Anatomy of fitness

Project description

Individual reproductive success is not only determined by successful access to mating partners but strongly by processes that occur during or after mating. Accordingly, the morphology of reproductive organs of both sexes is highly diverse. We investigate the evolutionary background of this diversity and the function of the structures involved. We are particularly interested in the complexity of copulatory organs, their sensory equipment, the anatomy of the sperm storage structure in the female and their potential for sperm manipulation, the evolution and effectiveness of mating plugs and associated mate choice criteria of both sexes.

Collaboration partners:

Jutta Schneider

Peter Michalik

Lenka Sentenská

Selected Publications
  • Sentenská, L.; Müller, C. H. G.; Pekar , S. & Uhl, G.: Neurons and a sensory organ in the pedipalps of male spiders reveal that it is not a numb structure. Scientific Reports link.
  • Schmitt, M. & Uhl, G. 2015: Functional morphology of the copulatory organs of a reed beetle and a shining leaf beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Donaciinae, Criocerinae) using X-ray micro-computed tomography. ZooKeys 547 (Research on Chrysomelidae 5): 193-203.
  • Mouginot, P.; Prügel, J.Thom, U.Steinhoff, P. O. M.; Kupryjanovicz, J. & Uhl, G. 2015: Securing paternity by mutilating female genitalia in spiders. Current Biology 25(22): 2980–2984.
  • Kunz, K.; Witthuhn, M. & Uhl, G. 2015: Paired and complex copulatory organs: Do they really impede flexible use? Journal of Zoology297: 278-285 (Article first published online : 11 AUG 2015, DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12277)
  • Schneider, J.; Uhl, G. & Herberstein, M.E. 2015: Cryptic Female Choice Within the Genus Argiope: A Comparative Approach. Pp 55-77 in Peretti, A.V. & Aisenberg, A. (eds) Cryptic Female Choice in Arthropods: Patterns, Mechanisms and Prospects. Springer, Heidelberg etc.
  • Sentenská, L.; Pekár, S.; Lipke, E.Michalik, P. & Uhl, G. 2015: Female control of mate plugging in a female-cannibalistic spider (Micaria sociabilisBMC Evolutionary Biology 15: 18 doi 10.1186/s12862-014-0278-9 (12 pp.).
  • Uhl, G.; Kunz, K.Vöcking, O. & Lipke, E. 2014: A spider mating plug: origin and constraints of production. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 113: 345-354.
  • Kunz, K.; Witthuhn, M. & Uhl, G. 2014: Do the size and age of mating plugs alter their efficacy in protecting paternity? Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 68: 1321-1328.
  • Vöcking, O., Uhl, G.Michalik, P. 2013: Sperm dynamics in spiders (Araneae): Ultrastructural analysis of the sperm activation process in the common garden spider Argiope bruennichiPLoS ONE 8(9): e72660. (open access).
  • Herberstein, M., Schneider, J.M., Uhl, G.Michalik, P. 2011: Sperm dynamics in spiders. Behavioural Ecology 22, 692-695 (invited contribution).
  • Düngelhoef, S., Schmitt, M. 2010: Genital feelers – the putative role of parameres and aedeagal sensilla in Coleoptera, Phytophaga (Insecta). Genetica 138: 45-57.
  • Uhl, G., Nessler, S.H., Schneider, J.M. 2010: Mating plugs and genital mutilation in spiders (Araneae). Genetica 138, 75-104.