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Malec P, Weber J, Böhmer R, Fiebig M, Meinert D, Rein C, Reinisch R, Henrich M, Polyvas V, Pollmann M, von Berg L, König C, Steidle JLM. The emergence of ecotypes in a parasitoid wasp: a case of incipient sympatric speciation in Hymenoptera? BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:204. [PMID: 34781897 PMCID: PMC8591844 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01938-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background To understand which reproductive barriers initiate speciation is a major question in evolutionary research. Despite their high species numbers and specific biology, there are only few studies on speciation in Hymenoptera. This study aims to identify very early reproductive barriers in a local, sympatric population of Nasonia vitripennis (Walker 1836), a hymenopterous parasitoid of fly pupae. We studied ecological barriers, sexual barriers, and the reduction in F1-female offspring as a postmating barrier, as well as the population structure using microsatellites. Results We found considerable inbreeding within female strains and a population structure with either three or five subpopulation clusters defined by microsatellites. In addition, there are two ecotypes, one parasitizing fly pupae in bird nests and the other on carrion. The nest ecotype is mainly formed from one of the microsatellite clusters, the two or four remaining microsatellite clusters form the carrion ecotype. There was slight sexual isolation and a reduction in F1-female offspring between inbreeding strains from the same microsatellite clusters and the same ecotypes. Strains from different microsatellite clusters are separated by a reduction in F1-female offspring. Ecotypes are separated only by ecological barriers. Conclusions This is the first demonstration of very early reproductive barriers within a sympatric population of Hymenoptera. It demonstrates that sexual and premating barriers can precede ecological separation. This indicates the complexity of ecotype formation and highlights the general need for more studies within homogenous populations for the identification of the earliest barriers in the speciation process. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12862-021-01938-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pawel Malec
- Naturpark Steigerwald E.V., 91443, Scheinfeld, Germany
| | - Justus Weber
- Dep. of Chemical Ecology 190T, Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Robin Böhmer
- Natural History Museum Bern, 3005, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Marc Fiebig
- Untere Naturschutzbehörde, Landratsamt Kitzingen, 97318, Kitzingen, Germany
| | | | - Carolin Rein
- Apicultural State Institute, University of Hohenheim, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Ronja Reinisch
- Dep. of Chemical Ecology 190T, Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Maik Henrich
- Wildlife Ecology and Management, University of Freiburg, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Viktoria Polyvas
- Dep. of Chemical Ecology 190T, Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Marie Pollmann
- Dep. of Chemical Ecology 190T, Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Lea von Berg
- Dep. of Chemical Ecology 190T, Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Christian König
- Akademie für Natur- und Umweltschutz Baden-Württemberg beim Ministerium für Umwelt, Klima und Energiewirtschaft, 70192, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Johannes L M Steidle
- Dep. of Chemical Ecology 190T, Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany.
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Liefting M, Rohmann JL, Le Lann C, Ellers J. What are the costs of learning? Modest trade-offs and constitutive costs do not set the price of fast associative learning ability in a parasitoid wasp. Anim Cogn 2019; 22:851-861. [PMID: 31222547 PMCID: PMC6687694 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01281-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2019] [Revised: 06/07/2019] [Accepted: 06/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Learning ability has been associated with energetic costs that typically become apparent through trade-offs in a wide range of developmental, physiological, and life-history traits. Costs associated with learning ability can be either constitutive or induced, depending on whether they are always incurred or only when information is actively learned and memorized. Using lines of the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis that were selected for fast associative learning ability, we assessed a range of traits that have previously been identified as potential costs associated with learning. No difference in longevity, lipid reserves, tibia length, egg load, or fecundity was observed between the selected and control lines. All of these traits are considered to potentially lead to constitutive costs in the setup of this study. A gradual reversal to baseline learning after two forms of relaxed selection was indicative of a small constitutive cost of learning ability. We also tested for a trade-off with other memory types formed at later stages, but found no evidence that the mid-term memory that was selected for caused a decrease in performance of other memory types. In conclusion, we observe only one minor effect of a constitutive cost and none of the other costs and trade-offs that are reported in the literature to be of significant value in this case. We, therefore, argue for better inclusion of ecological and economic costs in studies on costs and benefits of learning ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maartje Liefting
- Applied Zoology/Animal Ecology, Freie Universität Berlin, 12163, Berlin, Germany.
