Search results for "Mating"

Chemosensory cues allow male Tenebrio molitor beetles to assess the reproductive status of potential mates

2004

Males of many insect species, including beetles, choose their mates according to their reproductive status. However, the ways in which male beetles evaluate female reproductive status have received little attention. We tested the existence of male mate choice in the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, by observing mating and courtship behaviour of males given simultaneous access to pairs of females differing in their reproductive status: (1) mature versus immature; (2) virgin versus previously mated; (3) familiar (mated with the experimental male) versus unfamiliar (mated with a different male). Males courted and mated preferentially with mature and virgin females. To determine whether chemi…

Quantity Estimation Based on Numerical Cues in the Mealworm Beetle (Tenebrio molitor)

2012

In this study, we used a biologically relevant experimental procedure to ask whether mealworm beetles (Tenebrio molitor) are spontaneously capable of assessing quantities based on numerical cues. Like other insect species, mealworm beetles adjust their reproductive behavior (i.e., investment in mate guarding) according to the perceived risk of sperm competition (i.e., probability that a female will mate with another male). To test whether males have the ability to estimate numerosity based on numerical cues, we staged matings between virgin females and virgin males in which we varied the number of rival males the experimental male had access to immediately preceding mating as a cue to sperm…

A Red Eye Colour Mutation in Culex pipiens after X-irradiation

1963

FOUR 1–2-day-old males of Culex pipiens were irradiated with a dose of 4,000 r. The mutant ‘red eye’ (r) was isolated from F3 cultures of two of the irradiated males (♂ II and ♂ IV). From male II, there were three red-eyed females which arose out of a single F2 brother–sister mating; from male IV, 80 red-eyed females and one red-eyed male from 14 F2 brother–sister matings. According to the experimental procedure, this means that at least one sperm from male II and at least fourteen sperms from male IV carried the mutation r. Thus, the same mutation was recovered in parallel from two irradiated males. The clustered appearance of the mutation in male IV was presumably caused by the occurrence…

Lekking in the black grouse— a test of male viability

1991

LEKS, where males congregate to display and females attend only to mate, present one of the most remarkable outcomes of sexual selection1. It is a common but untested belief that females mate with the most vigorous males2. In leks of the black grouse Tetrao tetrix, males dominant in winter flocks were most successful in mating, as were males winning fights over female dummies placed at territory boundaries. Males tear feathers from each others' tail ornaments in combats, and attractive males always had undamaged tails. We report here that by choosing victorious males, females mate with males that are most likely to survive the following six months. There is a strong association between fema…

The Relapsing Polychondritis Disease Activity Index: Development of a disease activity score for relapsing polychondritis.

2012

Abstract Objective The rarity of relapsing polychondritis (RP) has hindered the development of standardized tools for clinical assessment. Here, we describe the development of a preliminary score for disease assessing activity in RP, the Relapsing Polychondritis Disease Activity Index (RPDAI). Methods Twenty-seven RP experts participated in an international collaboration. Selection and definition of items for disease activity were established by consensus during a 4-round internet-based Delphi survey. Twenty-six experts assessed the Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) of disease activity on 43 test cases on a 0–100 scale, yielding a total of 1118 PGA ratings. The weight of each item was est…

Applying polygenic risk scoring for psychiatric disorders to a large family with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder

2018

Psychiatric disorders are thought to have a complex genetic pathology consisting of interplay of common and rare variation. Traditionally, pedigrees are used to shed light on the latter only, while here we discuss the application of polygenic risk scores to also highlight patterns of common genetic risk. We analyze polygenic risk scores for psychiatric disorders in a large pedigree (n ~ 260) in which 30% of family members suffer from major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder. Studying patterns of assortative mating and anticipation, it appears increased polygenic risk is contributed by affected individuals who married into the family, resulting in an increasing genetic risk over generat…

Predictors of enhancing human physical attractiveness: Data from 93 countries

2022

People across the world and throughout history have gone to great lengths to enhance their physical appearance. Evolutionary psychologists and ethologists have largely attempted to explain this phenomenon via mating preferences and strategies. Here, we test one of the most popular evolutionary hypotheses for beauty-enhancing behaviors, drawn from mating market and parasite stress perspectives, in a large cross-cultural sample. We also test hypotheses drawn from other influential and non-mutually exclusive theoretical frameworks, from biosocial role theory to a cultural media perspective. Survey data from 93,158 human participants across 93 countries provide evidence that behaviors such as a…

Erratum to “Motor Transitions' Peculiarity of Heterozygous DAT Rats When Offspring of An Unconventional KOxWT Mating” [Neuroscience 433C (2020) 108–1…

2020

Data from: Fine-scale population differences in Atlantic cod reproductive success: a potential mechanism for ecological speciation in a marine fish

2019

Successful resource-management and conservation outcomes ideally depend on matching the spatial scales of population demography, local adaptation, and threat mitigation. For marine fish with high dispersal capabilities, this remains a fundamental challenge. Based on daily parentage assignments of more than 4000 offspring, we document fine-scaled temporal differences in individual reproductive success for two spatially adjacent (<10km) populations of a broadcast-spawning marine fish. Distinguished by differences in genetics and life history, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) from inner- and outer-fjord populations were allowed to compete for mating and reproductive opportunities. After accounti…

Graphical models for estimating dynamic networks

2012

Het bepalen van dynamische netwerken met behulp van data is een actief onderzoeksgebied, met name in de systeem biologie. Het schatten van de structuur van een netwerk heeft te maken met het bepalen van de aan of afwezigheid van een relatie tussen de hoekpunten in de graaf. Grafische modellen definiëren deze relaties via conditionele afhankelijkheid. In Gaussiaanse grafische modellen (GGM) wordt verondersteld dat de hoekpunten een normale verdeling volgen. Dit heeft grote voordelen vanwege de computationele handelbaarheid van GGM. Standaard GGM zijn echter niet bruikbaar om grote netwerken te bestuderen, i.e. als het aantal waarnemingen minder is dan het aantal hoekpunten van de graaf. Rece…