title: Selection for alternative male reproductive tactics alters intralocus sexual conflict.
abstract: Intralocus sexual conflict (IASC) arises when fitness optima for a shared trait differ between the sexes; such conflict may help maintain genetic variation within populations. Sex-limited expression of sexually antagonistic traits may help resolve the conflict, but the extent of this resolution remains a subject of debate. In species with alternative male reproductive tactics, unresolved conflict should manifest more in a more sexually dimorphic male phenotype. We tested this prediction in the bulb mite (Rhizoglyphus robini), a species in which aggressive fighters coexist with benign scramblers. To do this, we established replicated lines in which we increased the proportion of each of the alternative male morphs using artificial selection. After approximately 40 generations, the proportion of fighters and scramblers stabilized at >0.9 in fighter- and scrambler-selected lines, respectively. We then measured several female fitness components. As predicted by IASC theory, female fecundity and longevity were lower in lines selected for fighters and higher in lines selected for scramblers. This finding indicates that sexually selected phenotypes are associated with an ontogenetic conflict that is not easily resolved. Furthermore, we suggest that IASC may be an important mechanism contributing to the maintenance of genetic variation in the expression of alternative reproductive tactics.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland. agata.plesnar@uj.edu.
authors.forename: Agata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Plesnar Bielak
authors.forename: Anna M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Skrzynecka
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miler
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Radwan
mesh_terms: D040041:Acaridae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D056084:Genetic Fitness; D056426:Genetic Loci; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal
keywords: Alternative reproductive tactics; genetic correlation; intralocus sexual conflict; male morphs; sexually antagonistic selection