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Variation in sperm precedence in Chorthippus grasshoppers (Caelifera: Gomphocerinae)
Author(s) -
Reinhardt Klaus
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
physiological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-3032
pISSN - 0307-6962
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3032.2000.00200.x
Subject(s) - spermatophore , biology , sperm , spermatheca , zoology , sperm competition , acrididae , orthoptera , variation (astronomy) , ecology , botany , physics , astrophysics
Summary Variation in the proportions of offspring fathered by a second male to mate (the P 2 value) has been studied in two species of grasshoppers, Chorthippus parallelus (Zetterstedt) and Ch. biguttulus (Linnaeus), by means of the sterile‐male technique. In both species the P 2 ‐values of the first egg pods laid were in the range of 50–100%, and the temporal variation of P 2 ‐values appeared to follow two modes. In one, the P 2 ‐value steadily declined with time, in the other it remained constant at a high level. It is concluded that sperm is passively lost between two matings. The remaining sperm then either mixes within the spermatheca or is stratified. Further variability in sperm precedence can possibly be explained by spermatophore ejection or differential use of stored sperm.