Scarcity of hosts for gregarious parasitoids indicates an increase of individual offspring fertility by reducing their own fertility

Samková, Alena; Raška, Jan; Hadrava, Jiří; Skuhrovec, Jiří

doi:10.1101/2021.03.05.434037

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 76 publications

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“…We are aware that determining parasitoid fertility from clutch size requires extensive measurements that are difficult to obtain in the field. As an alternative, we propose obtaining knowledge of key factors, in the case of A. flavipes varying host population densities, intraguild predation 40 or superparasitism 48 , whereby the parasitoid female “intentionally” changes the clutch size. Understanding these factors in a specific environment, we can expect a decrease or increase in clutch sizes and offspring fertilities, i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An intergenerational approach to parasitoid fitness determined using clutch size

Samková

Raška

Hadrava

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Parasitoids, as important natural enemies, occur in high numbers and help maintain balance in natural ecosystems. Their fitness is traditionally studied as fertility based on the number of offspring in the F1 generation. Here, using gregarious parasitoids as models, we show that this traditional approach omits one important parameter: the clutch size–body size–fertility correlation among offspring. As a result of this correlation, when females adjust the number of offspring laid in a host, they determine not only the number of offspring produced but also the body size and reproductive potential of those offspring. Although parasitoid fertility has been determined several times from clutch size, here we use Anaphes flavipes to demonstrate the use of this relationship in an upgraded intergenerational approach to parasitoid fitness. We show that with a range of hosts simultaneously utilized by female parasitoids, identical fertility in the F1 generation can lead to distinctly different fertility values in the F2 generation. Even with the same number of hosts, lower fertility in the F1 generation can generate higher fertility in the F2 generation. Our approach provides an intergenerational perspective for determining individual fitness of gregarious parasitoids and new possibilities for the modelling of parasitoid population density.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An intergenerational approach to parasitoid fitness determined using clutch size

Samková

Raška

Hadrava

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Female manipulation of offspring sex ratio in the gregarious parasitoidAnaphes flavipesfrom a new two-generation approach

Samková

Raška

Hadrava

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Both theoretical and empirical work suggests that offspring sex ratio has important consequences on fitness. Within insects, gregarious parasitoids with haplodiploid sex determination represent an ideal model for studying the decision-making process behind the assignment of offspring sex. To gain insight into the offspring sex ratio of gregarious parasitoids, we performed experiments on Anaphes flavipes, interpreting our results through a two-generation approach. We confirm the existence of a relationship between offspring sex ratio and clutch size: the proportion of males increases with larger clutch size. Based on this finding, we assumed that the proportion of males among one females offspring would also increase with external factors such as a low population density of the host or the presence of the hosts predator, which may pressure the mothers to lay a higher-sized clutch. Contrary to our initial expectations, we show that if it is the pressure of external factors that leads to an increase in clutch size, these larger clutches tend to be more female-biased and the overall offspring sex ratio of a particular female does not change. While in our previous work, we showed that higher clutch sizes reduce body sizes of the offspring and their future fertility, here we conclude that the differences in fertility affect the offspring sex ratio. Taken together, we highlight our two-generation approach which reveals that while the above external factors do not affect the sex ratio of A. flavipes in the F1 generation, they do have an effect in the F2 generation.

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Scarcity of hosts for gregarious parasitoids indicates an increase of individual offspring fertility by reducing their own fertility

Cited by 2 publications

References 76 publications

An intergenerational approach to parasitoid fitness determined using clutch size

An intergenerational approach to parasitoid fitness determined using clutch size

Female manipulation of offspring sex ratio in the gregarious parasitoidAnaphes flavipesfrom a new two-generation approach

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