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1
Archard, Gabrielle Ann. "Context-dependent mating behaviour in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.437271.
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Watt, Rebekah. "Transcriptomic basis of post-mating responses in females of the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/7660.
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Mating in insects influences suites of behavioural and physiological changes in females. These changes can include key female traits such as dispersal, foraging, oviposition and female remating or receptivity. Whilst much is known at the phenotypic level about post-mating changes in reproductive biology across many species, much less is known at the genetic level, especially outside of established model organisms such as Drosophila melanogaster. In the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis courtship behaviour, rather than copulation, is believed to be primarily responsible for driving changes in female post-mating behaviour. Here we have studied female receptivity and post-mating gene expression changes associated with courtship and copulation in Nasonia vitripennis. Firstly we considered the influence of the duration of various elements of courtship and mating on female re-mating rates. We were able to identify an association between long pre-copulatory courtship durations and females which are less likely to re-mate (after 24 hours) and suggest that this may be driven by females which are generally less receptive. We also observed that males may be capable of determining female mating state, taking longer to engage in courtship with mated females than virgin females. To further explore the influence of mating on female post-mating behavioural and physiological processes, we explored changes in gene expression occurring in response to mating. To do this we utilised two different transcriptomic sequencing approaches developed for the Illumina next-generation sequencing platform. Using a tag-seq approach we considered the differential gene expression occurring in response to mating in head and body (comprising of the thorax and abdomen) tissues across two time-points (30 minutes and four hours). We were able to identify large changes in expression in head tissues across time-points in comparison to more subtle changes in body tissues. We suggest that head tissues may be more closely associated with post-mating changes in behaviour, whilst body tissues are perhaps physiologically more associated with egg production and influenced less by mating per se. Finally, using an RNA-seq approach, we considered the gene expression changes occurring in female body tissues in response to three elements of male courtship across two time-points (30 minutes and 24 hours). We hoped to narrow down the role of male courtship and/or insemination in post-mating gene expression differences, addressing first the more limited changed in body tissues. We showed that time-point was the most important factor associated with post-mating gene expression, with the courtship components tested being associated with very little expressional change. The data presented in this thesis suggests that male courtship may not be that important for driving the post-mating behavioural and genetic changes seen in Nasonia, perhaps limiting the scope for sexual conflict over reproduction in this species.
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Convey, Peter. "Influences on mating behaviour and reproductive success in the Odonata." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.330166.
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Tomlinson, Ian Philip Mark. "Theoretical and experimental studies of the evolution of mate choice." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.303163.
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Sweeney, John James. "An investigation into the polygynous mating system of the wren Troglodytes troglodytes indigenus (L.)." Thesis, University of the West of Scotland, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.388214.
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McCallum, Andrew Shaw. "Male mating behaviour in the crickets Acheta domesticus L. and Gryllus bimaculatus De Geer (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) : the role of the cerci and other terminal abdominal receptors." Thesis, University of Derby, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.304997.
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Buchanan-Smith, H. M. "The social organisation and mating systems of the red bellied tamarin (Saguinus labiatus labiatus) : Behavioural observations in captivity and in the wild." Thesis, University of Reading, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.235029.
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Brereton, Alyn Robert. "Sexual interference in stumptail macaques (Macac arctoides) : is it return-benefit spite?" Thesis, University of Stirling, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.236099.
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Adamczak, Vera G. "Variation in the mating system of oribi, Ourebia ourebi." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.323868.
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Wilson, Nina. "Multiple mating in Callosobruchus maculatus : a male and female perspective." Thesis, University of Sunderland, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.242134.
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Mück, Isabel Magdalena. "Effects of Nest Spacing on Nest Occupation, Mating Success and Mating Behaviour in the Two-spotted Goby (Gobiusculus flavescens)." Thesis, Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Institutt for biologi, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-12756.
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I investigated hoe different spacing of breeding sited affects different aspects of mating behaviour in the two-spotted goby. I found that clumped nest spacing affects nest occupations and reproductive success negatively. Clumped nest spacing incresed male agonistic behaviour and led to a higher variance in reproductive success.
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Edvardsson, Martin. "Cryptic Female Choice and Male Mating Behaviour : Sexual Interactions in Beetles." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala : Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis : Univ.-bibl. [distributör], 2005. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-5753.
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Dos, Santos Pinto Pires Da Fonesca Maria Manuela. "Plasticity of mating behaviour in red deer in a mediterranean environment." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.299864.
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Boerner, B?rbara Ciralli. "Role of rat ultrasonic vocalizations in social locomotive behaviour during mating." PROGRAMA DE P?S-GRADUA??O EM NEUROCI?NCIAS, 2017. https://repositorio.ufrn.br/jspui/handle/123456789/24078.
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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq)
Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES)
Vocaliza??es ultrass?nicas de ratos de freq??ncia fundamental na faixa de 30-90khz, conhecidas como usvs de '50 khz', est?o relacionadas a contextos apetitivos, como intera??es sociais, recompensa e acasalamento. No entanto, ainda n?o est? estabelecido como essas vocaliza??es contribuem para o comportamento social do rato. Dados anteriores do nosso grupo mostram que essas usvs est?o bem sincronizadas com a locomo??o do rato emissor, aumentando a possibilidade de que as vocaliza??es possam ajudar os ratos a se rastrearem no escuro. N?s testamos essa hip?tese ao avaliar como a desvocaliza??o de um ou dois ratos em pares de macho e f?mea afetaram suas intera??es espaciais durante o comportamento de acasalamento. As medidas de correla??o espacial, como dist?ncia m?dia entre os dois animais e n?mero e dura??o das persegui??es, foram analisadas para cada registro. Resultados preliminares sugerem que, embora a desvocaliza??o n?o influencie o sucesso do acasalamento, ela possa interferir especificamente nas r?pidas intera??es espaciais.
