Difference in parenting in two species of burying beetle, Nicrophorus orbicollis and Nicrophorus vespilloides

Benowitz, Kyle M.; McKinney, Elizabeth C.; Moore, Allen J.

doi:10.1007/s10164-016-0477-5

Cited by 21 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The complete description of behavioral variation in both species and both sexes is given in Benowitz et al. (). For N. orbicollis , the top 10 females caring for offspring selected for further analysis provided (mean ± SD) 39.8 ± 5.7 bouts of care during the observation period.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Detailed methods of behavioral experimentation are described in Benowitz et al. (). All observations were of uniparental adults that were reared and observed in common and controlled laboratory conditions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We predicted we would find even less overlap between species, given the nuanced behavioral differences between them (Benowitz et al. ; Benowitz and Moore ). Additionally, following Cardoso et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Given the strong behavioral (Benowitz et al. ) but imperfect genetic (Parker et al. ) similarity between sexes, we expected moderate but not complete overlap in the transcripts underlying variation in provisioning between males and females.…”

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confidence: 98%

“…To examine the prediction that quantitative gene expression is related to the quantitative expression of provisioning behavior in Nicrophorus , we performed RNA‐seq comparing gene expression of 20 individuals a priori classified as having high or low levels of provisioning behavior based on extensive behavioral observation (Benowitz et al. ). Furthermore, we repeated this in both sexes as both males and females are competent parents, performing separate RNA‐seq experiments in males and females of two species, N. vespilloides and N. orbicollis .…”

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confidence: 99%

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Relating quantitative variation within a behavior to variation in transcription

et al. 2017

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Many studies have shown that variation in transcription is associated with changes in behavioral state, or with variation within a state, but little has been done to address if the same genes are involved in both. Here we investigate the transcriptional basis of variation in parental provisioning using two species of burying beetle, Nicrophorus orbicollis and Nicrophorus vespilloides. We used RNA-seq to compare transcription in parents that provided high amounts of provisioning behavior versus low amounts in males and females of each species. We found no overarching transcriptional patterns distinguishing high from low caring parents, and no informative transcripts that displayed particularly large expression differences in either sex. However, we did find subtler gene expression differences between high and low provisioning parents that are consistent across both sexes and species. Furthermore, we show that transcripts previously implicated in transitioning into parental care in N. vespilloides had high variance in the levels of transcription and were unusually likely to display differential expression between high and low provisioning parents. Thus, quantitative behavioral variation appears to reflect many transcriptional differences of small effect. Furthermore, the same transcripts required for the transition between behavioral states are also related to variation within a behavioral state.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 91%

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confidence: 98%

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confidence: 99%

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Relating quantitative variation within a behavior to variation in transcription

et al. 2017

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Revisiting the ecology and evolution of burying beetle behavior (Staphylinidae: Silphinae)

Potticary,

Belk,

Creighton

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Investigating fundamental processes in biology requires the ability to ground broad questions in species‐specific natural history. This is particularly true in the study of behavior because an organism's experience of the environment will influence the expression of behavior and the opportunity for selection. Here, we provide a review of the natural history and behavior of burying beetles of the genus Nicrophorus to provide the groundwork for comparative work that showcases their remarkable behavioral and ecological diversity. Burying beetles have long fascinated scientists because of their well‐developed parenting behavior, exhibiting extended post‐hatching care of offspring that varies extensively within and across taxa. Despite the burgeoning success of burying beetles as a model system for the study of behavioral evolution, there has not been a review of their behavior, ecology, and evolution in over 25 years. To address this gap, we leverage a developing community of researchers who have contributed to a detailed knowledge of burying beetles to highlight the utility of Nicrophorus for investigating the causes and consequences of social and behavioral evolution.

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Burying beetles as a model organism to study sex differences in parental care

Ratz

2024

Insect. Soc.

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In species where both sexes care for offspring, one parent—generally the female—typically provides more care than the other. While current theory offers broad predictions on the evolution of sex differences in parental care, it remains unclear whether ecological factors, such as short-term environmental variation and the intrinsic state of parents, also influence the size of existing asymmetries between parents. Here, I highlight how recent work on burying beetles (Nicrophorus sp.), a now well-established taxon to study biparental care, has contributed to research on sex differences in parenting. Although female burying beetles provide more care than males, the extent of this asymmetry is context-dependent as each sex constantly readjusts care depending on the surrounding environment and own state. Nevertheless, despite variation in the magnitude of the sex differences, there are still clear patterns of care specific to each species, highlighting the importance of the evolutionary history. Finally, the presence of sex differences presumably has consequences for the efficiency of parental care and can affect offspring performance. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the life-history and environmental conditions driving sex differences in parenting, we need more natural history research on the less commonly studied Nicrophorus species and more work examining behavioural responses to rapid environmental changes in all taxa. Addressing these gaps will contribute to our understanding of how sexual conflict over care is resolved and how biparental cooperation persists despite asymmetries between caring parents.

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Difference in parenting in two species of burying beetle, Nicrophorus orbicollis and Nicrophorus vespilloides

Cited by 21 publications

References 27 publications

Relating quantitative variation within a behavior to variation in transcription

Relating quantitative variation within a behavior to variation in transcription

Revisiting the ecology and evolution of burying beetle behavior (Staphylinidae: Silphinae)

Burying beetles as a model organism to study sex differences in parental care

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