In a study published in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE June 10, Chang Seok Han and Piotr Jablonski at Seoul National University, Korea, report that by evolving a morphological shield to protect their genitalia from males' forceful copulatory attempts, females of an Asian species of water strider seem to "win" the evolutionary arms race between the sexes. Instead, females only expose their genitalia for copulation after males produce a courtship "song" by tapping the water surface.
150 years after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, Han and Jablonski used common insects, water striders, to study the intricacies of evolutionary conflict between males and females. The mechanisms for the way Darwinian natural selection, acting separately on males and females, result in different traits in males than in females (for example, different body sizes to guarantee the highest number of offspring during an individual's lifetime) are already quite well understood.
Sometimes, however, a behavioral trait, such as mating frequency, depends on both the male and the female characteristics. Natural selection favors higher mating frequency in males than in females in many animals, including humans. This leads to an evolutionary "arms race" where males evolve adaptations that force females to mate, while females evolve defenses against males' attempts.
As in the arms races between countries and political powers, it is rare for one sex to "win" in this evolutionary race.
However, in the study by Han and Jablonski, carried out at the Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution at Seoul National University, females of an Asian species of water striders, Gerris gracilicornis, do seem to win this race as they have evolved a morphological shield behind which their genitalia are hidden from males, protecting them against the males' forceful attempts to mate.
In an apparent response to the female adaptation, after the violent mounting onto the female's back (typical in water striders), males of this species produce courtship signals by tapping the water surface with their middle legs. It is only after receiving the male's "song" that females expose their genitalia for copulation
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This press release refers to an article in PLoS ONE. The release has been provided by the article authors and/or journal staff. Any opinions expressed in this are the personal views of the contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLoS. PLoS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the release and article and your use of such information.
The full published article, including movie clips of insects mating and "singing" on the water surface are available on the PLoS ONE journal website.
Funding: This work was funded by a grant (3344-20080067) from the College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University to PJ, Developing Nations Research Grant from the Animal Behavior Society to CH. Equipment purchased for the KRF project nr. 0409-20080118 and funds from the Centre for Ecological Research Polish Academy of Sciences for the collection and measurement of specimens in Poland were also used in this research. This work was supported by the second stage of the Brain Korea 21 Project in 2009. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Citation: Han CS, Jablonski PG (2009) Female Genitalia Concealment Promotes Intimate Male Courtship in a Water Strider. PLoS ONE 4(6): e5793. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005793
PLEASE ADD THE LINK TO THE PUBLISHED ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0005793
Related image for press use: http://www.plos.org/press/pone-04-06-jablonski.jpg Caption: A male Gerris gracilicornis is producing courtship signals by tapping the water surface with their middle legs. Photo credit: Chang Seok Han.
Movie clips of the insects mating and "singing" on the water surface are available form the supporting information section of the paper (these are published under a Creative Commons Attribution License and any reuse should cite the journal and authors): http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0005793#s5
Contact:
Piotr Jablonski
Email: piotrjab@behecolpiotrsangim.org
Rebecca Walton
Public Library of Science
Email: rwalton@plos.org
Journal
PLOS ONE