Rat ultrasonic vocalizations of fundamental frequency in the 30-90khz range known as '50 khz' usvs, are related to appetitive contexts such as social interactions, reward and mating. However, how these vocalizations contribute to rat social behaviour is not completely understood. Previous data from our lab shows that these usvs are tightly synchronized with the locomotion of the emitting rat, thus raising the possibility that vocalizations could help rats track each other in the dark. We here tested this hypothesis by assessing how devocalizing one or both rats in a male-female pair affected their spatial interactions during mating behavior. Metrics of spatial correlation, such as average distance between the two animals and number and duration of chases were analyzed for each record. Preliminary results suggest that, although devocalization does not influence success of mating, it may specifically interfere with fast spatial interactions.
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O'Malley, Sean L. C. "Mating behaviour and reproductive success in the reed bunting Mmberiza schoeniclus." Thesis, University of Leicester, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/34185.
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The reproductive behaviour and success of a number of male reed buntings were studied at Rutland Water (Leicestershire) during the the breeding seasons of 1988, 1989 and 1990. A major constraint on reproductive success was the level of nest predation. Only 42% of nests survived to fledging, representing 41.5% of males' territories. The annual mean productivity for each male was estimated to be 0.77 offspring surviving to the following season. With these large constraints on male reproductive success, extra-pair paternity is seen as potentially highly advantageous to males. Females are constrained in their mate choice indicating a potential advantage in seeking sires from surrounding males of higher quality than their mate. Rates of extra-pair paternity as derived from DNA fingerprinting were found to be high: 50% of chicks and 69% of broods. Approximately one-third of males were responsible for 51 cases of extra-pair paternity. However, 70% of males lost some paternity in their nests to other males with no correlation between levels of extra-pair and within-pair paternity. Copulations were observed to be frequent (estimated to be 4.06 per day) during the prelay period and continued through to the day of the third egg. A large between male variation in copulation rates was observed, with a diurnal peak immediately following the laying of an egg. Observed extra-pair copulations were rare (4.39%) with a significant disparity compared to extra-pair paternity levels, indicating that females may seek furtive extra-pair copulations. Mate guarding as measured by time spent less than 10 m from the female, flights orientated towards the female and vigilance were observed to peak during the prelay period. These behaviours declined dramatically on the day of the first egg, indicating that peak fertility probably occurs prior to egg laying. No increase in mate guarding activity was observed to occur in response to an increased neighbour density, whilst neighbour status did not influence guarding. A diurnal pattern in guarding was recorded for vigilance and all three behaviours showed significant between male variation. Territorial intrusions were mainly by neighbours; they peaked significantly during the prelay period and were responded to by an attack from the defending male. The seeking of extra-pair copulations was observed as excursions into neighbouring territories, followed by an attack from the territory holder. Excursions occurred primarily when males were not mate guarding, during egg laying and incubation, and were significantly directed towards territories with nests in the prelay stage. Song was found not to function as a mate guarding behaviour, with a significant decline in output during the prelay period. Song output increased significantly in the presence of a neighbour with a "fertile" female, supporting the hypothesis that song functions as a measure of male quality to fertile females Song of unpaired males was significantly different from that of paired males and is hypothesised to function in territorial maintenance (and to indicate male status), whereas the more complex song of paired individuals also functions to display male quality to their partners. An analysis of the relationship between behaviour and reproductive success when analysed indicated that males which guarded most were more subject to losing paternity. Acquisition of extra-pair paternity was found to be significantly enhanced through increased song output and excursions. Song output was also recorded as significantly increasing total reproductive success, indicating that females may choose males on the basis of their song to obtain furtive extra-pair copulations.
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Cherry, Michael Ian. "Sexual selection and mating systems in Bufo rangeri and Bufo pardalis." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.253006.
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Cotza, Antonella. ""Females are not males: evolutionary strategies of the two sexes in chamois"." Doctoral thesis, Università di Siena, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/11365/1116270.
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Vincoli evolutivi, fisiologici, anatomici potrebbero determinare diverse risposte individuali a fattori di stress ambientali (e.g. fattori climatici, stagionalità delle risorse), da parte di maschi e femmine. In ambienti montani, l'accesso a pascoli di alta qualità per gli erbivori è limitato ai mesi primaverili-estivi, rendendo così l’alimentazione estiva cruciale per la sopravvivenza invernale, in particolare per le femmine, che devono affrontare i costi della maternità, e per i nuovi nati. Nelle specie che vivono in gruppo, la stagionalità delle risorse può influenzare anche il comportamento sociale: la diminuzione della disponibilità e della qualità di risorse alimentari può aumentare la competizione alimentare e i livelli di stress, portando a sua volta un aumento delle interazioni aggressive intraspecifiche.
