IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/beheco/v25y2014i6p1409-1416..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Flexible alternative mating tactics by New Zealand giraffe weevils

Author

Listed:
  • Christina. J. Painting
  • Gregory I. Holwell

Abstract

Alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) occur in many species where there is intense competition for mates and substantial variation in reproductive success between males of different size, age, or condition. Males of the giraffe weevil Lasiorhynchus barbicornis display an elongated rostrum used as a weapon during contests with other males. In addition, both sexes are extremely variable in body size. We determined the presence of ARTs in this species using extensive field observations. Larger males were found to rely only on aggressive behavior to secure females, but smaller males exhibited greater plasticity in their reproductive tactics. Males less than 30mm in body length frequently employed sneaking strategies but would also readily fight with smaller or equally matched opponents. Surprisingly, using mating success as a proxy for fitness, we found no evidence for directional or stabilizing selection on rostrum length, indicating that rostrum length has no detectable influence on the number of copulations that each male performed. Giraffe weevils are a rare example of a species that has evolved ARTs characterized by highly context-dependent behavior in which sneaking and aggressive behaviors are both used by small males in relation to opponent body size.

Suggested Citation

  • Christina. J. Painting & Gregory I. Holwell, 2014. "Flexible alternative mating tactics by New Zealand giraffe weevils," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 25(6), pages 1409-1416.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:beheco:v:25:y:2014:i:6:p:1409-1416.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/beheco/aru140
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Clint D. Kelly, 2008. "Sperm investment in relation to weapon size in a male trimorphic insect?," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 19(5), pages 1018-1024.
    2. Sarah C. Humfeld, 2013. "Condition-dependent signaling and adoption of mating tactics in an amphibian with energetic displays," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 24(4), pages 859-870.
    3. Clare C. Rittschof, 2010. "Male density affects large-male advantage in the golden silk spider, Nephila clavipes," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 21(5), pages 979-985.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael S. Reichert & H. Carl Gerhardt, 2014. "Behavioral strategies and signaling in interspecific aggressive interactions in gray tree frogs," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 25(3), pages 520-530.
    2. Roberto Munguía-Steyer & Bruno A. Buzatto & Glauco Machado, 2012. "Male dimorphism of a neotropical arachnid: harem size, sneaker opportunities, and gonadal investment," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 23(4), pages 827-835.
    3. Christina J Painting & Gregory I Holwell, 2013. "Exaggerated Trait Allometry, Compensation and Trade-Offs in the New Zealand Giraffe Weevil (Lasiorhynchus barbicornis)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(11), pages 1-1, November.
    4. Amanda Bretman & Claudia Fricke & James D. Westmancoat & Tracey Chapman, 2016. "Effect of competitive cues on reproductive morphology and behavioral plasticity in male fruitflies," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 27(2), pages 452-461.
    5. Clare C. Rittschof & Samantha A. Hilber & M. Scarlett Tudor & Colette M. St Mary, 2012. "Modeling male reproductive strategies and optimal mate number in an orb-web spider," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 23(1), pages 1-10.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:beheco:v:25:y:2014:i:6:p:1409-1416.. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://academic.oup.com/beheco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.