Mating alters the link between movement activity and pattern in the red flour beetle

Wexler, Yonatan; Wertheimer, KerenâOr; Subach, Aziz; Pruitt, Jonathan N.; Scharf, Inon

doi:10.1111/phen.12195

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…In evolutionary time, mating costs that limit female fitness influence the evolution of mating systems, in particular the transition from sexual to asexual reproduction (Gerber & Kokko, 2016;Burke & Bonduriansky, 2017). In the context of FMF in ecological time, however, the cost of first (virginal) copulation is deemed insignificant relative to null fitness of lifelong virginity (Roitberg, 1989;Wexler et al, 2017).…”

Section: The Role Of Immobility In Fmfmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology of female mating failure/lifelong virginity: a review of causal mechanisms in insects and arachnids

Rhainds

2019

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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Sexual reproduction implies binary outcomes of competitive interactions for access to male gametes: lifelong virgin females with null fitness vs. mated females with variable (generally nonzero) fitness. Female mating failure has long remained a dormant concept in sexual selection theory in part because it is acutely maladaptive (lifelong virgins that do not reproduce are strongly selected against) and also due to widespread acceptance of the Bateman–Trivers paradigm (anisogamy and correlated sex roles). Based on recent scientific output on lifelong virginity across multiple taxonomic groups in insects (Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata, Orthoptera, Strepsiptera), female mating failure has become a mainstay of sexual selection over the last decade. Lifelong virginity and senescence (death) are intertwined processes; old virgin females compensate for increased risk of lifelong virginity by becoming less choosy and increasing investment in mating‐related activities. Low rates of female lifelong virginity (<5%) in most natural populations of insects indicate that sex generally ‘works’ due to selective pressures acting on both males and females to enhance lifetime fitness. Mating failures are most common in insects with female flightlessness; these pressures may lead in evolutionary time to transitionary pathways from sexual reproduction to parthenogenesis. Female mating probability is affected by nonlinear density‐dependent processes dependent upon the scale of observation (mate‐encounter Allee effect at large spatial scales, mating interferences between females at small scales). Mate choice and sex role reversal (females being the active sexual partner) are ubiquitous in insects and arachnids with significant paternal investment, but consequences in terms of female lifelong virginity remain unknown. Logistically, conceptual development of female mating failure in insects is most limited by the lack of broadly applicable methods to assess rates of lifetime virginity among flighted females.

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Section: The Role Of Immobility In Fmfmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology of female mating failure/lifelong virginity: a review of causal mechanisms in insects and arachnids

Rhainds

2019

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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“…We placed each beetle (continuous starvation experiment: n = 10–15 for each treatment/sex; mean n = 14; alternating starvation experiment: n = 16–24 for each treatment/sex; mean n = 21) on a 6‐cm Petri dish and logged its movement using Buridan tracking software (Colomb et al ., ) for 5 min. The software produced movement trajectories and we calculated the movement distance of each individual (similar to Wexler et al ., ). Room temperature during measurements was 24 ± 0.5°C.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The software produced movement trajectories and we calculated the movement distance of each individual (similar to Wexler et al, 2017). Room temperature during measurements was 24 AE 0.5°C.…”

Section: Movement Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Beetles (n = 23-29 for each treatment/sex, mean n = 25.3) were individually placed in a cardboard box (1 9 3 cm) with a narrow opening and given 30 seconds to acclimatize before the box was inverted and shaken, to ensure that the beetle would be on the farther side of the entrance when re-inverted. The time required for each beetle to exit the box was documented (Wexler et al, 2017). Latency to emerge was analyzed similarly to movement activity but was log 10 -transformed due to deviations from normal distribution.…”