La mia tesi riguarda un ungulato di montagna, il camoscio alpino. Ho studiato il comportamento riproduttivo e spaziale di maschi adulti, per i quali sono state descritte due tattiche riproduttive alternative (AMTs) (territorialità e non territorialità). Comprendere le differenze in aspetti importanti quali età, successo di accoppiamento, aggressività e comportamento tra individui che adottano AMTs diverse aiuterebbe a spiegare la loro coesistenza nella popolazione. Ho analizzato dati raccolti su maschi individualmente riconoscibili durante 5 stagioni riproduttive (2011-2012, 2015-2017). Studiare come fattori ambientali e individuali influenzino le opportunità riproduttive dei maschi territoriali aiuterebbe a capire come la territorialità (una AMT) venga mantenuta nella popolazione. Ho considerato dati su comportamento riproduttivo di maschi territoriali e caratteristiche ambientali, registrati durante 5 stagioni riproduttive (2011-2012, 2015-2017). L'adozione di una AMT potrebbe influenzare l'uso dello spazio nei maschi. Al contrario, il comportamento spaziale femminile può essere influenzato dalla presenza delle prole. Ho studiato le differenze nell'uso dello spazio tra femmine, maschi territoriali e non territoriali (una differente AMT) (2011-2012-2017), usando radio-telemetria GPS-GSM. Sono stati inoltre valutati gli effetti di fattori meteorologici sul comportamento spaziale di entrambi i sessi. La variazione della frequenza delle interazioni aggressive intra-sessuali, della risposta endogena, della qualità nutrizionale della dieta, nonché la variazione delle dimensioni dei gruppi sono state studiate nelle femmine attraverso osservazioni comportamentali su individui riconoscibili e analisi di campioni fecali (Giugno-Novembre 2017-2018).Sex-related constraints could determine different individual responses to environmental stressors (e.g. climate, seasonality of resources). On mountains, the access to high quality pasture for herbivores is limited to the warm months, thus making summer forage crucial for winter survival, in particular to females, who face the costs of motherhood, and kids. In gregarious species, seasonality of resources may also influences social behaviour: thus, pasture depletion may increase feeding interference and endogenous stress levels, in turn leading to the increase of intraspecific aggressive interactions. My thesis concerns a mountain-dwelling ungulate, the Alpine chamois. I investigated mating and spatial behaviour of adult males, for which two alternative mating tactics (AMTs) have been described (territoriality and non-territoriality). Understanding differences in key aspects of life-history, such as age, mating success, aggressiveness, and behaviour between individuals adopting different AMTs would help explain their coexistence in the population. I analysed data collected on individually marked males during 5 rutting seasons (2011-2012, 2015-2017). Studying how environmental and individual factors influence mating opportunities of territorial male chamois would help understand how territoriality (an AMT) is maintained in the population. I evaluated mating behaviour of territorial males and environmental features, recorded during 5 rutting seasons (2011-2012, 2015-2017). The adoption of a mating tactic may influence space use in males. Conversely, female spatial behaviour may be influenced by the presence of offspring. I investigated differences in space use between females, territorial and non-territorial (a different AMT) males (2011-2012-2017), using intensive GPS-GSM radio-tracking. The effects of meteorological factors on the spatial behaviour of both sexes have also been evaluated. Variation of the frequency of intra-sexual aggressive interactions, endocrine correlates, nutritional quality of diet, as well as grouping patterns have been investigated in females through behavioural observations on recognisable individuals and analyses of fresh faecal samples (June-November 2017-2018).
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Houtman, Anne Michelle. "Sexual selection in the zebra finch (Poephila guttata)." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1990. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.257821.
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Croucher, Peter James Paul. "Evolutionary interactions of two colonizing species of large house spider (Araneae: Tegenaria spp.) : testing the reinforcement hypothesis." Thesis, University of York, 1998. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/9766/.
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Park, Kirsty Janet. "Roosting ecology and behaviour of four temperate species of bat." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.244877.
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Oliver, Colin Malcolm. "The role of the ram in the impala (Aepyceros melampus) mating system." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2002. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-03292005-104752/.
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Jordan, Crispin Y. "The consequences of inflorescence architecture for bumble bee behaviour and plant mating." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape2/PQDD_0021/MQ55273.pdf.
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Burton, Maxwell N. "The reproductive and mating behaviour of the gregarious parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/2386.
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Mating behaviours and reproductive decisions are of key importance to evolutionary fitness. However, it is often difficult to measure and compare the fitness of different individuals, especially in long-lived species, and for behaviours that are subject to multiple selective forces. A striking exception though is the field of sex-allocation research, which is a triumphant success of evolutionary theory (Charnov 1982). The reason for this success is that, following Fisher (1958), the fitness consequences of different sex ratios can be readily predicted and tested analytically. These predictions are very amenable to empirical testing and provide a platform to measure the precision of adaptation, which is crucial for understanding the nature of evolutionary change.
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Haynes, Sarah. "Reproductive behaviour and mating patterns of the field slug Deroceras recticulatum (Muller)." Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.307935.
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Kraus, Frank Bernhard. "Consequences of mating behaviour on the population ecology of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.)." [S.l. : s.n.], 2003. http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn=969931441.
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Cotterill, Melanie Aimée. "Wolbachia infection and mating behaviour in the solitary sheet web spider, Pityohyphantes phrygianus." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.587830.
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Scandinavian populations of Pityohyphantes phrygianus have been observed to maintain a female biased sex ratio and exhibit a high infection prevalence of the maternally inherited bacteriumWolbachia. Previous research has suggested a role for female control in offspring sex ratio and that the direction of this relationship may be influenced by the Wolbachia infection status of the male (Gunnarsson et al. 2009). This study is the first to compare Scandinavian populations with a previously unstudied UK population. Analyses suggest that Wolbachia infection and reproductive behaviours are intrinsic to the species and are not seemingly the result of demography or localised environmental factors. No association was found between spider gender and Wolbachia infection, therefore Wolbachia is not acting through parthenogenesis induction or male- killing. The main focus of this project was to continue the study into female mating behaviour, to integrate detailed studies of male behaviour into the current literature, and to investigate the role of Wolbachia in influencing behaviour of both sexes. Results are in agreement with previous research indicating that female fitness is positively correlated with female position and, in addition, observed a positive correlation between size and fecundity. Interestingly, Wolbachia infected females appear to benefit from a significant size advantage over their uninfected cohorts. There is strong evidence that Wolbachia infection also influences male behaviour and, that male behaviour can direct female behaviour post-copulation. These results are unprecedented in spider-Wolbachia research. It is conceivable that Local Resource Competition operates within the population with larger, fitter, females producing more sons. The mechanism by which offspring sex ratio is distorted is likely to be female mediated, through processes of cryptic female choice. Within this population, Wolbachia acts as a beneficial symbiont, through increased fertilisation success as a consequence of an increase in female size and the potential for male infection status to increase female fertilisation success. This research identifies P. phrygianus as a biologically interesting system in which to study sex ratio theory and in a wider context contributes to the understanding of reproduction in spiders and the influence of maternally inherited bacteria.
