Alternative reproductive tactics in male freshwater fish influence the accuracy of species recognition.

Sexual conflict can result in coercive mating. Because males bear low costs of heterospecific mating, coercive males may engage in misdirected mating attempts toward heterospecific females. In contrast, sexual selection through consensual mate choice can cause mate recognition cues among species to diverge, leading to more accurate species recognition.

Female Marking via Rubidium-Labeled Ejaculates in the West Indian Sweetpotato Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

The West Indian sweetpotato weevil, Euscepes postfasciatus (Fairmaire), is one of the pests of the sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas, in tropical and subtropical countries. Although an eradication program using the sterile insect technique (SIT) for this weevil is now underway in Japan, the lack of potent attractants such as sex pheromones for this weevil species prevents effective monitoring and hampers pest control operations. New methods to monitor the performance of sterile males using trapped wild females are needed.

Population genetic structure and evolution of Batesian mimicry in from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, analyzed by genotyping-by-sequencing.

Batesian mimicry is a striking example of Darwinian evolution, in which a mimetic species resembles toxic or unpalatable model species, thereby receiving protection from predators. In some species exhibiting Batesian mimicry, nonmimetic individuals coexist as polymorphism in the same population despite the benefits of mimicry. In a previous study, we proposed that the abundance of mimics is limited by that of the models, leading to polymorphic Batesian mimicry in the swallowtail butterfly, on the Ryukyu Islands in Japan.

Intraspecific Adaptation Load: A Mechanism for Species Coexistence.

Evolutionary ecological theory suggests that selection arising from interactions with conspecifics, such as sexual and kin selection, may result in evolution of intraspecific conflicts and evolutionary 'tragedy of the commons'. Here, we propose that such an evolution of conspecific conflicts may affect population dynamics in a way that enhances species coexistence. Empirical evidence and theoretical models suggest that more abundant species is more susceptible to invasion of 'selfish' individuals that increase their own reproductive success at the expense of population growth (intraspecific adaptation load).