- Animal Ecology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Jessica L Rohmann
- Institute of Public Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117, Berlin, Germany
- Center for Stroke Research Berlin, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Cécile Le Lann
- Université de Rennes, CNRS, ECOBIO (Ecosystèmes, Biodiversité, Evolution) UMR 6553, 263 Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35000, Rennes, France
| | - Jacintha Ellers
- Animal Ecology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Groothuis J, Pfeiffer K, El Jundi B, Smid HM. The Jewel Wasp Standard Brain: Average shape atlas and morphology of the female Nasonia vitripennis brain. ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2019; 51:41-51. [PMID: 31357033 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2019.100878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Revised: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Nasonia, a genus of parasitoid wasps, is a promising model system in the study of developmental and evolutionary genetics, as well as complex traits such as learning. Of these "jewel wasps", the species Nasonia vitripennis is widely spread and widely studied. To accelerate neuroscientific research in this model species, fundamental knowledge of its nervous system is needed. To this end, we present an average standard brain of recently eclosed naïve female N. vitripennis wasps obtained by the iterative shape averaging method. This "Jewel Wasp Standard Brain" includes the optic lobe (excluding the lamina), the anterior optic tubercle, the antennal lobe, the lateral horn, the mushroom body, the central complex, and the remaining unclassified neuropils in the central brain. Furthermore, we briefly describe these well-defined neuropils and their subregions in the N. vitripennis brain. A volumetric analysis of these neuropils is discussed in the context of brains of other insect species. The Jewel Wasp Standard Brain will provide a framework to integrate and consolidate the results of future neurobiological studies in N. vitripennis. In addition, the volumetric analysis provides a baseline for future work on age- and experience-dependent brain plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jitte Groothuis
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Keram Pfeiffer
- Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), University of Würzburg, Biocenter, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Basil El Jundi
- Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), University of Würzburg, Biocenter, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Hans M Smid
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
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Lenschow M, Cordel M, Pokorny T, Mair MM, Hofferberth J, Ruther J. The Post-mating Switch in the Pheromone Response of Nasonia Females Is Mediated by Dopamine and Can Be Reversed by Appetitive Learning. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:14. [PMID: 29441003 PMCID: PMC5797616 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The olfactory sense is of crucial importance for animals, but their response to chemical stimuli is plastic and depends on their physiological state and prior experience. In many insect species, mating status influences the response to sex pheromones, but the underlying neuromodulatory mechanisms are poorly understood. After mating, females of the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis are no longer attracted to the male sex pheromone. Here we show that this post-mating behavioral switch is mediated by dopamine (DA). Females fed a DA-receptor antagonist prior to mating maintained their attraction to the male pheromone after mating while virgin females injected with DA became unresponsive. However, the switch is reversible as mated females regained their pheromone preference after appetitive learning. Feeding mated N. vitripennis females with antagonists of either octopamine- (OA) or DA-receptors prevented relearning of the pheromone preference suggesting that both receptors are involved in appetitive learning. Moreover, DA injection into mated females was sufficient to mimic the oviposition reward during odor conditioning with the male pheromone. Our data indicate that DA plays a key role in the plastic pheromone response of N. vitripennis females and reveal some striking parallels between insects and mammals in the neuromodulatory mechanisms underlying olfactory plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Lenschow
- Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Michael Cordel
- Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Tamara Pokorny
- Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Magdalena M Mair
- Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - John Hofferberth
- Department of Chemistry, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH, United States
| | - Joachim Ruther
- Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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Abram PK, Cusumano A, Abram K, Colazza S, Peri E. Testing the habituation assumption underlying models of parasitoid foraging behavior. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3097. [PMID: 28321365 PMCID: PMC5357337 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2016] [Accepted: 02/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Habituation, a form of non-associative learning, has several well-defined characteristics that apply to a wide range of physiological and behavioral responses in many organisms. In classic patch time allocation models, habituation is considered to be a major mechanistic component of parasitoid behavioral strategies. However, parasitoid behavioral responses to host cues have not previously been tested for the known, specific characteristics of habituation. METHODS In the laboratory, we tested whether the foraging behavior of the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis shows specific characteristics of habituation in response to consecutive encounters with patches of host (Nezara viridula) chemical contact cues (footprints), in particular: (i) a training interval-dependent decline in response intensity, and (ii) a training interval-dependent recovery of the response. RESULTS As would be expected of a habituated response, wasps trained at higher frequencies decreased their behavioral response to host footprints more quickly and to a greater degree than those trained at low frequencies, and subsequently showed a more rapid, although partial, recovery of their behavioral response to host footprints. This putative habituation learning could not be blocked by cold anesthesia, ingestion of an ATPase inhibitor, or ingestion of a protein synthesis inhibitor. DISCUSSION Our study provides support for the assumption that diminishing responses of parasitoids to chemical indicators of host presence constitutes habituation as opposed to sensory fatigue, and provides a preliminary basis for exploring the underlying mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul K Abram
- Université de Montréal, Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Montréal, Canada
| | - Antonino Cusumano
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy.,Department of Entomology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Katrina Abram
- Université de Montréal, Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Montréal, Canada
| | - Stefano Colazza
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Ezio Peri
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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The response of an egg parasitoid to substrate-borne semiochemicals is affected by previous experience. Sci Rep 2016; 6:27098. [PMID: 27250870 PMCID: PMC4890048 DOI: 10.1038/srep27098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2016] [Accepted: 05/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals can adjust their behaviour according to previous experience gained during foraging. In parasitoids, experience plays a key role in host location, a hierarchical process in which air-borne and substrate-borne semiochemicals are used to find hosts. In nature, chemical traces deposited by herbivore hosts when walking on the plant are adsorbed by leaf surfaces and perceived as substrate-borne semiochemicals by parasitoids. Chemical traces left on cabbage leaves by adults of the harlequin bug (Murgantia histrionica) induce an innate arrestment response in the egg parasitoid Trissolcus brochymenae characterized by an intense searching behaviour on host-contaminated areas. Here we investigated whether the T. brochymenae response to host walking traces left on leaf surfaces is affected by previous experience in the context of parasitoid foraging behaviour. We found that: 1) an unrewarded experience (successive encounters with host-contaminated areas without successful oviposition) decreased the intensity of the parasitoid response; 2) a rewarded experience (successful oviposition) acted as a reinforcing stimulus; 3) the elapsed time between two consecutive unrewarded events affected the parasitoid response in a host-gender specific manner. The ecological role of these results to the host location process of egg parasitoids is discussed.
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Smid HM, Vet LE. The complexity of learning, memory and neural processes in an evolutionary ecological context. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2016; 15:61-69. [PMID: 27436733 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2016.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2015] [Revised: 03/18/2016] [Accepted: 03/22/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The ability to learn and form memories is widespread among insects, but there exists considerable natural variation between species and populations in these traits. Variation manifests itself in the way information is stored in different memory forms. This review focuses on ecological factors such as environmental information, spatial aspects of foraging behavior and resource distribution that drive the evolution of this natural variation and discusses the role of different genes and neural networks. We conclude that at the level of individual, population or species, insect learning and memory cannot be described as good or bad. Rather, we argue that insects evolve tailor-made learning and memory types; they gate learned information into memories with high or low persistence. This way, they are prepared to learn and form memory to optimally deal with the specific ecologies of their foraging environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hans M Smid
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Louise Em Vet
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands; Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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Abram PK, Cusumano A, Peri E, Brodeur J, Boivin G, Colazza S. Thermal stress affects patch time allocation by preventing forgetting in a parasitoid wasp. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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