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Birkett, Alan. "Reproductive behaviour and mating strategies of fallow deer in an enclosed deer park." Thesis, Manchester Metropolitan University, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.240850.
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Burhani, Joseph. "Role of semiochemicals in oviposition and mating behaviour of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)." Thesis, Keele University, 2013. http://eprints.keele.ac.uk/194/.
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Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) is the major vector of a number of arboviruses including dengue. Understanding how semiochemicals might mediate the key behaviours of mating and oviposition should lead to a better understanding of the biology of Aedes aegypti and might also lead to practical vector control applications. The results of behavioural investigations into putative egg associated oviposition pheromone have been contradictory and incomplete in that they failed to control numbers of eggs in their experimental design. A previous study found behavioural evidence for a male produced sex pheromone, but an upwind anemotactic response of females was not tested and it could be argued that the experimental design was not robust. For this thesis no-choice and choice bioassays were carried out to test the oviposition response of gravid females to both specific numbers of con-specific eggs and methanol extract of eggs. An olfactometer was designed to test the upwind anemotactic response of virgin females to male headspace volatiles with and without host odour cues. These male odours were also used to bait BG-sentinel traps in the field. While no evidence was found that was consistent with an egg associated oviposition pheromone in Aedes aegypti, results from both laboratory and field based experiments suggest that males might emit a pheromone in response to host odour that attracts virgin females. Results from experiments in which males were not exposed to host odour suggest that host odour might be required to stimulate pheromone release.
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Stutt, Alastair David. "Reproductive strategies and sexual conflict in the bed bug Cimex lectularius." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 1999. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/6027/.
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In this thesis I examine the reproductive strategies of the bed bug Cimex lectularius, a traumatically inseminating insect. In Chapter 21 examine the mating behaviour of C. lectularius, including the mating rates of males and females. Remating rates were very high, with females mating with 5 different males during a single reproductive bout. Males copulated for longer with virgin females than non-virgins. Sperm competition was predicted to be an important determinant of male reproductive success, because the ejaculates of an average of 5 males will be concurrent in the female's reproductive tract during a reproductive bout. In Chapter 3 the different gamete allocation strategies used by males were examined. Males allocated more sperm to virgin females than to non-virgins. Sperm migration and storage by females was examined in order to provide a basis from which mechanisms of sperm competition could be predicted. In Chapter 4 the patterns of sperm precedence were examined and a hypothetical mechanism of sperm competition was tested experimentally. Sperm precedence appears to favour the last male to mate due to a positional effect in the spermalege of the last ejaculate inseminated. In Chapter 5 the effect of high mating rates on females was assessed experimentally. Females mating at a high rate were found to die earlier than females mating at an artificially low rate. There was no difference in the rate of egg production of females between these two groups, so females mating at a low rate had a higher lifetime reproductive success. Appendix I investigates the potential benefits females may gain from polyandry. Both direct benefits of mating and a suite of possible fitness traits were assessed. However, no detectable differences in number or quality of offspring were uncovered. Chapter 6 reviews the evidence for a conflict of interest between the sexes over the remating rate and the possible causes of this conflict.
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Thompson, Glen Andrew. "Mating behaviour and the reproductive ecology of the big-handed crab, Heterozius rotundifrons A. Milne Edwards, 1867." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Zoology, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/1515.
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The mating behaviour and reproductive ecology of the big-handed crab Heterozius rotundifrons was studied at Kaikoura between November 1997 and December 1998. H. rotundifrons was found at mean densities of 7.6 per m² (± 1.4) within the middle and low shore levels and varied little between seasons. The variance! mean ratio indicated that males and females aggregated within these shore levels. The sex ratio was significantly female biased during the majority of the year. Allometric growth rates indicated that males and females reached sexual maturity at 11 mm carapace width (CW). In males, spermatozoa production occurred between 9-9.99 mm CW. Ovigerous females were present every month except February. The first broods of the year were produced in March which coincides with a decrease in the female gonado-somatic index (GSI). These broods were incubated for approximately nine months whereas broods produced in August were incubated for only five months. Female brood production appeared to be cyclical, alternating between a winter incubation period and a summer incubation period. The completed cycle takes approximately three years with two broods produced during the cycle. Fecundity increased with female size but egg mortality was quite high (19%). Instantaneous mortality rate increased with increasing brood development. Females mate when recently moulted (soft-shelled). Although females moulted through out the year, in small numbers, there was a peak in female moulting during October and November. The operational sex ratio (OSR) was male biased during all months of the year. Females released an attractant prior to moulting which initiated pre-copulatory mate guarding by the male. Once the female moulted, copulation occurred approximately 6 h later. Copulation lasted for approximately 3 h and was followed by a period of post-copulatory mate guarding. Males increased the duration of post-copulatory mate guarding if another male was present. Large males out competed small males for receptive females. Males used their large cheliped to subdue competitors and to provide protection for the soft female. Mate guarding was shown to reduce cannibalism from other females. Spermatozoa are packaged in spermatophores within the vas deferens of males but are quickly dehisced within the spermathecae (ventral-type) of newly mated females. Last male to copulate probably achieves the highest level of paternity. Postcopulatory mate guarding by the male was found and ejaculates were found in discrete packets within the spermatheca. Sperm competition appeared to be important because large males displaced small males during copulation, males left when a female was still receptive and the females could retain sperm between moults. It is concluded that H. rotundifrons probably has a polygynous mating system in which males compete for soft females (female centered competition)
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Myhre, Lise Cats. "Effects of the Social and Physical Environment on Mating Behaviour in a Marine Fish." Doctoral thesis, Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Institutt for biologi, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-19825.
