Age-dependent fitness costs of alarm signaling in aphids

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 757-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward B Mondor ◽  
Bernard D Roitberg
Keyword(s):  
Alarm Pheromone ◽  
Fourth Instar ◽  
Fitness Cost ◽  
Fitness Costs ◽  
Alarm Signal ◽  
Offspring Production ◽  
Direct Fitness ◽  
Alarm Signaling ◽  
Pea Aphids ◽  
Age Dependent

For an alarm signal to evolve, the benefits to the signaler must outweigh the costs of sending the signal. Research has largely focused on the benefits of alarm signaling, and the costs to an organism of sending an alarm signal are not well known. When attacked by a predator, aphids secrete cornicle droplets, containing an alarm pheromone, for individual protection and to warn clonemates. As aphid alarm pheromone is synthesized de novo in a feedback loop with juvenile hormone, we hypothesized that the secretion of cornicle droplets may result in a direct fitness cost to the emitter. We show that the secretion of a single cornicle droplet by pre-reproductive (third- and fourth-instar) pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum, directly altered the timing and number of offspring produced. Third-instar pea aphids delayed offspring production but produced more offspring overall than non-secreting aphids, demonstrating a life-history shift but no significant fitness cost of droplet secretion. Fourth-instar pea aphids also delayed offspring production but produced the same number of offspring as non-secretors, resulting in a direct fitness cost of droplet secretion. Offspring production by adult, reproductive pea aphids that secreted a cornicle droplet did not differ from that of non-secretors. Thus, the fitness costs of secreting cornicle droplets containing an alarm signal are age-dependent.

Pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, cornicle ontogeny as an adaptation to differential predation risk

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (12) ◽  
pp. 2131-2136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward B Mondor ◽  
Bernard D Roitberg
Keyword(s):  
Alarm Pheromone ◽  
Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽  
Harmonia Axyridis ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Pea Aphid ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Anatomical Structures ◽  
Alarm Signaling ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Pea Aphids

Aphids possess unique anatomical structures called cornicles through which a defensive secretion containing alarm pheromone is often emitted when a predator attacks an aphid. The levels of alarm pheromone in cornicle droplets from the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), vary considerably during development; however, it is not clear how the length of the cornicle changes during ontogeny. The length of the cornicle relative to the lengths of other body structures may have profound effects on aphid defense and alarm signal diffusion. Using previously published morphological measurements of pea aphids and observing interactions between pea aphids and multicolored Asian ladybird beetles, Harmonia axyridis Pallas, it was observed that pea aphid cornicles elongate proportionally more than other body parts during the first four instars, when alarm-pheromone levels have peaked, than during the fifth (adult) instar, when pheromone levels decline. Pea aphids also are more likely to emit cornicle droplets and daub them onto a predator when the cornicles are undergoing such rapid growth. We suggest that because of a high risk of predation, rapid cornicle growth in juveniles has evolved both for individual defense and for the inclusive fitness benefits of alarm signaling.

Adaptation of alarm pheromone responses of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris)

1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard D. Roitberg ◽  
Judith H. Myers
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Host Plant ◽  
Alarm Pheromone ◽  
Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽  
Fourth Instar ◽  
Pea Aphid ◽  
Vibratory Stimulus ◽  
Ground Temperatures ◽  
Pea Aphids

Adult and fourth-instar pea aphids from Vancouver, B.C., responded to alarm pheromone by either dropping, running, or backing up. Younger instars showed almost no response to pheromone but all instars responded to a pheromone–vibratory stimulus, usually by dropping. We suggest that younger instars respond conservatively to alarm pheromone because they are less agile on the ground and are more likely to die there before finding a suitable food plant. Adult and fourth-instar aphids from the hot, dry region of British Columbia do not respond to alarm pheromone by dropping. This is due to the high risk associated with any instar leaving the host plant where ground temperatures and evaporation rates are high.Clones of aphids contained both individuals which do and do not drop in response to pheromone stimulus. This mixture of behaviour types allows part of the group to exploit new resources while others remain on a known resource.

scholarly journals Fitness of Herbicide-Resistant Weeds: Current Knowledge and Implications for Management

Plants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vila-Aiub
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Herbicide Resistance ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Resistance Management ◽  
Fitness Cost ◽  
Plant Fitness ◽  
Resistance Mutations ◽  
Fitness Costs ◽  
Wide Range

