Heteropopulation males have a fertilization advantage during sperm competition in the yellow dung fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)

Abstract

Sexual conflict occurs whenever there is not strict genetic monogamy. The sexually antagonistic coevolution that potentially occurs because of this conflict involves adaptation by one sex followed by the counter–adaptation by the other, and may be thought of as an evolutionary arms–race. As a result of these cycles of antagonistic coevolution, females from one population may be less resistant to heteropopulation males, at least after short periods of allopatry, as they will not have evolved any resistance to them. We tested this prediction in yellow dung fly (Scathophaga stercoraria) populations from the UK and Switzerland. Males from each population mated as first and second males to females from each population, and the mean numbers of offspring sired by the last male to mate in each situation were compared. We also compared the fertility and fecundity of single females mated to males from both populations, as well as the fertility and fecundity of the F1 crosses. Both crosses produced viable and fertile offspring and the offspring sex ratios were not skewed. However, the fecundity of F1–cross females was greater than that of the parentals. In the sperm–competition experiment, there was a significant interaction between male and female origin influencing the proportion of offspring sired by the second male to mate, with heteropopulation males always outcompeting conpopulation males. This effect was independent of copula duration and the delay between copulations. In a separate experiment, we tested to see whether this was due to female preference for genetically dissimilar males but found no evidence for paternity biasing based on genetic similarity. Our results therefore seem to be best explained by sexually antagonistic coevolution as females appear less resistant to males with which they have not coevolved.