Data from: Modeling strategic sperm allocation: tailoring the predictions to the species

Two major challenges exist when empirically testing the predictions of sperm allocation theory. First, the study species must adhere to the assumptions of the model being tested. Unfortunately, the common assumption of sperm allocation models that females mate a maximum of once or twice does not hold for many, if not most, multiply and sequentially mating animals. Second, a model’s parameters, which dictate its predictions, must be measured in the study species. Common examples of such parameters, female mating frequency and sperm precedence patterns, are unknown for many species used in empirical tests. Here, we present a broadly applicable model, appropriate for multiply, sequentially mating animals, and test it in three species for which data on all the relevant parameter values are available. The model predicts that relative allocation to virgin females, compared to non-virgins, depends on the interaction between female mating rate and the sperm precedence pattern: relative allocation to virgins increases with female mating rate under first-male precedence, while the opposite is true under later-male precedence. Our model is moderately successful in predicting actual allocation patterns in the three species, including a cricket in which we measured the parameter values and performed an empirical test of allocation.在实证检验精子分配理论（sperm allocation theory）的预测结果时，存在两大核心挑战。其一，研究物种必须契合所检验模型的各项假设。遗憾的是，精子分配模型普遍假定雌性最多仅交配1至2次，但这一前提在多数（即便非全部）多次且连续交配的动物类群中均不成立。其二，决定模型预测输出的模型参数，必须在研究物种中实测获取。这类参数的典型示例包括雌性交配频率（female mating frequency）与精子优先模式（sperm precedence patterns），但针对诸多用于实证检验的物种而言，相关数据仍属未知。本文提出了一款普适性模型，适用于多次连续交配的动物类群，并在三个已获取全部相关参数值数据的物种中开展了检验。该模型预测，相较于非处女雌性，对处女雌性的相对资源分配额度取决于雌性交配速率与精子优先模式之间的交互作用：在第一雄优先权（first-male precedence）模式下，对处女雌性的相对分配额度随雌性交配速率提升而升高；而在后来雄优先权（later-male precedence）模式下，结果则恰好相反。本模型在预测这三个物种的实际分配模式时表现中等，其中包括我们实测了参数值并开展了分配实证检验的一种蟋蟀（cricket）物种。