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Fiore, Palestina Guevara. "The role of olfactory cues in the mating behaviour of the guppy, Poecilia reticulata." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.515243.
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Norén, Hanna. "Exposure to the antidepressant fluoxetine reduces mating behaviour in the freshwater isopod Asellus aquaticus." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Biologi, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-157665.
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Worldwide, pharmaceutical compounds continue to increase in our aquatic environment. The predominant route into nature is through wastewater treatment plants since the elimination of residual pharmaceuticals is still not mainstream in WWTPs. Fluoxetine is an antidepressant which is commonly prescribed to treat human depression. Wastewater residual fluoxetine is typically found in waters around the world, and can thus affect exposed organisms, such as fish and invertebrates. However, how fluoxetine may affect mating behaviour in exposed organisms remains poorly understood, and particularly so in invertebrates. This is hampering our understanding of the consequences of our medicine leaking into nature because mating behaviour often affects fitness, and invertebrates are key organisms in food chains. Therefore, I here experimentally investigated long-term effects of environmental relevant concentration of fluoxetine (20 ng L-1) on mating behaviours of male and female freshwater isopod Asellus aquaticus. I demonstrate that fluoxetine reduced male mating attempts with receptive females. Further, there was a tendency for fluoxetine exposure to increase latency to form pre-copula. There was no effect of fluoxetine exposure on male latency to encounter females or female responses toward males. These results indicate that fluoxetine also can affect isopods by reducing mating behaviour. In the long-term, if reproduction is delayed or reduced, it may cause a reduction in populations and thus, alter the whole ecosystem.
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Al-Mohsen, Ibrahim. "Macrobrachium rosenbergii (de Man 1879) : the antennal gland and the role of pheromones in mating behaviour." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/1793.
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The freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (de Man, 1879) is an important aquaculture species but one that has the disadvantage of heterogeneous individual growth (HIG) according to different morphotypes. Chemical cues, especially, pheromones, are one of the most important communication types between individual prawns, along with visual and tactile methods. Testing pheromones, whilst restricting other cues, may therefore lead to a better understanding of the influence of these communicatory compounds on the prawn reproductive process. The three principle objectives of this study were therefore: 1) To examine the effect of moult stage and morphotype on pheromone-induced sexual behaviour 2) To examine the role of pheromone / urine concentrations on sexual attraction behaviour 3) To describe the functional morphology of the antennal gland and examine its possible role in pheromone production and release. Identical bioassay tanks were designed and constructed to study the reproductive behaviour of prawns. Experiments were set up to examine responses to pheromone release by live prawns over 30 minutes and behavioural response observations were made with the aid of a Closed-Circuit Videotape System (CCVS). Results were statistically analysed using a repeated measures general linear model (GLM). Three trials were designed to test the effect of moult stage of both males and females and male morphotypes on sexual attraction behavioural responses. Twelve prawns were used for each trial and each prawn was used five times (1 no-pheromone control and 4 for experimental tests). The first trial studied the effect of female moult stages (pre-, inter and newly-moulted) on sexual attraction behaviour of blue claw (BC) male. Results of this trial showed that newly-moulted females spent significantly (p<0.05) less time approaching the BC male than the pre- and inter-moult females. The second trial studied the effect of male moult stage (pre-, inter and newly-moulted) on sexual attraction to receptive females. Results showed that the time taken by the inter-moult males was (p<0.05) less than the pre- and newly-moulted males in approaching the newly-moulted female. The third trial tested the effect of male morphotypes (small male, SM, orange claw, OC and dominant blue claw, BC) on sexual attraction behaviour towards newly-moulted females. Results showed that the BC male was significantly more attractive (p<0.05) than other morphotypes to newly-moulted females and that the OC male was the least attractive. The role of moulting stage for both male and female prawns on reproductive response behaviour was investigated. Because BC males responded significantly faster towards newly-moulted female more than to either pre-or inter-moult females, results of the first trial suggest that BC males are able to use different chemical cues to gather information about a conspecific’s gender and can differentiate female’s moult stages. Since BC males responded significantly faster towards newly-moulted females more than to either pre-or inter-moult females, this suggests that females at this particular stage released a distinct sexual pheromone or concentration of pheromone that differed from those pheromones released by both pre- and inter-moult females. In contrast, newly-moulted females prefer the inter-moult BC males which indicate that females have an ability to distinguish the moult status of BC males. Furthermore, it indicates that pheromone characteristics change with the moult status of BC males. Also, newly-moulted females are most likely to be avoiding the potential costs of mate guarding with soft shell BC males. Results obtained from the third trial suggested that a newly-moulted female can discriminate male morphotypes (SM, OC and BC) from their pheromone cues. This indicates that male morphotypes release pheromones which differ from each other in some way. Newly-moulted females responded positively to both SM and BC males with different levels of attraction with the greatest attraction to BC males to BC males suggesting that pheromone released from the BC male may carry information relating to dominance status. Urine is believed to be one of the main carriers of pheromone and is usually released from the antennal gland. Different urine concentrations (0.1, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0 and 10µl l-1) of collected urine from BC males were used to test the sexual attraction behaviour of receptive newly-moulted females. Also, the attractant capability of fresh urine following exposure to different temperature regimes (cooled at 4ºC, frozen at -70ºC and heated at 70ºC) was tested. Since newly-moulted female M. rosenbergii were attracted to BC male urine, this indicates the existence of sex pheromone in the fresh urine. Also, it was found that the sexual response of females to fresh urine of BC males was directly proportional to urine concentration with faster responses observed with increasing urine concentrations. At the three fresh urine concentrations 0.1 µl l-1, 1.0 µl l-1 and 2.0 µl l-1, statistical analysis indicated no significant difference (p>0.05) between these three concentrations while a significant (P<0.05) response was to concentrations more than 3.0 µl l-1. This may indicate that these three concentrations were not sufficient to elicit attraction behaviour in newly-moulted females. A concentration of 3.0 µl l-1 of fresh urine is suggested to be a sufficient concentration to elicit a significant sexual attraction under laboratory conditions. Response of newly-moulted female prawns to the various temperature treatments tested declined in response to nominally increasingly degradative treatments. Also, statistical analysis showed that temperature treatment and concentration added both had a significant effect on the response of females. The greatest degradation of urine attractiveness was found with the 70ºC heat treatment. It can be concluded that the pheromone components of prawn urine are friable when exposed to high temperatures. Using light and transmission electron microscopes, ultrastructural observation of the antennal gland (AG) of M. rosenbergii suggests that it has four distinct regions, the coelomosac, the nephridial tubules, the labyrinth and the bladder. Morphological and functional descriptions of each of these regions were compared with those of other aquatic Crustacea.
