Quantitative genetics of sexual display, ejaculate quality and size in a lekking species
Author(s) -
Chargé Rémi,
Teplitsky Céline,
Hingrat Yves,
Saint Jalme Michel,
Lacroix Frédéric,
Sorci Gabriele
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of animal ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.134
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1365-2656
pISSN - 0021-8790
DOI - 10.1111/1365-2656.12023
Subject(s) - biology , bustard , gamete , sperm competition , sexual selection , sperm , genetic architecture , evolutionary biology , lek mating , genetics , mate choice , mating , quantitative trait locus , ecology , gene , habitat
Summary The investment into extravagant sexual display and competitive sperm are two essential components of pre‐ and post‐copulatory sexual selection. Even though the selective forces acting on sexual display and sperm characteristics have been extensively studied in recent years, the genetic architecture underlying the expression of these traits has been rarely explored. Here, we estimated the genetic variances and covariances of traits linked with ejaculate size and quality, and sexual display in the houbara bustard ( C hlamydotis undulata undulata , Jacquin 1784). Using a very large pedigree‐based data set, we show that sexual signalling and ejaculate size (but not ejaculate quality) are heritable and genetically positively correlated. The matrix of genetic covariances also provided support for some across‐sex correlations: male and female gamete numbers are positively correlated, and more surprisingly, male display and female gamete numbers are also positively correlated. These results can have important implications for the understanding of the evolution of sperm traits and sexual display in animals.