An alternative reproductive tactic: A parasitoid wasp gathers and guards a harem by pheromone-tagging virgins

Ablard, Kelly; Schaefer, Paul W.; Gries, Gerhard

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2012.11.015

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…This high opportunity cost is realistic for systems with substantial male parental care (Parker 1979(Parker , 2006Waser et al 1986), such as in species that form pair bonds (Cockburn 2006;Lukas and Clutton-Brock 2013;Szulkin et al 2013). It is also reasonable for polygynous systems (Waser et al 1986), such as in haremforming species where harem size is externally limited (e.g., Hurly and Robertson 1985;Ablard et al 2013) or species where mating is limited in space (e.g., Carranza et al 1990;Arnould and Duck 1997) or time (Yuval 2006;Diabaté et al 2011). Even with little paternal care, mating is unlikely to be completely cost free for males.…”

Section: Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of Inbreeding Avoidance and Inbreeding Preference through Mate Choice among Interacting Relatives

Duthie¹,

Reid²

2016

The American Naturalist

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While extensive population genetic theory predicts conditions favoring evolution of self-fertilization versus outcrossing, there is no analogous theory that predicts conditions favoring evolution of inbreeding avoidance or inbreeding preference enacted through mate choice given obligate biparental reproduction. Multiple interacting processes complicate the dynamics of alleles underlying such inbreeding strategies, including sexual conflict, distributions of kinship, genetic drift, purging of mutation load, direct costs, and restricted kin discrimination. We incorporated these processes into an individual-based model to predict conditions where selection should increase or decrease frequencies of alleles causing inbreeding avoidance or inbreeding preference when females or males controlled mating. Selection for inbreeding avoidance occurred given strong inbreeding depression when either sex chose mates, while selection for inbreeding preference occurred given very weak inbreeding depression when females chose but never occurred when males chose. Selection for both strategies was constrained by direct costs and restricted kin discrimination. Purging was negligible, but allele frequencies were strongly affected by drift in small populations, while selection for inbreeding avoidance was weak in larger populations because inbreeding risk decreased. Therefore, while selection sometimes favored alleles underlying inbreeding avoidance or preference, evolution of such strategies may be much more restricted and stochastic than is commonly presumed.

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Section: Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of Inbreeding Avoidance and Inbreeding Preference through Mate Choice among Interacting Relatives

Duthie¹,

Reid²

2016

The American Naturalist

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“…Following our reports (Ablard et al , 2012(Ablard et al , 2013 that O. kuvanae females mate only once and then become unattractive to males, we most recently noticed "sneaker" (M 2 ) males in the O. kuvanae mating system (K.M.A., personal observation). In highly competitive settings, these M 2 males do not directly compete for mating opportunities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Males then implement one of two alternative mating tactics. They either pheromone-tag a female and at a later time engage her in the mating sequence, or they immediately engage her in the mating sequence (Ablard et al 2013). The mating sequence consists of a brief (~4 seconds) precopulatory ritual, mating (4–9 seconds), and a relatively longer (15–67 seconds) postcopulatory ritual (Ablard et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First-male sperm precedence and precopulatory and postcopulatory rituals in the parasitoid waspOoencyrtus kuvanae(Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

