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Resource allocation trade-off between sperm quality and immunity in the field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus

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  • Leigh W. Simmons

Abstract

Mounting an immune response is costly, requiring an animal to draw on its limited nutrient pool at a cost to future growth and reproduction. A trade-off between immunity and reproduction is central to parasite-mediated models of sexual selection. In this study, I examine a prediction of postcopulatory models of parasite-mediated sexual selection that males face a nutrient allocation trade-off between immunity and ejaculate quality. I experimentally induced an antibacterial immune response in juvenile crickets held on either a restricted diet or allowed ad libitum access to food. Immune-challenged crickets took longer to reach adult eclosion, and crickets on a restricted diet had a greatly reduced ability to encapsulate a foreign body. Neither juvenile immune challenge nor diet influenced adult antibacterial activity. Crickets with restricted access to food had reduced sperm viability after upregulation of their antibacterial immunity when juvenile, whereas crickets fed ad libitum did not suffer a cost of reduced sperm viability. This finding provides evidence for a nutrient allocation trade-off between antibacterial immunity and ejaculate quality. However, the genetic correlation between these traits is negative, rendering any indirect genetic benefits from sperm competition unlikely.

Suggested Citation

  • Leigh W. Simmons, 2012. "Resource allocation trade-off between sperm quality and immunity in the field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 23(1), pages 168-173.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:beheco:v:23:y:2012:i:1:p:168-173.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/beheco/arr170
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kenneth M. Fedorka & Timothy A. Mousseau, 2007. "Immune system activation affects male sexual signal and reproductive potential in crickets," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 18(1), pages 231-235, January.
    2. Leigh W. Simmons & Maxine Beveridge, 2010. "The strength of postcopulatory sexual selection within natural populations of field crickets," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 21(6), pages 1179-1185.
    3. Jari J. Ahtiainen & Rauno V. Alatalo & Raine Kortet & Markus J. Rantala, 2004. "Sexual advertisement and immune function in an arachnid species (Lycosidae)," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 15(4), pages 602-606, July.
    4. Philip A. Skau & Ivar Folstad, 2003. "Do bacterial infections cause reduced ejaculate quality? A meta-analysis of antibiotic treatment of male infertility," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 14(1), pages 40-47, January.
    5. Philip A. Skau & Ivar Folstad, 2005. "Does immunity regulate ejaculate quality and fertility in humans?," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 16(2), pages 410-416, March.
    6. Angela M. Kerr & Susan N. Gershman & Scott K. Sakaluk, 2010. "Experimentally induced spermatophore production and immune responses reveal a trade-off in crickets," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 21(3), pages 647-654.
    7. Leigh W. Simmons & Robin M. Tinghitella & Marlene Zuk, 2010. "Quantitative genetic variation in courtship song and its covariation with immune function and sperm quality in the field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 21(6), pages 1330-1336.
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    Cited by:

    1. Brian Gray & Leigh W. Simmons, 2013. "Acoustic cues alter perceived sperm competition risk in the field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 24(4), pages 982-986.
    2. Nicola-Anne J Rutkowski & Yong Zhi Foo & Therésa M Jones & Kathryn B McNamara, 2023. "Age, but not an immune challenge, triggers terminal investment in the Pacific field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 34(3), pages 468-479.

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