Herbicide resistance is the ultimate evidence of the extraordinary capacity of weeds to evolve under stressful conditions. Despite the extraordinary plant fitness advantage endowed by herbicide resistance mutations in agroecosystems under herbicide selection, resistance mutations are predicted to exhibit an adaptation cost (i.e., fitness cost), relative to the susceptible wild-type, in herbicide untreated conditions. Fitness costs associated with herbicide resistance mutations are not universal and their expression depends on the particular mutation, genetic background, dominance of the fitness cost, and environmental conditions. The detrimental effects of herbicide resistance mutations on plant fitness may arise as a direct impact on fitness-related traits and/or coevolution with changes in other life history traits that ultimately may lead to fitness costs under particular ecological conditions. This brings the idea that a “lower adaptive value” of herbicide resistance mutations represents an opportunity for the design of resistance management practices that could minimize the evolution of herbicide resistance. It is evident that the challenge for weed management practices aiming to control, minimize, or even reverse the frequency of resistance mutations in the agricultural landscape is to “create” those agroecological conditions that could expose, exploit, and exacerbate those life history and/or fitness traits affecting the evolution of herbicide resistance mutations. Ideally, resistance management should implement a wide range of cultural practices leading to environmentally mediated fitness costs associated with herbicide resistance mutations.

scholarly journals Fitness Costs of Chlorantraniliprole Resistance Related to the SeNPF Overexpression in the Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 5027
Author(s):  
Changwei Gong ◽  
Xinge Yao ◽  
Qunfang Yang ◽  
Xuegui Wang ◽  
Yuming Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Insect Pest ◽  
Ryanodine Receptors ◽  
Oviposition Rate ◽  
Fitness Cost ◽  
Fitness Costs ◽  
Male Adult ◽  
Mating Response ◽  
Transmembrane Segments ◽  
High Level ◽  
Lepidoptera Noctuidae

Spodopteraexigua, a multifeeding insect pest, has developed a high level of resistance to chlorantraniliprole, which is a benzoylurea insecticide that targets the ryanodine receptors (RyRs). Herein, the resistant strain (SE-Sel) and sensitive strain (SE-Sus) were obtained by bidirectional screening for six generations. The potential oviposited eggs and oviposition rate of the SE-Sel strain were dramatically lower than those of the SE-Sus strain; on the contrary, the weights of prepupae and preadult were significantly increased. As a post-mating response, the higher number of non-oviposited eggs in the SE-Sel strain was caused by a lower mating rate. In addition, the expression levels of vitellogenin (SeVg) and its receptor (SeVgR) in the SE-Sel strain were consistently lower than those in the SE-Sus strain. An RyRI4743M mutation, contributing to the resistance to chlorantraniliprole, was located in the S3 transmembrane segments and might have affected the release of calcium ions; it led to the upregulated expression of the neuropeptide SeNPF and its receptor SeNPFR, and the mating and oviposition rate were significantly recovered when the SeNPF was knocked down though RNA interference (RNAi) in the male adult of the SE-Sel strain. Moreover, the expression of the juvenile hormone-binding proteins SeJHBWDS3 and SeJHBAN in the male adult of the SE-Sel strain was significantly decreased, which proved the existence of a fitness cost from another angle. Therefore, these results indicate that the fitness cost accompanied by chlorantraniliprole resistance in S. exigua may be related to the decrease in mating desire due to SeNPF overexpression.

scholarly journals Males harm females less when competing with familiar relatives

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1867) ◽  
pp. 20171984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel J. Lymbery ◽  
Leigh W. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
Callosobruchus Maculatus ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Fitness Costs ◽  
Offspring Production ◽  
Social Familiarity ◽  
Indirect Fitness ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Female Lifespan

Sexual conflict occurs when reproductive partners have different fitness optima, and can lead to the evolution of traits in one sex that inflict fitness costs on the opposite sex. Recently, it has been proposed that antagonism by males towards females should be reduced when they compete with relatives, because reducing the future productivity of a female would result in an indirect fitness cost for a harmful male. We tested this prediction in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus , the males of which harm females with genital spines and pre-copulatory harassment. We compared lifespan, lifetime egg production and lifetime offspring production among females housed with groups of males that varied in their familiarity and relatedness. Females produced significantly more eggs and offspring when grouped with males who were both related and familiar to each other. There was no effect of male relatedness or familiarity on female lifespan. Our results suggest that males plastically adjust their harmfulness towards females in response to changes in inclusive fitness payoffs, and that in this species both genetic relatedness and social familiarity mediate this effect.

Escape behaviour of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) in response to alarm pheromone and vibration

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 2245-2252 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Clegg ◽  
C. A. Barlow
Keyword(s):  
Host Plant ◽  
Alarm Pheromone ◽  
Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽  
Pea Aphid ◽  
Escape Behaviour ◽  
Pea Aphids ◽  
Escape Responses

Pea aphids respond most effectively to the threat of a predator by walking away or dropping from their host plant. Simulating threat by using vibration and alarm pheromone, both separately and together, we found no evidence that escape responses are heritable, nor that individual aphids have characteristic escape behaviours. On the contrary, the amount of alarm pheromone influenced responses: the more pheromone, the more likely an immediate and effective escape. Vibration preceding alarm pheromone greatly increased responsiveness to pheromone, and aphids were more responsive to pheromone after vibration when feeding on stems than when feeding on the undersides of leaves.

scholarly journals Atypical meiosis can be adaptive in outcrossed S. pombe due to wtf meiotic drivers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Angélica Bravo Núñez ◽  
Ibrahim M. Sabbarini ◽  
Lauren E. Eide ◽  
Robert L. Unckless ◽  
Sarah E. Zanders
Keyword(s):  
Schizosaccharomyces Pombe ◽  
Fitness Landscape ◽  
Fitness Cost ◽  
Fitness Costs ◽  
Diploid Gametes ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractKiller meiotic drivers are genetic parasites that destroy ‘sibling’ gametes lacking the driver allele. The fitness costs of drive can lead to selection of unlinked suppressors. This suppression could involve evolutionary tradeoffs that compromise gametogenesis and contribute to infertility. Schizosaccharomyces pombe, an organism containing numerous gamete-killing wtf drivers, offers a tractable system to test this hypothesis. Here, we demonstrate that in scenarios analogous to outcrossing, wtf drivers generate a fitness landscape in which atypical gametes, such as aneuploids and diploids, are advantageous. In this context, wtf drivers can decrease the fitness cost of mutations that disrupt meiotic fidelity and, in some circumstances, can even make such mutations beneficial. Moreover, we find that S. pombe isolates vary greatly in their ability to make haploid gametes, with some isolates generating more than 25% aneuploid or diploid gametes. This work empirically demonstrates the potential for meiotic drivers to shape the evolution of gametogenesis.

scholarly journals Sexual harassment induces a temporary fitness cost but does not constrain the acquisition of environmental information in fruit flies

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 20150917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serafino Teseo ◽  
Liisa Veerus ◽  
Céline Moreno ◽  
Frédéric Mery
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Fruit Flies ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Fitness Cost ◽  
Fitness Costs ◽  
Sexual Conflicts ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
The Relationship

Across animals, sexual harassment induces fitness costs for females and males. However, little is known about the cognitive costs involved, i.e. whether it constrains learning processes, which could ultimately affect an individual's fitness. Here we evaluate the acquisition of environmental information in groups of fruit flies challenged with various levels of male sexual harassment. We show that, although high sexual harassment induces a temporary fitness cost for females, all fly groups of both sexes exhibit similar levels of learning. This suggests that, in fruit flies, the fitness benefits of acquiring environmental information are not affected by the fitness costs of sexual harassment, and that selection may favour cognition even in unfavourable social contexts. Our study provides novel insights into the relationship between sexual conflicts and cognition and the evolution of female counterstrategies against male sexual harassment.

Reproductive potential in the parasitoid Eupelmus orientalis (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae)

1994 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Doury ◽  
D. Rojas-Rousse
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Callosobruchus Maculatus ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Intrinsic Rate ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Intrinsic Rate Of Increase ◽  
Net Reproductive Rate ◽  
Offspring Production ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Age Dependent

AbstractEupelmus orientalis (Crawford) (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) is a solitary ectoparasitoid of the larvae and pupae of West African bruchids. Since the biology of this species was unknown, studies were carried out on its reproductive biology. The age-dependent fecundity and offspring production of virgin and mated females of E. orientalis were determined under laboratory conditions at 33°C:23°C, 50%:80% r.h., L:D 12:12 on its host Callosobruchus maculatus (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) during the first 15 days of the life cycle. No differences were found between virgin and mated females for any parameter. A study of the age-dependent fecundity and offspring production was also carried out under the same conditions over the entire life cycle of mated females. The resulting data were used to determine the longevity and reproductive potential of the species, particularly through the calculated life tables and estimation of the intrinsic rate of increase. With ten hosts per female per day, E. orientalis females had a mean longevity of 45.75±5.09 days. They laid an average of 219.91±39.08 eggs, parasitized 154.27±26.17 hosts, and produced 166.77±9.41 offspring, consisting of 80.46±14.10 males and 86.31±10.04 females. The total mean developmental time was 18.58±0.22 days for males and 20.03±0.21 days for females. The net reproductive rate (Ro) was 62.33 female progeny per adult female, and the intrinsic rate of population increase (rm) was 0.1389 per day. The generation time (G) was 29.76 days and the doubling time (DT) 4.99 days. These results constitute the first step to determine the potential of E. orientalis as an agent for the biological control of bruchidae, especially C. maculatus.

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