A high reproductive potential is one reason for the rapid spread of Drosophila suzukii in Europe and in the United States. In order to identify mechanisms that mediate mating and reproduction in D. suzukii we studied the fly's reproductive behavior, diurnal mating activity and sexual maturation. Furthermore, we studied the change of female cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) with age and conducted a ...

Abstract Mating behavior in animals can be understood as a sequence of events that begins with individuals encountering one another and ends the production offspring. Behavioral descriptions animal interactions characterize early elements this sequence, genetic use offspring parentage to final outcome, behavioral physiological assessments mates mechanisms copulation fertilization comprising int...

Post-mating, sexual interactions of opposite sexes differ considerably in different organisms. Post-mating interactions such as re-mating behavior and male harassment can affect the fitness of both sexes. Echinothrips americanus is a new insect pest in Mainland China, and little is known about its post-mating interactions. In this study, we observed re-mating frequency and male harassment frequ...

Selection may act on the weakest link in fitness to change how a species adapts to an environmental stress. For many species, this limitation may be reproduction. After adult Drosophila melanogaster, Drosophila simulans, and Drosophila mojavensis males were exposed to varying levels of thermal stress well below those that endanger life, courtship and mating frequency declined. The regression co...

The Neuromolecular Mechanisms That Coordinate Food Availability with C. elegans Male Sexual Behavior. (August 2008) Todd R. Gruninger, B.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. L. Rene Garcia Organisms must coordinate behavioral and physiological responses to changing environmental conditions. In the nematode C. elegans, the presence or absence of food in the environment affec...

In both humans and nonhuman animals, mating strategies represent a set of evolutionary adaptations aimed at promoting individual fitness by means of reproduction with the best possible partners. Given this critical role, mating strategies influence numerous aspects of human life. In particular, between-sex divergence in the intensity of intrasexual competition could account for robust cross-cul...

Costs of inbreeding can lead to total reproductive failure and inbreeding avoidance is, therefore, common. In classical sex roles with no paternal care, the selective pressure to avoid inbreeding is mostly on the female, which carries the higher costs. In some orb-web spiders, this situation is very different because females are polyandrous and males are monogynous or at most bigynous. Addition...

Drosophila yakuba is widespread in Africa. Here we compare the cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles and mating behavior of mainland (Kounden, Cameroon) and island (Mayotte, Sao-Tome, Bioko) populations. The strains each had different CHC profiles: Bioko and Kounden were the most similar, while Mayotte and Sao-Tome contained significant amounts of 7-heptacosene. The CHC profile of the Sao-Tome p...

The socially parasitic ant genus Myrmoxenus varies strongly in fundamental life history traits, such as queen-worker ratio, the timing of sexual production, and mating behavior. Myrmoxenus queens generally take over nests of Temnothorax ants, kill the resident queen by throttling, and force the workers to take care of the social parasite's brood. Young queens of M. ravouxi and other species pro...