Section: Latency To Emerge From Sheltermentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of continuous and alternating episodes of starvation on behavior and reproduction in the red flour beetle

et al. 2018

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Stress in general and starvation in particular have various and often contrasting effects on different traits. Previous starvation studies have usually focused on one or two response variables and comprised one starvation treatment versus a control. Here, we used the red flour beetle to study the effects of (1) a starvation gradient of 0–4 days, and (2) alternating starvation over 3 days on multiple response variables: movement activity, food patch discovery, latency to emerge from shelter, body mass, water content, and offspring number and mass. Starvation led to a decline in body mass and water content, as expected. Beetles also became less active, less explorative and less bold, which is in contradiction to the findings from some previous work. Both the number of offspring and their mass at mid‐development diminished, suggesting a non‐adaptive parental effect, from the offspring perspective, due to parental starvation. Recuperation episodes negated starvation effects in most cases, with three exceptions: male body mass, water content and movement activity. The link between starvation duration and the tested response variables was inconsistent between sexes, with movement activity the most prominent example. Females were generally larger and although the rate of their mass loss was steeper, they were more starvation tolerant than males, as evident in their ability to take better advantage of the recuperation episodes. Our results indicate that starvation has a differential effect on the response variables according to sex.

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“…So far, only the energetic status or associated lifetime expectancy of female parasitoids has been considered on host vs food foraging decisionmaking. However, mating status is known to modify foraging behavior in several groups of organisms A c c e p t e d m a n u s c r i p t (Reaney 2007;Wexler et al 2017). For parasitoids, haplodiploidy results in females producing only males when unmated versus both sexes when mated, and therefore mating status may also constitute a determinant intrinsic factor of their foraging decisions (Fauvergue et al 2008;Kant et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food or host: do physiological state and flower type affect foraging decisions of parasitoids?

Damien

Barascou

Ridel

et al. 2019

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Within the Optimal Foraging Theory framework, parasitoids constitute ideal models to elucidate combined physiological and environmental determinism of foraging behavior between current and future fitness gains. Parasitoid females need hosts to lay eggs for their reproduction (immediate gain), but also sugar food resources for their survival (future gain). According to theoretical models and previous empirical studies, fed females should favor host foraging, whereas females with lower energetic reserves should search for food. Surprisingly, the influence of mating status and food quality has not been considered, whereas they may both constitute major factors altering animals' choices between reproducing and feeding. We tested decision-making on Aphidius rhopalosiphi parasitoid females with different life expectancy levels (as set by recent feeding history) and mating status, using two flower species with contrasted attractiveness and nectar suitability. Interestingly, all fed and unfed females with different expected lifetime levels favored reproduction over nutrition since they are mated. This could be explained by their reproductive status that appeared to be the main determinant of their foraging decisions. For a given expected lifetime, mated females favored more reproduction whereas unmated ones favored food. Interestingly, physiological status of females (mating and lifetime expectancy) did not interact with flower species on their foraging decisions nor did it modify their preferences, as they always favored the most attractive flower, which does not have the best nectar. These results highlight the need for more empirical studies to evaluate the interactions between different intrinsic factors and to carefully consider the mating status in model assumptions, as it influences foraging behavior between immediate and future fitness gains. Significance Statement: Parasitic wasps need hosts to lay eggs for their reproduction (immediate fitness gain) and sugar resources for their survival (future fitness gain). Empirical studies and related theoretical models about foraging decisions of parasitic wasps between current and future gains included influences of energetic and resource availability constrains. We examined assumptions used by those mathematical models by empirically testing two new factors, food qualities provided by two nectar provisioning flower species with contrasted functional traits, which had surprisingly no impact on decision-making, and mating status which we showed to play a decisive role on decision-making between food or host resources. These factors should henceforth be considered in model assumptions or in models themselves to realize accurate predictions and to provide a better understanding of foraging decisions made by female parasitic wasps.

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Mating alters the link between movement activity and pattern in the red flour beetle

Cited by 14 publications

References 65 publications

Ecology of female mating failure/lifelong virginity: a review of causal mechanisms in insects and arachnids

Ecology of female mating failure/lifelong virginity: a review of causal mechanisms in insects and arachnids

Effect of continuous and alternating episodes of starvation on behavior and reproduction in the red flour beetle

Food or host: do physiological state and flower type affect foraging decisions of parasitoids?

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