Employing evolutionary theory to improve biological pest control: Causes of non-adaptive sex allocation behavior in parasitoid wasps and implications

Beltrà, Aleixandre; Pekas, Apostolos; Soto, Antonia; Tena, Alejandro

doi:10.1016/j.baae.2014.09.002

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…As explained above, female parasitoids are more valuable in biological control programmes and any change that could push the produced sex ratio towards being more female-biased would increase the efficacy of the mass rearing and therefore decrease the production cost of the parasitoids. In species that produce female-biased sex ratio but where sex allocation is absolute rather than relative (Beltra et al, 2014), the equation is rather straightforward. Offering better-quality hosts (preferred species, larger host, preferred age, etc.)…”

Section: Optimality Models In Biological Control 7 Optimal Sex Ratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such fluctuations may cause the females to deposit mostly male progeny, therefore, preventing or delaying the establishment of a population (Beltra et al, 2014). Increasing landscape diversity to provide alternate hosts and nectarproviding plants or augmenting the parasitoid population with inoculative releases are strategies that could alleviate the problem of using parasitoids with a fixed host-quality threshold (Beltra et al, 2014).…”

Section: Optimality Models In Biological Control 7 Optimal Sex Ratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using optimality models to improve the efficacy of parasitoids in biological control programmes

Wajnberg

Roitberg

Boivin

2015

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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Biological control of insect pests relies on the ability of natural enemies to limit pest populations. The behaviours expressed by natural enemies against their prey or hosts are modulated by a number of factors and a better understanding of these factors is key to obtaining more efficacious pest control. We propose here that optimality models based upon a behavioural ecology approach can provide a framework that should enable optimisation of biological control practices. We limit our discussion to parasitoid natural enemies and review the factors known to influence the behaviour of these insects. The most important areas that have been studied extensively in the behavioural ecology of insect parasitoids are addressed here: (1) residence time in a host patch, (2) clutch size, (3) sex ratio, (4) host and patch marking, and (5) diet choice. We discuss the implications of the incorporation of these optimality models into efficacious biological control practices and suggest areas where a better knowledge of the behavioural ecology of these insects could improve the efficacy of parasitoid-based pest control.

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Section: Optimality Models In Biological Control 7 Optimal Sex Ratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Optimality Models In Biological Control 7 Optimal Sex Ratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Using optimality models to improve the efficacy of parasitoids in biological control programmes

Wajnberg

Roitberg

Boivin

2015

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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“…Therefore, mothers will optimise their fitness by laying more males in low‐quality hosts than in high‐quality ones. Most, but not all, studies support this sex allocation prediction (van den Assem, ; van Baaren et al., ; Ueno, ; Ode & Heinz, ; Colinet et al., ; Lewis et al., ; Beltra et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Sex allocation and the evolution of insemination capacity under local mate competition

Martel

Shuker

Boulton

et al. 2016

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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Local mate competition (LMC) theory has proved enormously successful in predicting sex ratios across a broad range of organisms when localised mating patches lead to mating competition amongst kin. As such, LMC is a key component of sex allocation theory. However, the mating systems that influence and promote LMC also shape other traits, as well as sex allocation. These aspects of LMC mating systems have received far less attention, including in species where LMC is common, such as parasitoid wasps. Here, we consider how LMC influences the evolution of insemination capacity in parasitoids, a key reproductive allocation decision for males that should be under both natural and sexual selection. Basic LMC theory predicts that a single female exploiting a patch should produce just enough sons to inseminate all her daughters, that is, between them these sons should have sufficient insemination capacity to inseminate their sisters. However, the insemination capacity of males is generally higher than predicted and, in order to classify parasitoid species, we propose an Index of Insemination Strategy (IIS): the ratio between the insemination capacity of males on the emergence patch and the average number of females available per male at emergence on that patch. A survey of IIS for 25 species belonging to 10 hymenopteran families showed that IIS values ranged from 0.9 to 40.9, supporting the idea that males typically have more sperm than predicted. Several factors could explain these high IIS values, including non-local mating, temporal variation in emergence, variation in mate acquisition capacity, the intensity of sperm competition, and responses to host quality.

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“…erytreae was greater than 0.40 and 0.90 mm 2 , respectively. Many species of solitary parasitoids lay male eggs on small hosts and female eggs on large hosts 46,47 . This host-size-dependent sex ratio is presumed to be advantageous because females gain a greater benefit from the resulting increase in body size than do males 46,48 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classical biological control of the African citrus psyllid Trioza erytreae, a major threat to the European citrus industry

Pérez-Rodríguez

Krüger

Pérez‐Hedo

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Citrus greening or huanglongbing (HLB) is the main threat to the European citrus industry since one of its vectors, the African citrus psyllid, Trioza erytreae , has recently become established in mainland Europe. In this context, classical biological control programmes should be implemented to reduce the spread of the psyllid. The aims of this study were to: i) disentangle the parasitoid complex of T . erytreae combining morphological and molecular characterization; and ii) to study the biology of its main parasitoids in its area of origin in South Africa for their future importation into Europe. The main citrus producing areas of South Africa were surveyed during 2017. In contrast to previous studies, the parasitoid complex of T . erytreae included three species of primary parasitoids: Tamarixia dryi , Psyllaephagus pulvinatus and another parasitoid of the genus Tamarixia . Molecular analysis showed that it is a new species closely related to T . dryi . Tamarixia dryi was the most abundant parasitoid but its relative abundance varied among sampling sites. The sex ratio (males/females) of T . dryi and Tamarixia sp. decreased with T . erytreae size and became female biased when psyllid nymphs were larger than 0.6 and 1.2 mm 2 , respectively. These parasitoids were attacked by three species of hyperparasitoids, Aphidencyrtus cassatus , Marietta javensis and a species of the genus Aphanogmus . Aphidencyrtus cassatus , the most abundant hyperparasitoid, tended to emerge from large nymphs, and adult females lived as long as those of T . dryi . The implications of these results are discussed within the framework of the introduction of T . dryi into Europe.

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Employing evolutionary theory to improve biological pest control: Causes of non-adaptive sex allocation behavior in parasitoid wasps and implications

Cited by 7 publications

References 27 publications

Using optimality models to improve the efficacy of parasitoids in biological control programmes

Using optimality models to improve the efficacy of parasitoids in biological control programmes

Sex allocation and the evolution of insemination capacity under local mate competition

Classical biological control of the African citrus psyllid Trioza erytreae, a major threat to the European citrus industry

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