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Behavioral Ecology Advance Access published online on July 21, 2004
Behavioral Ecology, doi:10.1093/beheco/arh146
© 2004 by International Society for Behavioral Ecology
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Received December 19, 2003
Revised June 1, 2004
Accepted June 16, 2004

Article

Sexually transmitted nematodes affect spermatophylax production in the cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus

Lien T. Luong 1* Harry K. Kaya 2

1 Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis
2 Department of Nematology, University of California, Davis

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ltluong{at}ucdavis.edu.


  Abstract

Parasites can influence various aspects of host reproduction and mating, including spermatophore production. In the cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus, males transfer to females a two-part spermatophore containing a sperm-filled ampulla and a gelatinous spermatophylax (nuptial gift). Here we investigate the effects of a sexually transmitted nematode on male spermatophylax production. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have the potential to reduce host fertility or fecundity in insect hosts. To our knowledge this is the first empirical study on the effects of an insect STD on the reproductive physiology of a male host. Our results indicate that infected males produced significantly smaller spermatophylaces than healthy males; this effect was more apparent for smaller males. Spermatophylax size was inversely correlated with the intensity of infection. Spermatophylax replacement time, the time between producing the first and second spermatophylax, did not differ significantly between infected and healthy males. This parasite-mediated reduction in spermatophylax size may be a direct consequence of the physiological stress of parasitism or parasite manipulation.

Keywords: decorated cricket; nematode; parasitism; sexually transmitted parasites; spermatophore; spermatophylax.
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L. T. Luong and H. K. Kaya
Sexually transmitted parasites and host mating behavior in the decorated cricket
Behav. Ecol., July 1, 2005; 16(4): 794 - 799.
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