Do Parasitoids of Lepidoptera Larvae Compete for Hosts? Probably!

Force, Don C.

doi:10.1086/283675

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Here, we have documented interspecific competition between two parasitoid species in two sites over 35 consecutive years. Our results support Force's (1980) idea that parasitoids do compete for their lepidopteran host larvae. However, laboratory experiments on the discrimination ability and outcomes of competitive interactions between these two important parasitoids of low-density populations of spruce budworm are warranted.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Competition may also occur directly between females searching for hosts through interference, although it was suggested that this might be uncommon and has mainly been tested in laboratory or modelling experiments (see Hawkins, 2000). There was a debate in the 1970s surrounding the importance of competition among parasitoids of lepidopteran hosts in the field, as most studies were conducted in the laboratory (Force, 1980; Dean & Ricklefs, 1979, 1980).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Density‐dependence and competition between Tranosema rostrale and Elachertus cacoeciae, two parasitoids of the spruce budworm

Martel,

Régnière,

Therrien

2024

Entomologia Exp Applicata

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Competition between parasitoids for available hosts is common in insects. These interactions are often negative and are believed to reduce the overall impact of top‐down population regulation. In the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), two parasitoid species are very common and often interact during the period of low‐density populations between outbreaks: the koinobiont endoparasitoid Tranosema rostrale (Brishke) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) and the idiobiont ectoparasitoid Elachertus cacoeciae (Howard) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Data collected from field‐implanted larvae of spruce budworm exposed in summer during a 35‐year period between 1987 and 2022 were used to estimate the response of these two parasitoids to the density of their spruce budworm host, and the nature and importance of competitive interactions between them. It was found that both parasitoids are most effective at very low host population density, and that a strong, density‐dependent, and negative correlation of frequencies exists between them. This negative correlation is evident both among and within years and indicates that the parasitoids have developed seasonal history and host choice behaviors that tend to minimize the negative impact of direct competition on their respective performance. It appears that the koinobiont T. rostrale manages, through those adaptive strategies, to avoid direct competition inside a larval host with the competitively superior idiobiont E. cacoeciae.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Density‐dependence and competition between Tranosema rostrale and Elachertus cacoeciae, two parasitoids of the spruce budworm

Martel,

Régnière,

Therrien

2024

Entomologia Exp Applicata

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As a result, ecologists disagreed on the importance of competition in structuring parasitoid communities [e.g. compare Dean & Ricklefs (1979) with Force (1974, 1980)]. This debate was further complicated by observations that competition may become diffuse as species temporally adapt to and specialize on different host life stages (egg, specific numeric instar, pupa, adult), thereby avoiding antagonistic interactions (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal resource partitioning mitigates interspecific competition and promotes coexistence among insect parasites

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A key to understanding life's great diversity is discerning how competing organisms divide limiting resources to coexist in diverse communities. While temporal resource partitioning has long been hypothesized to reduce the negative effects of interspecific competition, empirical evidence suggests that time may not often be an axis along which animal species routinely subdivide resources. Here, we present evidence to the contrary in the world's most biodiverse group of animals: insect parasites (parasitoids). Specifically, we conducted a meta-analysis of 64 studies from 41 publications to determine if temporal resource partitioning via variation in the timing of a key life-history trait, egg deposition (oviposition), mitigates interspecific competition between species pairs sharing the same insect host. When competing species were manipulated to oviposit at (or near) the same time in or on a single host in the laboratory, competition was common, and one species was typically inherently superior (i.e. survived to adulthood a greater proportion of the time). In most cases, however, the inferior competitor could gain a survivorship advantage by ovipositing earlier (or in a smaller number of cases later) into shared hosts. Moreover, this positive (or in a few cases negative) priority advantage gained by the inferior competitor increased as the interval between oviposition times became greater. The results from manipulative experiments were also correlated with patterns of life-history timing and demography in nature: the more inherently competitively inferior a species was in the laboratory, the greater the interval between oviposition times of taxa in co-occurring populations. Additionally, the larger the interval between oviposition times of competing taxa, the more abundant the inferior species was in populations where competitors were known to coexist. Overall, our findings suggest that temporal resource partitioning via variation in oviposition timing may help to facilitate species coexistence and structures diverse insect communities by altering demographic measures of species success. We argue that the lack of evidence for a more prominent role of temporal resource partitioning in promoting species coexistence may reflect taxonomic differences, with a bias towards larger-sized animals. For smaller species like parasitic insects that are specialized to attack one or a group of closely related hosts, have short adult lifespans and discrete generation times, compete directly for limited resources in small, closed arenas and have life histories constrained by host phenology, temporal resource subdivision via variation in life history may play a critical role in allowing species to coexist by alleviating the negative effects of interspecific competition.

show abstract

“…All use a high proportion (often all) of the energy resources of their hosts to complete development (Kuris, 1973(Kuris, , 1974. Ehler, 1978;Force, 1980;Ehler and Hall, 1982) although opposing views are held (Dean and Ricklefs, 1979). These parasitoids and parasitic castrators have been shown to engage, at least occasionally, in intense interspecific competition, causing the death or complete suppression of inferior competitors (Fisher, 1962;Kuris, 1974).…”

Section: Infracommunity Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parasite Communities: Patterns and Processes

1989

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Do Parasitoids of Lepidoptera Larvae Compete for Hosts? Probably!

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Density‐dependence and competition between Tranosema rostrale and Elachertus cacoeciae, two parasitoids of the spruce budworm

Density‐dependence and competition between Tranosema rostrale and Elachertus cacoeciae, two parasitoids of the spruce budworm

Temporal resource partitioning mitigates interspecific competition and promotes coexistence among insect parasites

Parasite Communities: Patterns and Processes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About