Sexual Conflict

Question 1

sexual conflict

Answer 1

evolutionary conflict where male and female interests do not align in reproduction

Question 2

dunnock sexual conflict over mating and parental care

Answer 2

can be monogamous, polyandrous or polygynous.
males establish territories, sometimes there are beta males that are persistent enough to become a partner.

females prefer territories with 2 males, since it ensures more care for her nestlings

males prefer to be the sole male in the territory, with many females. They dont want another male since they dont want to share paternity, and care for nestlings that arent all his.

Question 3

dunnock sperm competition

Answer 3

females are guarded after copulations with alpha males, but will sneak away to mate with beta males. this results in sperm competition.

Question 4

cloacal pecking

Answer 4

females present their swollen and red cloaca to the males to start a copulation. males will peck the cloaca to ensure theres no competitor sperm inside

Question 5

copulation frequency in dunnocks

Answer 5

copulation frequency increases in trios than in monogamous pairs. the rates are also higher the more time the female spends out of the primary alpha’s sight.

Question 6

dunnock male quality

Answer 6

largest males are the monogamous ones, then the alphas, then the betas.

Question 7

why would female multiple mate?

Answer 7

to ensure both males are caring for her chicks

Question 8

what is the sexual conflict of male and female dunnocks?

Answer 8

females want to split paternity between the two males so that theres more joint effort to feed chicks.

males want to have all the paternity to themselves so they put effort into solely their own offspring.

Question 9

dunnock male strategies

Answer 9

physical fights
frequent copulation
mate guarding
cloacae pecking

Question 10

dunnock female strategies

Answer 10

frequency solicitation and copulation
mating with both males
ejection of sperm

Question 11

sexually antagonistic genes

Answer 11

species share a common gene pool, so selection on one sex can interfere with the other sex’s traits.

some genes expressed in one sex that are beneficial can be detrimental when expressed in the other sex.

selection on these genes is sexually antagonistic.

Question 12

zebra finch beaks and sexual conflict

Answer 12

genes that regulate beak colour are same for both sexes, but each sex benefits from a different colour.

males with red beaks have highest fitness
females with orange beaks have highest fitness

Question 13

effects of sexually antagonistic selection

Answer 13

intralocus sexual conflict
interlocus sexual conflict

Question 14

intralocus sexual conflict

Answer 14

alleles at one locus have opposite effects on reproductive success of males vs females (same allele)

occurs when there is negative correlation between selection coefficient on the same allele in males and females.

selection at the same locus interferes with the other sex’s selection at that locus

Question 15

interlocus sexual conflict

Answer 15

alleles that promote one sex’s fitness are a detriment to the other sex’s fitness (different alleles)

Can be counter adaptations at different loci, antagonistic coevolution as each sex tries to adapt to the strategies of the other.

Question 16

fruit fly sexual conflict

Answer 16

conflict occurs because of multiple mating

seminal fluid proteins in male reduce lifespan of female, so the more she copulates the shorter she lives.

males genes want to promote this seminal protein, female genes want to resist against it.

Question 17

water strider sexual conflict

Answer 17

males have adaptive features, clasping spines, to grab hold of females to mate.

females have adaptive features, anti clasping spines, to get rid of males

males want to mate all the time, mating is costly to females because it leaves her open to predation.

Question 18

water fowl sexual conflict

Answer 18

males have corkscrew genitalia, while female genitalia are internally like a maze

males can smother and kill females when trying to mount and mate them