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Hawkins, Clare Elaine. "Behaviour and ecology of the fossa, Cryptoprocta ferox (Carnivora: Viverridae) in a dry deciduous forest, western Madagascar." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.324435.
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In the first longterm field study of the fossa, mean adult body mass measured was, in males, 7.4 kg (n=17, s.d.=1.2), and, in females, 6.1 kg (n=11 females, s.d.=0.6). Sexual size dimorphism was most marked in canine width. 376 scats yielded 554 prey items, of which the majority were lemurs (>50%)m, tenrecs and snakes. Incidence of prey in scats correlated positively with abundance. Scat composition varied with season, but not with year nor gender of fossa. Sexual dimorphism could not therefore be explained as niche separation. Home ranges were, for two males, 22.74 km2 and 26.20 km2, and for two females, 12.69 km2 and 7.84 km2. These, and incomplete ranges of six others, overlapped between males but not females, and were larger in the dry season than in the wet season. Censuses and radio-tracking generated consistent population density estimates, averaging 0.17 adults per km2, substantially lower than predicted from body size, and indicating that even Madagascar's largest reserve may not hold a viable population of fossas. The unique mating system resembled a lek: females mated with multiple males on traditional sites. One female occupied a site at a time, for up to one week. The system may benefit species with low population density, by increasing mate choice for females and facilitating mate location for males. It may also reduce sexual harassment of oestrous females. Males fought at the sites, but no size-related advantage in male mating success was observed. A different mating system was predicted from the home range data. The first discovery was made of transient masculinization of a female mammal. Juvenile female fossas (n=8) exhibited an enlarged, spinescent clitoris supported by an os clitoridis, and a pigmented secretion that in adults was confined to males. Masculinization was hypothesized to reduce sexual harassment of young females.
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Peters, Patricia L. "Assortative mating among men and women with histories of aggressive, withdrawn, and aggressive-withdrawn behaviour." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0016/NQ43579.pdf.
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Ward, Helen. "Describing and explaining mating behaviour and reproductive success in the greater horseshoe bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum." Thesis, Queen Mary, University of London, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.612573.
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Lanctot, Richard B. (Richard Benjamin) Carleton University Dissertation Biology. "Variable mating behaviour and reproductive success in the lek-breeding buff-breasted sandpiper, Tryngites subruficollis." Ottawa, 1996.
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Lawson, Jamie F. "The effects of pubertal timing and dominance on the mating strategy, appearance and behaviour of men." Thesis, St Andrews, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/706.
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Zharikov, Yuri. "Mating behaviour and paternity of socially monogamous semipalmated plovers Charadrius semipalmatus breeding in the sub-Arctic." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ30240.pdf.
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Ekanayake, Darshika. "The mating system and courtship behaviour of the Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae)." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2017. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/106918/2/Wasala_Ekanayake_Thesis.pdf.
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Queensland fruit fly is Australia’s most destructive horticultural insect pest. The flies need to mate to successfully reproduce, but there remained significant gaps in knowledge about how they find and select mates. I showed that male and female flies likely use physical landmarks to find each other in the environment. Having found potential mates, I described their fine-scale courtship behaviour and demonstrated that young, large male flies are most successful at securing a mate. I also made significant advances in our understanding of the potential for close-range chemical communication to play a role in mate identification and selection. This research directly informs sustainable management strategies against this pest.
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Westcott, David Andrew. "Behaviour and social organization during the breeding season in Mionectes oleagineus (Aves, Tyrannidae)." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/30524.
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Mionectes oleagineus (Aves, Tyrannidae) is a small, sexually monomorphic, lek breeding bird. The behaviour and mating system of this species were studied on Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula over two years. In this thesis I ask three questions: 1) What kind of social organization does M. oleagineus exhibit? 2) Does habitat influence male display dispersion? and 3) What is the function of song in attracting mates and in male-male interactions?
