Data from: Females gain survival benefits from immune-boosting ejaculates

Females in many animal taxa incur significant costs from mating in the
form of injury or infection, which can drastically reduce survival.
Therefore, immune function during reproduction can be important in
determining lifetime fitness. Trade-offs between reproduction and immunity
have been extensively studied, yet a growing number of studies demonstrate
that mated females have a stronger immune response than virgins. Here, we
use the Texas field cricket, Gryllus texensis, to test multiple hypotheses
proposed to explain this post-mating increase in immune function. Using
host-resistance tests, we found that courtship, copulation, and accessory
fluids alone do not affect female immunity; rather, only females that
acquire intact ejaculates containing testes-derived components exhibit
significant increases in survival after exposure to bacterial pathogens.
Our data suggest that male-derived components originating from an intact
ejaculate and transferred to females during sex are required for the
increased immune function characteristic of mated female crickets to
occur.