Effects of maternal diet quality on offspring performance in the rove beetle Tachyporus hypnorum

Abstract

1. The reproductive output of an individual is known to be influenced by diet quality, but the quality of the parent's diet can also influence the performance of the offspring. Dietary maternal effects may interact with the effects of the offspring's diet to produce a variety of response patterns.2. Maternal effects were investigated in a polyphagous predator, the rove beetle Tachyporus hypnorum , using three single-species diets: two low-quality diets consisting of the aphids Sitobion avenae and Rhopalosiphum padi , and the high-quality control Drosophila melanogaster diet. Offspring of females fed these diets were raised on the same monotypic diets and allowed to reproduce. Several fitness parameters were measured to indicate possible maternal effects in both F1 and F2 generations.3. Maternal diet effects in F1 were found in egg size, hatching success, time to hatching, larval development time, larval survival, and sex ratio. Both aphid diets resulted in smaller eggs. A diet of R. padi resulted in reduced hatching success, longer time spent in the egg stage, and a female-biased sex ratio. A maternal diet of R. padi also prolonged larval development on S. avenae diet, while a maternal diet of S. avenae decreased survival on the R. padi diet. These effects were independent of egg size. 4. A maternal diet of R. padi enhanced the survival of F1 larvae raised on the same diet. Developmental selection operating through a high egg mortality may be the explanation for this seemingly positive effect.5. Sitobion avenae alone caused a significant reduction in the hatching success of F2 eggs, thus revealing grandmaternal effects.6. The prediction that polyphagous predators are less likely to evolve adaptive maternal effects is supported by the fact that none of the documented maternal effects could be interpreted as adaptive.

Effects of maternal diet and host quality on oviposition patterns and offspring performance in a seed beetle (Coleoptera: Bruchidae)

“…Larger eggs are generally associated with larger adults and greater survival of both larvae and adults (Fleming and Gross 1990;Fox 1994;. Females may modify their reproductive allocation, adjusting the number of eggs laid or egg size according to nutritional resources available in the maternal environment (Rotem et al 2003;Kyneb and Toft 2006) or in response to host quality (Fox et al 1997). Because the maternal reproductive effort should be divided optimally between the two fitness components, egg size and fecundity, the oviposition patterns may be affected by a trade-off between these two traits (Smith and Fretwell 1974;Messina and Fox 2001).…”

Persistence of maternal effects in baboons: Mother's dominance rank at son's conception predicts stress hormone levels in subadult males

“…Maternal effects have been demonstrated to impact several fitness components of offspring in a range of species, including effects on birth weight or egg size (e.g., humans and chimpanzees, Fessler et al, 2005; zebra finch, Gilbert et al, 2006; rove beetle, Kyneb and Toft, 2006; soil mites, Plaistow et al, 2006;fish, Taborsky, 2006;lizard, Warner et al, 2007), growth rate and age at maturity (e.g., mandrills, Setchell et al, 2002; savanna baboons, Altmann and Alberts, 2005; beetles, Kyneb and Toft, 2006;mites, Plaistow et al, 2006), and longevity or probability of survival (e.g., mandrills, Setchell et al, 2006; fruit flies, Priest et al, 2002; herring gulls, Bogdanova et al, 2006;turtles, Paitz et al, 2007). These effects also impact the development of competitive traits such as aggression and mounting behavior (Dloniak et al, 2006;Forstmeier et al, 2004;Royle et al, 2005), and both song rate and mate choice (Forstmeier et al, 2004).…”

Winter and spring ecology of Anaphes nitens, a solitary egg-parasitoid of the Eucalyptus snout-beetle Gonipterus scutellatus

“…The fitness of an individual is known to be influenced by its diet; the quality of the parent's diet can also greatly affect the performance of the offspring (Kyneb and Toft 2006). Outdoors, we found that starved mothers produced offspring that developed for longer, while indoors the trend was opposite.…”