In Chapter 2, I describe M. oleagineus' social organization. There were three categories of males: territory owners, satellites and floaters. The latter 2 categories were non-territorial and represented half of the male population. I describe interactions between displaying males and visitors to their territories, including courtship display and aggressive interactions between males. Male display dispersion was highly variable in the study area, including classical leks, in which territories shared contiguous boundaries, an exploded lek, where the territories did not share boundaries, and solitary display territories.
In Chapter 3, I test the hypothesis that the number of males that can settle in an area, and their subsequent display dispersion, is determined by the availability and dispersion of suitable habitat. Discriminant function analysis of measures of vegetation structure from both territories and non-territory sample plots showed that territory habitat could be distinguished from non-territory habitat. Eleven percent of the sample plots were described as suitable habitat in the analysis. Given that half the male population is non-territorial, the existence of unoccupied, suitable habitat makes it unlikely that habitat availability determines the number of males settling, or their display dispersion. The major occupation of males on their display territories is singing. In Chapter 4, I investigate the function of song for M. oleagineus using behavioural observation and an experiment involving temporary muting. Males which sang at higher rates received more visitors of both sexes. The territories of most muted territorial males were rapidly usurped by other males. Two of the muted males regained their territories upon regaining the ability to sing. This study is the first to directly demonstrate a key role for song in male-male interactions on leks. It also provides evidence that females use song in mate assessment.Science, Faculty of
Zoology, Department of
Graduate
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Buckley, Benjamin James William. "Ranging behaviour of male orang-utans in an unfragmented Bornean habitat and implications for mating-system mechanics." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2015. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.708701.
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Casalini, Mara. "Male mating tactics in the rose bitterling (Rhodeus ocellatus) and European bitterling (Rhodeus amarus)." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3447.
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The aim of this study was to investigate the basis to male mating decisions in two related species of bitterling: Rhodeus ocellatus and R. amarus. Bitterling have a resource-based mating system; females lay eggs in the gills of live freshwater mussels and males fertilize the eggs by releasing sperm into the inhalant syphon of the mussel. Male bitterling perform courtship behaviour and aggressively defend mussels in a territory from which they exclude other males. Using laboratory and field experiments it was shown that male aggressive behaviour is inherited through additive maternal genes. Male aggression is also influenced by the number of conspecific males encountered in competition for a mussel, and by the degree of clustering of mussels. Limited availability of mussels results in stronger selection on traits males use in mating context: hence they are more aggressive, larger and more colourful. The differences in mating behaviours in different environments may indicate a conflict between male dominance and female choice, but have not led to reproductive isolation. Resource availability during ontogenesis and male density during embryogenesis, however, do not exert an effect on male aggressive behaviour. Red carotenoid-based nuptial coloration functions as an inter- and intra-sexual signal and undergoes rapid variation in response to changes in mating context. Male bitterling do not modulate their courtship and aggressive behaviour in response to variation in female size, and their choice of mussel species is influenced by, and consistent with, female oviposition choice.
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Belanger, Rachelle Marie. "An Interdisciplinary Investigation of the Role of Crayfish Major Chelae in the Discrimination of Conspecific Odours: from Morphology to Behaviour." Bowling Green, Ohio : Bowling Green State University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=bgsu1182174766.
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Paciência, Filipa M. D. [Verfasser]. "Mating behaviour of a wild olive baboon population (Papio anubis) infected by Treponema pallidum / Filipa M.D Paciência." Göttingen : Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, 2020. http://d-nb.info/1218780789/34.
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Trigwell, Jacqueline Ann. "Mating behaviour and sperm use in Biomphalaria glabrata (Say, 1818)(Gastropoda: Pulmonata), an intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni." Thesis, University of Kent, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.297353.
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Unterthiner, Stefano. "Ranging patterns, habitat use and male mating behaviour of Alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra) in the Italian Alps." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.327005.
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Giri, Tuhin. "Mating behaviour, epibiotic growth, and the effect of salinity on grooming activity in the hermaphroditic shrimp Lysmata wurdemanni." Texas A&M University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1969/302.
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Weldon, Christopher William. "Dispersal and mating behaviour of Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni(Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae): Implicationsfor population establishment and control." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/700.
