Consequences of resource competition for sex allocation and discriminative behaviors in a hyperparasitoid wasp
Population-wide mating patterns can select for equal parental investment in both sexes, but limiting resources, such as mates or developmental substrates, can increase competition leading to biased sex ratios in favor of either sex. Such competition for resources typically occurs in spatially struct...
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| Format: | Article |
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Springer
2014
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41505/ |
| _version_ | 1848796289657995264 |
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| author | Visser, Bertanne Le Lann, Cécile Snaas, Helen Hardy, Ian C.W. Harvey, Jeffrey A. |
| author_facet | Visser, Bertanne Le Lann, Cécile Snaas, Helen Hardy, Ian C.W. Harvey, Jeffrey A. |
| author_sort | Visser, Bertanne |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Population-wide mating patterns can select for equal parental investment in both sexes, but limiting resources, such as mates or developmental substrates, can increase competition leading to biased sex ratios in favor of either sex. Such competition for resources typically occurs in spatially structured populations, where dispersal is limited. In this laboratory study, we investigate if and how resource competition affects sex allocation, discriminative behaviors and competitive interactions of the wingless hyperparasitoid Gelis acororum, which exploits patchily distributed hosts. We show that G. acororum sex ratios are male-biased and that this is not a consequence of constrained reproduction by virgin females. Our results suggest that this pattern of reproductive investment, which is only rarely observed in parasitoids, is a consequence of resource limitation, in terms of hosts rather than mates. Further, G. acororum appears not to respond to intrinsic host quality or to prior oviposition in its host. When competing inter-specifically for host resources, G. acororum outcompetes its congener Gelis agilis, but does so mainly when ovipositing on the host first. Overall, our results suggest that host resource limitation could be an important environmental factor shaping sex allocation in G. acororum, with competition taking place both intra- and inter-specifically. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:45:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-41505 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:45:37Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Springer |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-415052020-05-04T20:15:55Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41505/ Consequences of resource competition for sex allocation and discriminative behaviors in a hyperparasitoid wasp Visser, Bertanne Le Lann, Cécile Snaas, Helen Hardy, Ian C.W. Harvey, Jeffrey A. Population-wide mating patterns can select for equal parental investment in both sexes, but limiting resources, such as mates or developmental substrates, can increase competition leading to biased sex ratios in favor of either sex. Such competition for resources typically occurs in spatially structured populations, where dispersal is limited. In this laboratory study, we investigate if and how resource competition affects sex allocation, discriminative behaviors and competitive interactions of the wingless hyperparasitoid Gelis acororum, which exploits patchily distributed hosts. We show that G. acororum sex ratios are male-biased and that this is not a consequence of constrained reproduction by virgin females. Our results suggest that this pattern of reproductive investment, which is only rarely observed in parasitoids, is a consequence of resource limitation, in terms of hosts rather than mates. Further, G. acororum appears not to respond to intrinsic host quality or to prior oviposition in its host. When competing inter-specifically for host resources, G. acororum outcompetes its congener Gelis agilis, but does so mainly when ovipositing on the host first. Overall, our results suggest that host resource limitation could be an important environmental factor shaping sex allocation in G. acororum, with competition taking place both intra- and inter-specifically. Springer 2014-01 Article PeerReviewed Visser, Bertanne, Le Lann, Cécile, Snaas, Helen, Hardy, Ian C.W. and Harvey, Jeffrey A. (2014) Consequences of resource competition for sex allocation and discriminative behaviors in a hyperparasitoid wasp. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 68 (1). pp. 105-113. ISSN 1432-0762 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00265-013-1627-1 doi:10.1007/s00265-013-1627-1 doi:10.1007/s00265-013-1627-1 |
| spellingShingle | Visser, Bertanne Le Lann, Cécile Snaas, Helen Hardy, Ian C.W. Harvey, Jeffrey A. Consequences of resource competition for sex allocation and discriminative behaviors in a hyperparasitoid wasp |
| title | Consequences of resource competition for sex allocation and discriminative behaviors in a hyperparasitoid wasp |
| title_full | Consequences of resource competition for sex allocation and discriminative behaviors in a hyperparasitoid wasp |
| title_fullStr | Consequences of resource competition for sex allocation and discriminative behaviors in a hyperparasitoid wasp |
| title_full_unstemmed | Consequences of resource competition for sex allocation and discriminative behaviors in a hyperparasitoid wasp |
| title_short | Consequences of resource competition for sex allocation and discriminative behaviors in a hyperparasitoid wasp |
| title_sort | consequences of resource competition for sex allocation and discriminative behaviors in a hyperparasitoid wasp |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41505/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41505/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41505/ |