Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C507196/1
Post-insemination sexual selection in the fowl: basic mechanisms and epistatic factors.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor T Pizzari, University of Oxford, Zoology
- Grant held at:
- University of Oxford, Zoology
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Natural Resource Management
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Population Genetics/Evolution
- Behavioural Ecology
- Community Ecology
- Abstract:
- Sexual selection acts on variation in male reproductive success and is one of the most powerful but least understood evolutionary forces. Because in many organisms females obtain sperm from several males within a reproductive event, sexual selection operates after insemination on variation in fertilisation success through: sperm competition, the competition between the ejaculates of different males over fertilisation, and cryptic female choice, female differential utilisation of the ejaculates of different partners for fertilisation. Sperm competition and cryptic female choice interact in a complex way to determine the probability that an ejaculate will fertilise an egg, making it difficult to study the process of fertilisation and the operation of post-insemination sexual selection. Variation in fertilisation success is determined by two factors: (i) between-male variation caused by male phenotypic characteristics that influence male fertilising efficiency, and (ii) within-male variation caused by the interactions between the genotype of a male and the genotypes of his partners, or the genotypes of competing males. For example, because inbreeding reduces offspring fitness, females may cryptically select against the sperm of a genetically related male, independently of his fertilising efficiency. Similarly, kin selection is expected to relax sperm competition when the males inseminating the same female are genetically related to each other (e.g. they are brothers). Determining the mechanisms mediating between-, and within-male components of variation in fertilisation success, and the way these fitness components interact is crucial to understand the evolutionary operation of post-insemination sexual selection. The proposed project aims to establish both, the fundamental mechanisms of male fertilising efficiency, and the way genetic interactions between reproducing individuals modulate these mechanisms in the fowl, Gallus gallus, a sexually promiscuous bird and a model system of sexual selection. This project constitutes one of the most comprehensive efforts to study post-insemination sexual selection and will provide a crucial insight into the evolutionary mechanisms controlling fertility and the co-evolution between males and females. Addressing these issues is in turn fundamental to understand the evolution of male and female reproductive strategies, the evolution of reproductive isolation and speciation. This project will also have important implications for the breeding and welfare of managed populations of farmed and endangered species.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C507196/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- New Investigators Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- New Investigators
This grant award has a total value of £51,657
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Staff | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs | Total - Equipment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,118 | £12,814 | £15,626 | £5,894 | £16,204 |
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