Postcopulatory, prezygotic isolation in flour beetles.
We report the existence of postmating but prezygotic reproductive isolation within flour beetles of the genus Tribolium. Specifically, when a female of either T. castaneum or T. freemani is paired simultaneously with both a conspecific and a heterospecific male, virtually all of the offspring are sired by the conspecific male. In contrast, when a female of either species is paired only with a heterospecific male, she produces near normal numbers of offspring. Mate choice experiments rule out the possibility that premating reproductive isolation accounts for this phenomenon. A number of different mechanisms could explain this phenomenon of postmating but prezygotic reproductive isolation.
Wade
M J
MJ
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, IL 60637.
Patterson
H
H
Chang
N W
NW
Johnson
N A
NA
D000818:Animals; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D013045:Species Specificity; D015053:Zygote