Infection effects on feeding and territorial behaviour in a predatory insect in the wild

González‐Tokman, Daniel; Córdoba‐Aguilar, Alex; González‐Santoyo, Isaac; Lanz‐Mendoza, Humberto

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.02.027

Cited by 35 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…In H. americana , prior studies have found that mature males infected with bacteria defended their territories with the same intensity as healthy mature males (González‐Tokman et al . ). In young males, on the other hand, the probability of becoming territorial is lower for animals that were immune challenged in closely related species of the genus Calopteryx (Rantala, Honkavaara & Suhonen ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Mating success and energetic condition effects driven by terminal investment in territorial males of a short‐lived invertebrate

2013

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Summary1. The terminal investment hypothesis has two predictions: in the face of an infection (i) mature males will increase investment to traits that increase mating success, while such investments will occur to a less extent in young males; and (ii) physiological costs of resource reallocation will be more severe for infected mature males than for infected young males. 2. Although these predictions have been tested in long-lived vertebrates, prior studies have not examined actual resource allocation conflicts. Here, we have tested the above predictions and have investigated the energetic costs of increased mating by old males, using a short-lived invertebrate, the damselfly Hetaerina americana. Males of this species defend territories as the main way to obtain access to females. 3. Using groups of infected vs. noninfected males of two different ages, we found that compared to young infected males, mature infected males defended territories for longer, had higher mating success and directed agonistic behaviour to conspecific males more frequently. Despite similar immune responses by mature and young males, infected mature males ended up with less fat reserves compared to infected young males. This suggests that resource allocation conflicts are more severe for mature than for young males. 4. In general, these results suggest that the terminal investment hypothesis applies in males of short-lived invertebrates and that a cause of increased mating success for males of advanced ages is reduced energetic stores.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Mating success and energetic condition effects driven by terminal investment in territorial males of a short‐lived invertebrate

2013

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“…Animals were kept for 36 hours, after which we checked for surviving animals (for similar approach see [38]). Two likely predators of odonates that use visual means are birds and other odonates [39], [40].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Mismatch between the Perceived Fighting Signal and Fighting Ability Reveals Survival and Physiological Costs for Bearers

et al. 2014

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Signals of fighting indicate an animal's intention to attack and so they serve to prevent costly aggressive encounters. However, according to theory, a signal that is different in design (i.e. a novel signal) but that fails to inform fighting intentions will result in negative fitness consequences for the bearer. In the present study we used males of the territorial damselfly Hetaerina americana, which have a red wing spot during territory defense that has evolved as a signal of fighting ability. By producing a novel signal (covering the red spot with blue ink) in territory owners, we investigated: a) the behavioral responses by conspecific males; b) survival cost and c) three physiological mediators of impaired survival: muscular fat reserves, muscle mass and immune ability. We predicted that males with the novel signal would be attacked more often by conspecifics as the former would fail to convey fighting ability and intentions adequately. This will result in lower survival and physiological condition for the novel signal bearers. We found that, compared to control males (males whose red spot was not changed), experimental males had reduced survival, were less able to hold a territory, and had a reduced muscle mass. It seems that spot modified males were not able to effectively communicate their territory tenancy, which may explain why they lost their defended sites. Our results provide support for theoretical models that a novel signal that fails to informing fighting ability may lead to a fitness cost for bearers.

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“…Individuals in the infection group were infected with the gram‐negative bacterium Serratia marcescens. This bacterium is common and highly lethal in wild American rubyspot populations in Central Mexico (González‐Tokman et al 2011). We resuspended bacteria from a laboratory culture (Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, México) in phosphate buffer saline (PBS 1×, pH = 7) in a concentration of 700 colony formation units (CFU) μl −1 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sample sizes were as follows: Met–Bac = 16, Met–PBS = 15, Met–Control = 17, Ac–Bac = 17, Ac–PBS = 18, Ac–Control = 17, Control–Bac = 15, Control–PBS = 14, and Control–Control = 27. Although starvation can have different effects in infected and noninfected insects (González‐Tokman et al 2011), and in animals that differ in parasite resistance (Valtonen et al 2010), it helps to homogenize individual resource availability and to avoid confounding effects of adopting different feeding strategies when infected (e.g., Adamo et al 2010; González‐Tokman et al 2011).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Support for the Immunocompetence Handicap Hypothesis in the Wild: Hormonal Manipulation Decreases Survival in Sick Damselflies

et al. 2012

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The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH) states that hormones enhance sexual trait expression but impair immunity.Previous tests of the ICHH have been hampered by experimental design problems. Here, we report on an experimental test of the ICHH that includes manipulations of both hormones and infections in males of the territorial damselfly, Hetaerina americana, with accurate survival measurements. We conducted a fully factorial experiment subjecting each individual to one of three topical treatments: methoprene (a juvenile hormone analog), acetone, or control, and one of three injection treatments: bacteria, PBS, or control. We measured survival of manipulated males in both the wild and in captivity. As predicted, survival was most heavily impaired in methoprene-bacteria males than in the other groups in the wild, and no survival differences emerged in captive animals. This result confirms that survival is one cost an animal pays for increased hormonal levels. This corroborates theoretical predictions of the ICHH. K E Y W O R D S :Infection, insect, juvenile hormone analog, mark-recapture, Odonata, survival, sexual selection, trade-off.

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Infection effects on feeding and territorial behaviour in a predatory insect in the wild

Cited by 35 publications

References 58 publications

Mating success and energetic condition effects driven by terminal investment in territorial males of a short‐lived invertebrate

Mating success and energetic condition effects driven by terminal investment in territorial males of a short‐lived invertebrate

A Mismatch between the Perceived Fighting Signal and Fighting Ability Reveals Survival and Physiological Costs for Bearers

Support for the Immunocompetence Handicap Hypothesis in the Wild: Hormonal Manipulation Decreases Survival in Sick Damselflies

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