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The Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae), a major pest of horticulture in eastern Australia, is a relatively poor coloniser of new habitat. This thesis examines behavioural properties that might limit the ability of B. tryoni to establish new populations. As the potential for B. tryoni to establish an outbreak population may be most directly limited by mechanisms associated with dispersal and mating behaviour, these two factors were the focus of this research project. The relevance of dispersal and mating behaviour for control of outbreak populations was assessed. Dispersal (i) Dispersal patterns of males and females are not different. Dispersal of post-teneral male B. tryoni from a point within an orchard near Richmond, New South Wales, was monitored following temporally replicated releases. Application of sterile insect technique (SIT) requires knowledge of dispersal from a release point so that effective release rates can be determined. In addition, dispersal following introduction to new habitat can lead to low or negative population growth and an Allee effect. In Spring and Autumn, 2001 – 2003, three different strains of B. tryoni were released: (1) wild flies reared from infested fruit collected in the Sydney Basin; (2) a laboratory-reared strain with a colour mutation (white marks); and (3) sterile flies obtained by gamma-irradiation of a mass-reared strain. Dispersal was monitored using a grid of traps baited with the male attractant, cuelure. During the majority of releases, flies were massmarked using a self-marking technique and fluorescent pigment powder to enable identification of recaptured flies. A preliminary study found that fluorescent pigment marks had no effect on adult survival and marks did not fade significantly in the laboratory over a period of five weeks after eclosion. As cuelure repels inseminated sexually mature female B. tryoni, unbaited, coloured flat sticky traps, and black and yellow sticky sphere traps baited with a food lure (protein autolysate solution) were used to supplement traps baited with cuelure. The effectiveness of these two sticky trap types was assessed, and recaptures used to compare patterns of dispersal from a release point by male and female B. tryoni. Fluorescent yellow (chartreuse), green, and clear unbaited flat sticky traps were relatively ineffective for monitoring dispersal of sterile male and female B. tryoni, recapturing only 0.1% of released sterile flies. Monitoring dispersal with sticky ball traps baited with protein autolysate solution was more successful, with yellow spheres and black spheres recapturing 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively. Trap colour had no effect on recaptures on flat sticky traps or sticky spheres. Equal recapture rates on yellow and black sticky sphere traps suggests that the odour of yeast autolysate solution was more important than colour for attraction of post-teneral flies to traps. Using the results of recaptures on odoriferous black and yellow sticky sphere traps within one week of release, regression equations of male and female recaptures per trap were found to be similar (Figure 4-3). This is the first study to clearly indicate that post-teneral dispersal patterns of male and female B. tryoni released from a point do not differ, enabling the use of existing models to predict density of both sexes of B. tryoni following post-teneral dispersal. (ii) Males disperse further in Spring than in Autumn, but this is not temperature-related. Analysis of replicated recaptures in traps baited with cuelure revealed that dispersal of male B. tryoni in an orchard near Richmond, New South Wales, was higher in Spring than in Autumn (Figure 5-6). As the maximum daily temperature was significantly higher in Spring than in Autumn this result was unexpected, since earlier studies have found that B. tryoni disperse at the onset of cool weather in search of sheltered over-wintering sites. Dispersal of post-teneral B. tryoni may have been affected by habitat suitability; it was found that seasonal trends in dispersal could have been influenced by local habitat variables. Low mean dispersal distances in Autumn may be explained by the presence of fruiting hosts in the orchard, or the availability of resources required by over-wintering flies. There was no significant correlation between temperature and mean dispersal distance, suggesting that higher rates of dispersal cannot be explained by temperature-related increases in activity. Recapture rate per trap was significantly negatively correlated with increasing daily maximum and average temperature. This may have consequences for detection of B. tryoni outbreaks in quarantine areas due to reduced cuelure trap efficiency. (iii) Maturity and source variation affect dispersal and response to cuelure. This research indicated that most male and female B. tryoni do not disperse far from a release point, suggesting that an invading propagule would not spread far in the first generation. However, there is considerable variation in flight capability among individuals. Comparison of wild, laboratory-reared white marks, and gamma-irradiated sterile male B. tryoni indicated that mean dispersal distance and redistribution patterns were not significantly affected by fly origin. Despite no difference in dispersal distance from the release point, recaptures of wild and sterile males per Lynfield trap baited with cuelure were highest within one week after release, whereas recaptures of white marks males per trap increased in the second week. This result may offer evidence to support the hypothesis that sterile male B. tryoni respond to cuelure at an earlier age. Rearing conditions used to produce large quantities of males for sterilisation by gamma-irradiation may select for earlier sexual maturity. Mating Behaviour (i) Density and sex ratio do not affect mating, except at low densities. Demographic stochasticity in the form of sex ratio fluctuations at low population density can lead to an observed Allee effect. The effect of local group density and sex ratio on mating behaviour and male mating success of a laboratory-adapted strain of B. tryoni was examined in laboratory cages. In the laboratory-adapted strain of B. tryoni used in this study, a group of one female and one male was sufficient for a good chance of mating success. The proportion of females mated and male mating success was not significantly affected by density or sex ratio, although variability in male mating success was higher at low density. This could indicate that mating success of B. tryoni can be reduced when local group density is low owing to decreased frequency in encounters between males and females. (ii) Mass-reared males exhibit aberrant mating behaviour, but this does not reduce mating success. Strong artificial selection in mass-rearing facilities may lead to decreased competitiveness of sterile males released in SIT programs as a result of alteration or loss of ecological and behavioural traits required in the field. The effects of domestication and irradiation on the mating behaviour of males of B. tryoni were investigated by caging wild, mass-reared and sterile (mass-reared and gammairradiated) males with wild females. Mating behaviour of mass-reared males was different from that of wild males, but behaviour of wild and sterile males was similar. Mass-reared males were found to engage in mounting of other males much more frequently than wild and sterile males, and began calling significantly earlier before darkness. Male calling did not appear to be associated with female choice of mating partners, although this does not exclude the possibility that calling is a cue used by females to discriminate between mating partners. Conditions used to domesticate and rear large quantities of B. tryoni for SIT may select for an alternative male mating strategy, with mass-reared males calling earlier and exercising less discrimination between potential mating partners. Despite differences in behaviour of wild, mass-reared and sterile males, frequency of successful copulations and mating success were similar. (iii) Pheromone-calling by males was increased in larger aggregations but this did not result in significantly more female visits. Finally, large laboratory cages with artificial leks were used to investigate the importance in B. tryoni of male group size for female visitation at lek sites and initiation of male pheromone-calling. Calling propensity of male B. tryoni was increased by the presence of conspecific males. Females visited the largest lek more frequently than single males, but there was no correlation between lek size and female visitation. Female B. tryoni had a limited capacity to perceive a difference between the number of calling males; female visitation at leks was only weakly associated with male calling, suggesting that lek size and the number of pheromone-calling males may not be the only factor important in locating mates in B. tryoni. The weak, but positive correlation between male calling and female visitation may indicate that passive attraction maintains lek-mating in B. tryoni. Further studies are essential on mating behaviour of B. tryoni, including identification of male mating aggregations in the field, measurement of habitat variables associated with male aggregations, the influence of density on wild B. tryoni mating success, and the role of pheromone-calling, in order to optimise use of SIT for control of this pest.