title: Selection on an antagonistic behavioral trait can drive rapid genital coevolution in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides.
abstract: Male and female genital morphology varies widely across many taxa, and even among populations. Disentangling potential sources of selection on genital morphology is problematic because each sex is predicted to respond to adaptations in the other due to reproductive conflicts of interest. To test how variation in this sexual conflict trait relates to variation in genital morphology we used our previously developed artificial selection lines for high and low repeated mating rates. We selected for high and low repeated mating rates using monogamous pairings to eliminate contemporaneous female choice and male-male competition. Male and female genital shape responded rapidly to selection on repeated mating rate. High and low mating rate lines diverged from control lines after only 10 generations of selection. We also detected significant patterns of male and female genital shape coevolution among selection regimes. We argue that because our selection lines differ in sexual conflict, these results support the hypothesis that sexually antagonistic coevolution can drive the rapid divergence of genital morphology. The greatest divergence in morphology corresponded with lines in which the resolution of sexual conflict over mating rate was biased in favor of male interests.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Hopwood
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom.|Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 0200, Australia.
authors.forename: Megan L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Head
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Eleanor J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom.|Centro Nacional del Medio Ambiente. Fundación de la Universidad de Chile, Av. Larrain 9975, La Reina, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Mauricio J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Davey
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom.|Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602.
authors.forename: Allen J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom. N.J.Royle@exeter.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Nick J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Royle
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005836:Genitalia, Female / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005837:Genitalia, Male / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008297:Male; D052586:Mating Preference, Animal; D012641:Selection, Genetic
keywords: Artificial selection; burying beetle; genital morphology; repeated mating; sexual conflict; sexual selection; sexually antagonistic coevolution