Eur. J. Entomol. 103 (4): 751-755, 2006 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2006.099

Mating competition and parentage assessment in Ptomascopus morio (Coleoptera: Silphidae): A case for resource defense polygyny

Seizi SUZUKI*,1, Masahiro NAGANO2, Norio KOBAYASHI3
1 Ecology and Systematics, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8589, Japan
2 Echigo-Matsunoyama Museum of Natural Science, 712-2 Matsunoyamamatsukuchi, Tokamachi City, Niigata 942-1411, Japan
3 The Hokkaido University Museum, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan


Ptomascopus morio of both sexes are attracted to vertebrate carcasses, a necessary resource for reproduction. The stage during reproduction that resource defense was most intense and the hypothesis that large beetles were better competitors and sired a larger share of the offspring were supported and tested. Male-male aggression (pushing, biting and mounting) was commonly observed before and during oviposition, but rarely after the larvae hatched. Few female-female aggressive interactions were observed at any time. Parentage analysis of the offspring of six groups of two males and two females each reproducing on a separate carcass revealed that the large males sired more of the offspring than small males. Paternity analysis, using AFLP markers, revealed that larger males had higher paternity than smaller males, but the number of eggs produced by each female did not differ between large and small females. This suggests that competition among males is intense until the end of oviposition and that resident (large) males can acquire more mates and sire more offspring than smaller males; competition among females was not evident at any time.

Keywords: Silphidae, Ptomascopus, mating competition, resource defense, aggression, parentage analysis, AFLP

Received: November 17, 2005; Revised: April 20, 2006; Accepted: April 20, 2006; Published: October 2, 2006  Show citation

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SUZUKI, S., NAGANO, M., & KOBAYASHI, N. (2006). Mating competition and parentage assessment in Ptomascopus morio (Coleoptera: Silphidae): A case for resource defense polygyny. EJE, 103(4), 751-755. doi: 10.14411/eje.2006.099
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