title: Sensory exploitation as an evolutionary origin to nuptial food gifts in insects.
abstract: Nuptial food gifts given by males to females at mating are widespread in insects, but their evolutionary origin remains obscure. Such gifts may arise as a form of sensory trap that exploits the normal gustatory responses of females, favouring the selective retention of sperm of gift-giving males. I tested this hypothesis by offering foreign food gifts, synthesized by males of one cricket species, to females of three non-gift-giving species. Females provisioned with novel food gifts were 'fooled' into accepting more sperm than they otherwise would in the absence of a gift. These results support the hypothesis that nuptial food gifts and post-copulatory female mating preferences coevolve through a unique form of sensory exploitation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal 61790 4120, USA. sksakal@ilstu.edu
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sakaluk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006135:Gryllidae / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012677:Sensation; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal