Kaelen Hunter

Jack Later
Biol. 1615
July 18, 2016
The Indirect Benefits of Mating with Attractive Males Outweigh the Direct Costs
25 years ago, Eather Head and Robertson hypothesized that the genetic benefits of mating
with an attractive male can outweigh direct costs such as survival days. Recent theoretical work
has opposed this idea with the theory that indirect benefits is weak compared to mate choice, the
indirect benefits being the genes handed to offspring. This leads to the ongoing debate of fitness
consequence in evolution. In this experiment, it dives into mate choice to find the affect it has on
female fitness and to measure the fitness of the offspring to determine if the direct costs
outweigh the indirect benefits. Using Acheta domesticus(house crickets), they would place
females with males of different attractiveness and measure the direct and indirect consequences.
How fitness is estimated is controversial, but using rate insensitive estimates, lie number of
grandchildren. Also by using rate-sensitive estimates, like generation time or maturation days.
In the experiment they would be using 1,000 A. domesticus nymphs from a commercial
cricket breeder and were stored in the same sex bins to ensure virginity. They were fed Friskies
Go-Cat and water for 10 days to ensure maturity. After they were all matured they needed to
determine the overall male attractiveness of each house cricket. To do this they used a two round
tournament experiment where a male was put with a random female. They were put together in a
single and were collected if the female mounted the male before sperm transaction. After the first

half of males to be mounted they were separated from the unmounted group. In the next round
males were given a new random female. There are two groups now the mounted and unmounted.
Now the first half of the mounted to be remounted would be the attractive males. And in the
unmounted group, the last half to be mounted would be the unattractive males.
The variables of this experiment are females mated to attractive and unattractive males,
with unmated as the control. 40 females were weighed the n put into clear container. Males from
the tournaments were randomly assigned to females. Every 7 days food and water was replaced.
Also a dead male would be replaced with a male from the same treatment.
To measure the female fitness, females were monitored daily and the number of eggs
counted weekly. A method of hatching success was used in the experiment and worked by
measuring the first hatchling and counting others within 14 days of the first hatchling.
Hatchlings were taken every 3 days and were weighed. They would then be placed in new plastic
containers to monitor when they reach maturity.
The rate- insensitive estimates were not affected such as the number of grandchildren by
the f1(offspring of parents) generation. The rate-sensitive estimates produced observable
changes. Females mated with attractive males were observed to have shorter survival days after
laying eggs compared to females mated to unattractive males. The females mated to attractive
males also produced male offspring twice more likely to mate than the unattractive offspring.
Indirect fitness components given to attractive offspring included shorter generation time, shorter
maturing days, and shorter survival day (only observable with females).
To provide and inclusive estimate of the total fitness consequences of mating with an
attractive or unattractive male, we quantified both the direct costs to females and the indirect

benefits to their offspring (Megan L Head). Out of the results gathered, two findings stood out.
Females mating to attractive males had greater observable changes in their lives than compared
to unattractive males. Second, the rate-insensitive results cancel out. The mechanism for lower
female survival costs unknown, but lower survival rate is consistent with sexual conflict with the
male and female.
In the first week of the experiment the female mated to attractive males exerted higher
reproduction. This can be the result of male manipulation. Male manipulation can include
increased mating rate or stimulants in seminal fluids. The fluids cause the females to exert a
greater force to bear children than is needed. Male manipulation is supported in a study by
Murtaugh and Denlinger. Which shows that male house crickets pass substances in seminal
fluids that cause higher short-term oviposition(egg laying). Another idea could be that females
naturally exert more effort because of the attractive male.
Due to the nature of the experiment they were not able to measure all the costs and
benefits where females mate with attractive males. Though the study is inconclusive the research
it is one of the first attempts quoting, Our research constitutes one of the first attempts to
directly and simultaneously test the combined direct and indirect effects of mating with males
that differ in attractiveness (Megan L Head).

Works cited

Head ML, Hunt J, Jennions MD, Brooks R (2005) The Indirect Benefits of Mating with
Attractive Males Outweigh the Direct Costs. PLoS Biol 3(2): e33.
doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030033