, but not contemporary evolution.
TL;DR: Although it is shown weapons are highly condition dependent, and changes in weapon expression and dimorphism could alter evolutionary dynamics, populations are unlikely to experience further evolutionary changes under current conditions.
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Overcoming mechanical adversity in extreme hindleg weapons.
TL;DR: The results suggest that when weapon force production is important for reproductive success, large weaponed animals may overcome mechanical challenges by maintaining proportional lever components and investing in (potentially costly) compensatory mechanisms.
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Seasonal Effects on the Population, Morphology and Reproductive Behavior of Narnia femorata (Hemiptera: Coreidae)
TL;DR: Significant changes in the phenotypes of N. femorata occurred over time in the wild, and the extent to which these changes were concordant with phenological changes in its host plant is found.
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