Sexual selection and ageing: interplay between pre- and post-copulatory traits senescence in the guppy.

ABSTRACT: Traits associated with mating and fertilization success are expected to senesce with age, but limited information is available on their relative rates of senescence. In polyandrous species, male reproductive fitness depends on both mating and fertilization success. Because successful mating is a prerequisite for post-copulatory sexual selection, ejaculate traits are expected to senesce faster than pre-copulatory traits, as pre-copulatory sexual selection is often deemed to be stronger than post-copulatory sexual selection. This pattern has generally been found in the few empirical studies conducted so far. We tested this prediction in the guppy ( Poecilia reticulata), a livebearing fish characterized by intense sperm competition, by comparing the expression of male sexual traits at two age

SUBMITTER: Gasparini C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6408904 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature