Host choice and offspring sex allocation in a solitary parasitic wasp

1991 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 353-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solange Brault
Keyword(s):  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Parasitic Wasp ◽  
Host Choice ◽  
Offspring Sex

scholarly journals Sperm sex ratio adjustment in a mammal: perceived male competition leads to elevated proportions of female-producing sperm

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 20190929
Author(s):  
Renée C. Firman ◽  
Jamie N. Tedeschi ◽  
Francisco Garcia-Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
Male Competition ◽  
Offspring Sex ◽  
Sex Ratio Adjustment ◽  
Adaptive Adjustment ◽  
Male House

Mammal sex allocation research has focused almost exclusively on maternal traits, but it is now apparent that fathers can also influence offspring sex ratios. Parents that produce female offspring under conditions of intense male–male competition can benefit with greater assurance of maximized grand-parentage. Adaptive adjustment in the sperm sex ratio, for example with an increase in the production of X-chromosome bearing sperm (CBS), is one potential paternal mechanism for achieving female-biased sex ratios. Here, we tested this mechanistic hypothesis by varying the risk of male–male competition that male house mice perceived during development, and quantifying sperm sex ratios at sexual maturity. Our analyses revealed that males exposed to a competitive ‘risk’ produced lower proportions of Y-CBS compared to males that matured under ‘no risk’ of competition. We also explored whether testosterone production was linked to sperm sex ratio variation, but found no evidence to support this. We discuss our findings in relation to the adaptive value of sperm sex ratio adjustments and the role of steroid hormones in socially induced sex allocation.

scholarly journals Sex allocation theory reveals a hidden cost of neonicotinoid exposure in a parasitoid wasp

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1807) ◽  
pp. 20150389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope R. Whitehorn ◽  
Nicola Cook ◽  
Charlotte V. Blackburn ◽  
Sophie M. Gill ◽  
Jade Green ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Evolutionary Ecology ◽  
Parasitoid Wasp ◽  
Reproductive Behaviour ◽  
Fitness Costs ◽  
Offspring Sex ◽  
Hidden Cost ◽  
Sex Allocation Theory ◽  
First Time ◽  
Fecundity Reduction

Sex allocation theory has proved to be one the most successful theories in evolutionary ecology. However, its role in more applied aspects of ecology has been limited. Here we show how sex allocation theory helps uncover an otherwise hidden cost of neonicotinoid exposure in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis . Female N. vitripennis allocate the sex of their offspring in line with Local Mate Competition (LMC) theory. Neonicotinoids are an economically important class of insecticides, but their deployment remains controversial, with evidence linking them to the decline of beneficial species. We demonstrate for the first time to our knowledge, that neonicotinoids disrupt the crucial reproductive behaviour of facultative sex allocation at sub-lethal, field-relevant doses in N. vitripennis . The quantitative predictions we can make from LMC theory show that females exposed to neonicotinoids are less able to allocate sex optimally and that this failure imposes a significant fitness cost. Our work highlights that understanding the ecological consequences of neonicotinoid deployment requires not just measures of mortality or even fecundity reduction among non-target species, but also measures that capture broader fitness costs, in this case offspring sex allocation. Our work also highlights new avenues for exploring how females obtain information when allocating sex under LMC.

Host size-dependent sex allocation behaviour in a parasitoid: implications forCatolaccus grandis(Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) mass rearing programmes

1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.M. Heinz
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Boll Weevil ◽  
Mass Rearing ◽  
Host Size ◽  
Offspring Sex Ratio ◽  
Offspring Sex ◽  
Control Programmes

AbstractAn often encountered problem associated with augmentative and inundative biological control programmes is the high cost of producing sufficient numbers of natural enemies necessary to suppress pest populations within the time constraints imposed by ephemeral agroecosystems. In many arrhenotokous parasitoids, overproduction of males in mass-rearing cultures inflates costs (per female) and thus limits the economic feasibility of these biological control programmes. Within the context of existing production technologies, experiments were conducted to determine if the sex ratio ofCatolaccus grandis(Burks), an ectoparasitoid of the boll weevilAnthonomous grandisBoheman, varied as a function of boll weevil larval size. Results from natural and manipulative experiments demonstrate the following behavioural characteristics associated with C.grandissex allocation behaviour: (i) femaleC. grandisoffspring are produced on large size hosts and male offspring are produced on small hosts; (ii) whether a host is considered large or small depends upon the overall distribution of host sizes encountered by a female parasitoid; and (iii) female parasitoids exhibit a greater rate of increase in body size with host size than do male parasitoids. The observed patterns cannot be explained by sex-specific mortality of immature parasitoids developing on the different host size categories. In subsequent experiments, laboratory cultures ofC. grandisexposed daily to successively larger sizes ofA. grandislarvae produced successively greater female biased offspring sex ratios, cultures exposed daily to successively smaller sizes of host larvae produced successively greater male biased offspring sex ratios, and cultures exposed daily to equivalent host size distributions over time maintained a uniform offspring sex ratio. By increasing the average size ofA. grandislarval hosts exposed toC. grandisby 2.5 mg per day in mass rearing cultures, the percentage of male progeny can be reduced from 33% to 23% over a period of four consecutive exposure days.

scholarly journals Evidence of capacitation in the parasitoid wasp, Nasonia vitripennis and its potential role in sex allocation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.R.C. Jones ◽  
E.B. Mallon
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Splicing ◽  
Sperm Motility ◽  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Parasitoid Wasp ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Allocation Of Resources ◽  
Nasonia Vitripennis ◽  
Offspring Sex ◽  
Show Evidence

AbstractThe allocation of resources to the production of one sex or another has been observed in a large variety of animals. Its theoretical basis allows accurate predictions of offspring sex ratios in many species, but the mechanisms by which sex allocation is controlled are poorly understood. Using previously published data we investigated if alternative splicing, combined with differential expression, were involved with sex allocation in the parasitoid wasp, Nasonia vitripennis. We found that sex allocation is not controlled by alternative splicing but changes in gene expression, that were identified to be involved with oviposition, were shown to be similar to those involved in sperm motility, and capacitation. Genes involved in Cholesterol efflux, a key component of capacitation, along with calcium transport, trypsin and MAPKinase activity were regulated in ovipositing wasps. The results show evidence for regulation of sperm motility and of capacitation in an insect which, in the context of the physiology of the N. vitripennis spermatheca, could be important for sex allocation.

scholarly journals Effects of host and foundress density on reproductive strategy of Diaeretiella rapae

2012 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 294-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kant ◽  
M.A. Minor ◽  
S.A. Trewick ◽  
W.R.M. Sandanayaka
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Reproductive Strategy ◽  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Parasitic Wasp ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
Reproductive Fitness ◽  
Brevicoryne Brassicae ◽  
Diaeretiella Rapae ◽  
Progeny Production ◽  
Total Parasitism

The reproductive fitness of a parasitoid depends on the oviposition decisions of a female in response to competition The present study investigated the oviposition and sex ratio of offspring produced by the parasitic wasp Diaeretiella rapae while competing with other conspecific females and at different host densities The number of Brevicoryne brassicae nymphs parasitised by female D rapae increased with the number of nymphs offered to them However the proportion of nymphs parasitised by the female decreased when nymph density was high The proportion of fertilised eggs oviposited by females decreased when nymph density increased An increase in the number of foundresses (females ovpositing together) increased the total parasitism but the contribution of each female (the number of nymphs each female parasitised) decreased Smaller proportions of female offspring were produced when females were competing for the same hosts The results of this study suggest that both host and foundress densities asymmetrically affect progeny production and sex allocation in this species

scholarly journals Breeding ecology and bias in offspring sex ratio in little grassbirds (Megalurus gramineus)

2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca R. McIntosh ◽  
Romke Kats ◽  
Mathew Berg ◽  
Jan Komdeur ◽  
Mark A. Elgar
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Breeding Ecology ◽  
Offspring Sex Ratio ◽  
Reed Beds ◽  
Primary Sex Ratio ◽  
Sex Ratio Bias ◽  
Offspring Sex

Little grassbirds (Megalurus gramineus) are small, sexually monomorphic passerines that live in reed beds, lignum swamps and salt marshes in southern Australia. The breeding biology and patterns of sex allocation of the little grassbird were investigated over a single breeding season. Our observations of this species in the Edithvale Wetland Reserve revealed a highly male-biased population sex ratio, with some breeding territories containing several additional males. Nevertheless, there was little compelling evidence that little grassbirds breed cooperatively. The growth rates of male and female nestlings were similar and, as predicted by theory, there was no overall primary sex ratio bias. However, the primary sex ratio was female-biased early in the breeding season and became increasingly male-biased later in the breeding season.

Female mountain bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) paired to more colourful males produce male-biased broods

Behaviour ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 153 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica S. Bonderud ◽  
Nancy J. Flood ◽  
Jonathan D. Van Hamme ◽  
Cameron A. W. Boyda ◽  
Matthew W. Reudink
Keyword(s):  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Reproductive Value ◽  
First Year ◽  
Reproductive Decisions ◽  
Offspring Sex ◽  
Sialia Currucoides ◽  
Sex Allocation Theory ◽  
Mountain Bluebirds ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
Signalling Systems

Sex allocation theory predicts that females should bias the sex ratio of their offspring in response to differences in the reproductive value of sons versus daughters. Consistent with this prediction, females of many species appear to bias offspring sex ratios in response to mate attractiveness and condition. Male mountain bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) display full body UV-blue structural plumage colouration, which is associated with attractiveness, condition, and reproductive success. Over four breeding seasons, we found females paired with more colourful males produced increasingly male-biased broods and provisioned offspring at a higher rate. Surprisingly, however, we also found females with duller plumage and those mated to first-year males produced more male-biased broods. These results provide support for sex allocation in mountain bluebirds and suggest female reproductive decisions may be influenced by the attractiveness of her mate. However, this system is clearly complex and more work is needed to understand the roles of male age and female colouration in the signalling systems of mountain bluebirds.

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