Authors
Patricia J Moore, W Edwin Harris, V Tamara Montrose, Daniel Levin, Allen J Moore
Publication date
2004/8/1
Journal
Evolution
Volume
58
Issue
8
Pages
1773-1780
Publisher
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Description
. Ejaculates function as an integrated unit to ensure male fertility and paternity, can have a complex structure, and can experience multiple episodes of selection. Current studies on the evolution of ejaculates typically focus on phenotypic variation in sperm number, size, or related traits such as testes size as adaptations to postcopulatory male‐male competition. However, the evolution of the integrated nature of ejaculate structure and function depends on genetic variation in and covariation between the component parts. Here we report a quantitative genetic study of the components of the ejaculate of the cockroach Nauphoeta cinerea, including those we know to experience postcopulatory sexual selection, in the context of functional integration of ejaculate characters. We use the patterns of genetic variation and covariation to infer how the integration of the functions of the ejaculate constrain and shape its …
Total citations
2005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202463887812375424333121