In many species, males rely on sexual ornaments to attract females. Females, by contrast, rarely produce ornaments. The glow-worm (Lampyris noctiluca) is an exception where wingless females glow to attract males that fly in search of females. However, little is known about the factors that promote the evolution of female ornaments in a sexual selection context. Here, we investigated if the fema...

Although variation in male fertilization efficiency has been shown to have a genetic basis in several species, the genes responsible for the effect are generally unknown. Here, we show a strong association between the fertilization success of males and their phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (Pgdh) genotype in the bulb mite Rhizoglyphus robini. Males homozygous for the slow (S) allele fathered a s...

Mature specimens ranging in weight from 47.00g to 4450g and in length from145mm to 610mm were used. Weight of ovary in the fish fluctuated from 4.0 g to 707 g with a mean value of 33.47. Absolute fecundity of samples varied from 3173 to 629230 and the relative fecundity varied in the range of 21.00 223.00 with a mean value of 91.17. The mathematical relationship of fecundity with other variable...

Body size is correlated with potential fecundity in capital breeders, but size-dependent functions of realized fecundity may be impacted by reproductive losses due to mating failure or oviposition time limitations (number of eggs remaining in the abdomen of females at death). Post-mortem assessment of adults collected in the field after natural death represents a sound approach to quantify how ...

By investigating metapopulation fitness, we present analytical expressions for the selection gradient and conditions for convergence stability and evolutionary stability in Wright's island model in terms of fecundity function. Coefficients of each derivative of fecundity function appearing in these conditions have fixed signs. This illustrates which kind of interaction promotes or inhibits evol...

the prey suitability for generalist predators is an important feature for efficient mass rearing and ipm. the green lacewing, chrysoperla carnea (stephens) is a polyphagous predator attacking several pests on various crops. this experiment was conducted under laboratory conditions at 25 ± 2 °c, 60 ± 5% r. h. and a photoperiod of 16l: 8d h. the effects of different prey species were investigated...

the reproductive biology of the iranian cichlid, iranocichla hormuzensis coad, 1988, was investigated for 13 consecutive months in lower mehran river, from august 2008 through august 2009. four hundred and eighty six individuals (252 males and 234 females) were captured using a seine net (5 mm mesh size). the observed sex ratio was 1m: 0.93f (χ², df = 1, p = 0.414). mean ± sd of total length (t...

Late-life fecundity has been shown to plateau at late ages in Drosophila analogously to late-life mortality rates. In this study, we test an evolutionary theory of late life based on the declining force of natural selection that can explain the occurrence of these late-life plateaus in Drosophila. We also examine the viability of eggs laid by late-age females and test a population genetic mecha...

a total of 48 female spirlins alburnoides sp. from the kesselian stream (south caspian sea basin, northern iran) were examined during a period from july 2008 to june 2009 to obtain data on fecundity, and to determine the spawning season of this carp. the mean absolute fecundity of females spirlin was 1722.92 (653.88) eggs. the fecundity has positive correlation with the size of the female. the...