Data from: Sexual selection on male development time in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis
Data files
Jun 13, 2011 version files 1.97 MB
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MoynihanShukerJEB2011.xls
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README_for_MoynihanShukerJEB2011.pdf
Abstract
Mating systems are shaped by a species’ ecology, which sets the stage for sexual selection. Males of the gregarious parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis compete to mate virgin females at the natal site, before females disperse. Males could increase their fitness by being larger and monopolising female emergence sites, or by emerging earlier pre-empting access to females. We consider sexual selection on male body size and development tine in Nasonia, and a potential trade-off between the two traits. We explored sex-specific patterns of larval and pupal development, finding that smaller wasps developed slower than their host-mates. Using competition experiments between brothers we found that earlier eclosing males mated more females independently of absolute and relative body size. Our data explain the lack of relationship between fitness and body size in male Nasonia, and reinforce the importance of protandry in mating systems where access to mates is time-limited.