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Polyandrous females avoid costs of inbreeding

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  • Tom Tregenza

    (Ecology and Evolution Group, School of Biology, University of Leeds)

  • Nina Wedell

    (Ecology and Evolution Group, School of Biology, University of Leeds)

Abstract

Why do females typically mate with more than one male? Female mating patterns have broad implications for sexual selection1,2, speciation3 and conflicts of interest between the sexes4, and yet they are poorly understood. Matings inevitably have costs5, and for females, the benefits of taking more than one mate are rarely obvious. One possible explanation is that females gain benefits because they can avoid using sperm from genetically incompatible males, or invest less in the offspring of such males6,7. It has been shown that mating with more than one male can increase offspring viability8,9,10,11,12, but we present the first clear demonstration that this occurs because females with several mates avoid the negative effects of genetic incompatibility13. We show that in crickets, the eggs of females that mate only with siblings have decreased hatching success. However, if females mate with both a sibling and a non-sibling they avoid altogether the low egg viability associated with sibling matings. If similar effects occur in other species, inbreeding avoidance may be important in understanding the prevalence of multiple mating.

Suggested Citation

  • Tom Tregenza & Nina Wedell, 2002. "Polyandrous females avoid costs of inbreeding," Nature, Nature, vol. 415(6867), pages 71-73, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:415:y:2002:i:6867:d:10.1038_415071a
    DOI: 10.1038/415071a
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Emily R. Burdfield-Steel & Sam Auty & David M. Shuker, 2015. "Do the benefits of polyandry scale with outbreeding?," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 26(5), pages 1423-1431.
    2. Steffen Andersen & Seda Ertac & Uri Gneezy & John A. List & Sandra Maximiano, 2013. "Gender, Competitiveness, and Socialization at a Young Age: Evidence From a Matrilineal and a Patriarchal Society," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(4), pages 1438-1443, October.
    3. Uri Gneezy & Kenneth L. Leonard & John A. List, 2009. "Gender Differences in Competition: Evidence From a Matrilineal and a Patriarchal Society," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(5), pages 1637-1664, September.
    4. Uri Gneezy & Aldo Rustichini, 2004. "Gender and Competition at a Young Age," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 377-381, May.
    5. Panagiotis G Milonas & George K Partsinevelos & David A Andow, 2017. "Effect of male mating history and age on remating by female European corn borer," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(4), pages 1-11, April.
    6. Uri Gneezy & Kenneth Leonard & John List, 2008. "Rise and Fall of Competitiveness in Individualistic and Collectivistic Societies," Natural Field Experiments 00465, The Field Experiments Website.
    7. Songfa Zhong & Mikhail Monakhov & Helen P Mok & Terry Tong & Poh San Lai & Soo Hong Chew & Richard P Ebstein, 2012. "U-Shaped Relation between Plasma Oxytocin Levels and Behavior in the Trust Game," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(12), pages 1-9, December.

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