"Male-male competition shaping the evolution of differentiated temporal niches"Bouinier, TitouanMating patterns between individuals play a crucial role for population divergence and speciation. Departure from random mating within population can be generated by divergence in the timing of sexual activities during the day, as observed in many insect species. Here, we investigate the evolution of the reproductive activity timing of individuals within populations, using a comprehensive stochastic model, employing a Doob-Gillespie-like simulation process. We model the evolution of (1) the timing of reproductive activity as a quantitative trait and (2) neutral loci that may generate genetic incompatibilities among divergent individuals. We specifically explore how male-male competition for female access can generate negative frequency-dependent on the timing of reproductive activities and fuel population divergence. Our simulations in finite populations highlight the strong effect of male-male competition and operational sex-ratio on the evolution of divergent temporal niches. Our simulations then showed how genetic incompatibilities fuel the differentiation among populations with divergent temporal niches, but may impair their co-existence. We then compare results on the evolution of daily temporal niches to previous models investigating the evolution of seasonal phenology. We showed the significant effect of overlapping vs. non-overlapping generations on the evolution of daily vs. seasonal niches. Our model therefore highlights male-male competition as an important factor shaping the evolution of diel niches, that may fuel sympatric speciation. |
« back