No evidence for phenotypic condition-dependent ejaculate allocation in response to sperm competition in a seed beetle.

Abstract

Sperm competition is known to favor the evolution of male traits that confer an advantage in gaining fertilizations when females mate multiply. Ejaculate production can be costly and the strategic allocation of sperm in relation to the sperm competition environment is a taxonomically widespread phenomenon. However, variation among males in their ability to adjust ejaculate allocation has rarely been explored. Here, we manipulated the phenotypic condition of male seed beetles, Callosobruchus maculatus, via larval diet quality and measured ejaculate allocation across varying levels of sperm competition manipulated using olfactory cues. Furthermore, we asked how strategic ejaculation was impacted by previous ejaculation. We found no variation in ejaculate allocation in response to experimentally manipulated cues to sperm competition. Ejaculate allocation was reduced by a male's previous mating history but was unaffected by the larval diets on which males were reared. We suggest that either male seed beetles are unable to adjust ejaculate size to the immediate competitive environment, or that sperm displacement strategies employed by males favor maximal investment at all mating events, especially when unmated females are infrequently encountered. As our study is one of few to examine condition dependence in strategic ejaculation, emphasis should be placed on future studies investigating this possibility across a wider range of taxa and animal mating systems.