| Title: | First evidence of sex-specific responses to chemical cues in tardigrade mate searching behaviour |
| Author(s): | Chartrain J; Knott KE; Michalczyk L; Calhim S; |
| Address: | "Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyvaskyla, FI-40014, Finland. Department of Invertebrate Evolution, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 9, 30-387 Krakow, Poland" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1477-9145 (Electronic) 0022-0949 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Chemical cues are widely used in intraspecific and interspecific communication, either as substances deposited in the substrate or as molecules diffused in water or air. In tardigrades, an emerging microscopic study system, chemical communication and its role in reproduction are poorly known. Here, we assessed sex differences in the detection of (a) short-range diffusing signals and (b) deposited cue trails during the mate-searching behaviour of freely moving virgin male and female Macrobiotus polonicus. We tracked individual behaviour (a) in simultaneous double-choice chambers, where live conspecifics of each sex were presented in water and (b) of freely moving pairs on agar without water. We found that males, but not females, preferentially associated with opposite-sex individuals in trials conducted in water. In contrast, neither sex detected nor followed cues deposited on agar. In conclusion, our study suggests that mate discrimination and approach are male-specific traits and are limited to waterborne chemical cues. These results support the existence of Darwinian sex roles in pre-mating behaviour in an animal group with virtually non-existing sex differences in morphology or ecology" |
| Keywords: | "Humans Animals Male Female *Cues Agar *Tardigrada Reproduction Appetitive Behavior Water Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology Chemical communication Deposited cue Semiochemicals Sex discrimination Waterborne signal;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineChartrain, Justine Knott, K Emily Michalczyk, Lukasz Calhim, Sara eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2023/08/21 J Exp Biol. 2023 Sep 15; 226(18):jeb245836. doi: 10.1242/jeb.245836. Epub 2023 Sep 22" |
