title: Sexual selection on cuticular hydrocarbons of male sagebrush crickets in the wild.
abstract: Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) play an essential role in mate recognition in insects but the form and intensity of sexual selection on CHCs has only been evaluated in a handful of studies, and never in a natural population. We quantified sexual selection operating on CHCs in a wild population of sagebrush crickets, a species in which nuptial feeding by females imposes an unambiguous phenotypic marker on males. Multivariate selection analysis revealed a saddle-shaped fitness surface, suggesting a complex interplay between the total abundance of CHCs and specific CHC combinations in their influence on female choice. The fitness surface resulting from two axes of disruptive selection reflected a trade-off between short- and long-chained CHCs, suggesting that males may be sacrificing some level of desiccation resistance in favour of increased attractiveness. There was a significant correlation between male body size and total CHC abundance, suggesting that male CHCs provide females with a reliable cue for maximizing benefits obtained from males. Notwithstanding the conspicuousness of males' acoustic signals, our results suggest that selection imposed on males via female mating preferences may be far more complex than previously appreciated and operating in multiple sensory modalities.
authors.affiliation: Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, , Normal, IL 61790-4120, USA, Institute of Experimental Ecology, University of Ulm, , Ulm 89081, Germany, Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, , Regensburg 93053, Germany, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, , Cornwall Campus, Penryn TR10 9EZ, UK.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Steiger
authors.forename: Geoffrey D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Ower
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stökl
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: Scott K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sakaluk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006135:Gryllidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D052586:Mating Preference, Animal; D014828:Vocalization, Animal
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons
keywords: Cyphoderris strepitans; chemical communication; fitness surface; mate choice; multivariate selection analysis