Low sex drive and choosy females: fungal infections are a reproductive downfall for male house flies
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Low sex drive and choosy females : fungal infections are a reproductive downfall for male house flies. / Edwards, Sam; Bath, Eleanor; De Fine Licht, Henrik H.
In: Behavioral Ecology, Vol. 35, No. 2, arae004, 2024.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Low sex drive and choosy females
T2 - fungal infections are a reproductive downfall for male house flies
AU - Edwards, Sam
AU - Bath, Eleanor
AU - De Fine Licht, Henrik H.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology. All rights reserved.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Many entomopathogenic fungi cause infections that kill their insect host. Little is understood about changes in the reproductive investment that occurs during an infection by a lethal disease over the waning life of an insect. Life-history theory suggests the host will respond by investing resources into fighting the disease or increasing reproduction. Here, we investigate how the reproductive life of adult house flies, Musca domestica, is impacted by its host-specific fungal pathogen, Entomophthora muscae. Specifically, we test how the week-long infection alters the mating behavior of virgin adult male house flies. We find that the pathogen significantly decreases male libido, an effect which grows stronger over the course of the infection. Furthermore, females were significantly less likely to choose an infected male, reducing male mating success. Additionally, we assessed sperm viability to understand the reproductive costs for monandrous females to mate with infected males. Analyses revealed that sperm quality decreases as early as 3 days post-infection. These results show that E. muscae, which can have a prevalence near 100% in wild populations, causes severe lifetime reproductive costs to male house flies. Understanding how host–pathogen interactions affect host life history is crucial for elucidating all the negative effects pathogen virulence exerts on hosts.
AB - Many entomopathogenic fungi cause infections that kill their insect host. Little is understood about changes in the reproductive investment that occurs during an infection by a lethal disease over the waning life of an insect. Life-history theory suggests the host will respond by investing resources into fighting the disease or increasing reproduction. Here, we investigate how the reproductive life of adult house flies, Musca domestica, is impacted by its host-specific fungal pathogen, Entomophthora muscae. Specifically, we test how the week-long infection alters the mating behavior of virgin adult male house flies. We find that the pathogen significantly decreases male libido, an effect which grows stronger over the course of the infection. Furthermore, females were significantly less likely to choose an infected male, reducing male mating success. Additionally, we assessed sperm viability to understand the reproductive costs for monandrous females to mate with infected males. Analyses revealed that sperm quality decreases as early as 3 days post-infection. These results show that E. muscae, which can have a prevalence near 100% in wild populations, causes severe lifetime reproductive costs to male house flies. Understanding how host–pathogen interactions affect host life history is crucial for elucidating all the negative effects pathogen virulence exerts on hosts.
KW - entomopathogenic fungus
KW - Entomophthora muscae
KW - insect mating behavior
KW - Musca domestica
KW - sperm viability
KW - terminal investment
U2 - 10.1093/beheco/arae004
DO - 10.1093/beheco/arae004
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85183945177
VL - 35
JO - Behavioral Ecology
JF - Behavioral Ecology
SN - 1045-2249
IS - 2
M1 - arae004
ER -
ID: 387742424