Spermathecal variation in temperate Opiliones
| dc.contributor.author | Zulekha, Karachiwalla | |
| dc.contributor.author | Tagide, deCarvalho | |
| dc.contributor.author | Mercedes, Burns | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-09-24T18:18:26Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2020-09-24T18:18:26Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020-08-17 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Most arachnid fertilization occurs internally, allowing for a variety of post-copulatory mechanisms to take place. Females are expected to exert some level of control over sperm fate when 1) the point of gametic fusion is particularly distant from the point of oogenesis, 2) the time of syngamy is significantly later than the time of mating, 3) sperm are non-motile, and/or 4) the morphology of females allows for selective containment of sperm. Many of these conditions are met in Opiliones (a.k.a. “harvesters,” “harvestmen,” or “daddy-longlegs”), where we have evidence of sexual antagonism, multiple mating, and delayed oviposition for a number of species. We used confocal laser scanning microscopy to capture and analyze images of harvester spermathecae, structures within the genitalia of female arthropods that store and maintain sperm after copulation. Spermathecal morphology may have critical function in controlling seminal movement. We anticipated that species with previously identified traits associated with sexual antagonism would also have thicker and/or relatively more complex spermathecae. We examined spermathecal morphology in thirteen species of Leiobunum and one species of Hadrobunus, which were collected from North America and Japan. Our results show that eight species had structures consisting of a single chamber with no or partial invagination, and the remainder had multiple cuticular invaginations producing 2-3 lumina within the spermathecae. Using phylogenetic multivariate comparative methods, we estimated a trend towards cross-correlation between conflict and spermathecal traits. Some, but not all, of the species with thicker, more complex spermathecae had morphological traits associated with sexual conflict (larger body size, thicker genital muscle). In conclusion, we discuss methods to elucidate spermathecal mechanism and sperm precedence in these species. Confocal microscopy allowed us to visualize internal structures difficult to interpret with two-dimensional brightfield microscopy, a technique that could be applied to the characterization of internal reproductive structures in other arthropods. | en_US |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Funding for this project was facilitated through the NIH-UMBC BUILD program, a UMBC START grant to MB, and a UMBC SURE grant to ZK. Collection assistance was provided by many persons, including Michael Mercado, Rahaf Alhabashi, Harper Montgomery, Tyler Brown, Sarah Stellwagen, James Barklage, and Nobuo Tsurusaki. Ryan Gunnison and Shea Walsh assisted with live specimen maintenance. We furthermore thank two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments provided in revision of the manuscript. | en_US |
| dc.description.uri | https://academic.oup.com/icb/advance-article/doi/10.1093/icb/icaa120/5893480 | en_US |
| dc.format.extent | 28 pages | en_US |
| dc.genre | journal article postprints | en_US |
| dc.identifier | doi:10.13016/m2cgqz-v9uy | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Karachiwalla Zulekha, deCarvalho Tagide, Burns Mercedes, Spermathecal variation in temperate Opiliones, Integrative and Comparative Biology, , icaa120, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icaa120 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icaa120 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11603/19711 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Oxford University Press | en_US |
| dc.relation.isAvailableAt | The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | UMBC Biological Sciences Department Collection | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | UMBC Student Collection | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | UMBC Faculty Collection | |
| dc.rights | This item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author. | |
| dc.rights | Attribution 4.0 International | * |
| dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | * |
| dc.title | Spermathecal variation in temperate Opiliones | en_US |
| dc.type | Text | en_US |