et al. 2014

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Sperm competition generates selection for male traits to prevent it. These traits remain unclear in species where males compete for a virgin who is briefly receptive. Males of the parasitoid wasp Ooencyrtus kuvanae Howard (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) compete over females following emergence from host egg masses. Males engage virgins in a precopulatory ritual, mate, and then immediately perform a postcopulatory ritual after which the female becomes unreceptive. Often, sneaker (M 2 ) males copulate with a female while she is engaged in the postcopulatory ritual, and they also perform the postcopulatory ritual. We investigated (i) paternity of M 1 and M 2 males using DNA microsatellite analysis, (ii) copulation and postcopulatory behaviour of both males, and (iii) morphological adaptations of the aedeagus for sperm removal. Eighty-eight percent of M 1 males sired all daughters when they were first to perform the precopulatory and postcopulatory ritual, suggesting a linked effect of both rituals on paternity. The number and length of copulations by both males did not affect paternity, and the shape of the aedeagus does not seem to facilitate sperm removal. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that postcopulatory rituals represent forms of mate guarding that function to increase paternity in the context of sperm competition.Résumé-La compétition spermatique entraîne une sélection des traits mâles qui permettent de l'éviter. Ces traits restent obscurs chez les mâles qui font compétition pour une femelle vierge qui n'est réceptive que sur une courte période. Les mâles de la guêpe parasitoïde Ooencyrtus kuvanae Howard (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) se font compétition pour les femelles lors de leur émergence des masses d'oeufs de l'hôte. Les mâles entreprennent un rituel précopulatoire avec les femelles, s'accouplent et complètent immédiatement un rituel post-copulatoire à la suite duquel les femelles ne sont plus réceptives. Souvent, des mâles intrus (M 2 ) s'accouplent avec la femelle durant son rituel post-copulatoire et pratiquent aussi eux-mêmes le rituel postcopulatoire. Nous avons étudié i) la paternité chez les mâles M 1 et M 2 par analyse des microsatellites d'ADN, ii) la copulation et le comportement postcopulatoire chez les deux types de mâles et iii) les adaptations morphologiques de l'édéage pour le retrait du sperme. Quatre-vingt-huit pour cent des mâles M 1 engendrent toutes les guêpes filles lorsqu'ils sont les premiers à compléter les rituels copulatoire et postcopulatoire, ce qui laisse croire à un lien effectif entre ces deux rituels et la paternité. Le nombre et la durée des accouplements chez les deux types de mâles n'affectent pas la paternité et la forme de l'édéage ne semble pas faciliter le retrait du sperme. Nos résultats s'accordent avec l'hypothèse selon laquelle les rituels postcopulatoires représentent une forme de surveillance du partenaire dont la fonction est d'augmenter la paternité dans une situation de compétition spermatique.

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“…This parasitoid exhibits a haplodiploid reproductive strategy, typically laying 1 offspring per egg ( Somjee et al 2011 ), and may go through multiple generations while parasitizing a single egg mass of the spongy moth before exhausting its available hosts ( Brown et al 1982 ). As it lays single eggs within hosts found in one large mass, it is termed quasi-gregarious ( Assem et al 1980 , Nadel and Luck 1985 , Ablard et al 2013 ). Within these host egg masses, there is often considerable variability in both the number and size of potential egg hosts ( Rossiter 1991 , Diss et al 1996 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oviposition behavior of the quasi-gregarious parasitoid, Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

Hofstetter,

Raffa,

Halevy

2024

Journal of Insect Science

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The parasitoid wasp, Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Howard) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), is a natural enemy of the spongy moth, a significant forest pest in North America. We investigated the oviposition behavior of O. kuvanae females on spongy moth egg masses by (i) presenting female parasitoids with a single spongy moth egg mass that was replaced every day, 2nd day, 4th day, 8th day, or 16th day (which is the total length of the oviposition period) and (ii) presenting female parasitoids with 1, 2, 4, or 8 egg masses at a time. Offspring developmental length ranged from 18 to 24 days. On average, male offspring exhibited faster developmental times, emerging approximately 1 day ahead of females. The amount of time that adult females spent on an egg mass affected the number of parasitized eggs. Specifically, more offspring emerged in the 4-, 8-, and 16-day treatments than in scenarios involving daily or every second-day egg mass replacement. The percentage of male offspring decreased as the number of egg masses presented to females increased. Interestingly, the total number of female offspring remained constant, but the number of male offspring decreased with an increase in the number of egg masses and time spent by the parent within a patch. The observed sexual dimorphism in development time, the influence of resource availability on offspring sex ratios, and flexible oviposition patterns illustrate the adaptability of O. kuvanae in response to varying conditions. These insights have implications for our understanding of parasitoid–host interactions and their potential role in biological control strategies.

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An alternative reproductive tactic: A parasitoid wasp gathers and guards a harem by pheromone-tagging virgins

Cited by 7 publications

References 33 publications

Evolution of Inbreeding Avoidance and Inbreeding Preference through Mate Choice among Interacting Relatives

Evolution of Inbreeding Avoidance and Inbreeding Preference through Mate Choice among Interacting Relatives

First-male sperm precedence and precopulatory and postcopulatory rituals in the parasitoid waspOoencyrtus kuvanae(Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

Oviposition behavior of the quasi-gregarious parasitoid, Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

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