Extreme ecology and mating system: discriminating among direct benefits models in red flour beetles

We address the adaptive significance of female remating in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum , a model system with an extreme mating system of little-to-no premating discrimination and rapid remating. In light of their specific ecology: the occupation of dried grain stores with no use of liquid water, we tested predictions of 4 nonmutually exclusive hypotheses addressing direct benefits that females may receive from mating: 1) topping...