title: Evolution of increased self-sperm production in postdauer hermaphroditic nematodes.
abstract: A recent study suggests that postdauer Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodites produce more self-sperm and have larger brood sizes than worms that bypass diapause. Why might natural selection favor increased self-sperm production in postdauer hermaphrodites? This question is addressed by developing an age-structured model for an exponentially growing worm population descending from a founder postdauer hermaphrodite. It is assumed that natural selection favors those founders that have the largest number of living descendants at some fixed future time. Increased self-sperm production in postdauer hermaphrodites can then evolve when the diapause-bypassing descendants suffer a higher mortality rate than their parental postdauer founders.
authors: Department of Mathematics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong. jeffrey.chasnov@ust.hk
authors: Jeffrey R
authors: JR
authors: Chasnov
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D052586:Mating Preference, Animal; D008954:Models, Biological; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D057945:Self-Fertilization; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology*