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Behavioral Ecology Advance Access originally published online on June 11, 2004
Behavioral Ecology 2004 15(5):793-798; doi:10.1093/beheco/arh081
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Behavioral Ecology vol. 15 no. 5 © International Society for Behavioral Ecology 2004; all rights reserved

No direct or indirect benefits to cryptic female choice in house crickets (Acheta domesticus)

Rebecca R. Fleischman and Scott K. Sakaluk

Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, Department of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120, USA

Address correspondence to S. K. Sakaluk. E-mail: sksakal{at}ilstu.edu.

Cryptic female choice in crickets occurs through the premature removal of a male's spermatophore after copulation, which terminates sperm transfer. Although it is known that this behavior can directly influence the paternity of offspring, its effects on female fitness have not been directly assessed. We tested the hypothesis that spermatophore removal by female house crickets (Acheta domesticus) confers fitness benefits on females, by randomly assigning mates to females but permitting some females to freely remove spermatophores after mating (cryptic-choice treatment) while forcing others to accept complete ejaculates (no-choice treatment). Although there was about a two-fold difference in the volume of ejaculate received by females of the two treatments, there were no significant differences in female longevity, reproductive output, or offspring quality, as measured by offspring mass and developmental time. Although differential spermatophore removal by females imposes strong sexual selection on males, the absence of a clear treatment effect suggests that females obtain no direct or indirect genetic benefits through their postcopulatory mating preferences.

Key words: Acheta domesticus, crickets, cryptic female choice, indirect genetic benefits, offspring fitness, spermatophore, sexual selection.


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