Female aggregation in Platycypha caligata (odonata: chlorocyphidae): a tactic to evade male interference during oviposition

Condition-dependent survival and movement behavior in an endangered endemic damselfly

Movement is essential for the maintenance of populations in their natural habitats, particularly for threatened species living in fluctuating environments. Empirical evidence suggests that the probability and distance of movement in territorial species are context-dependent, often depending on population density and sex. Here, we investigate the movement behavior of the spring cohort of an endangered endemic damselfly Calopteryx exul in a lotic habitat of Northeast Algeria using capture-mark-recapture (CMR) of adults. By sampling 10 gridded river stretches across a 2 km section of the watercourse, we were able to estimate the distance of movement throughout individual lifespans and estimate movement probability for both males and females. We used multistate models to examine whether individual density and sex ratio influence survival and movement probability. We found that males and females had similar movement kernels with most individuals moving short distances (83% performing movements of < 100 m and only 1% > 1000 m). Of the 547 marked individuals, 63% were residents, and 37% were movers (moved at least 50 m from one sampling occasion to another). Survival probability showed higher estimates for females and was slightly density-dependent (i.e., lower survival probabilities were associated with high male densities). Survival probability did not show a marked difference between residents and movers. Movement probability and distances were positively correlated with individual density, but were not or slightly correlated with sex ratio, respectively. These results are not in line with the hypotheses of sex-biased movement and survival costs of movement. Our results suggest that the species performs mostly short-distance movements that are dependent on intraspecific interactions.

Individual variability in habitat selection by aquatic insects is driven by taxonomy rather than specialisation

Habitat selection, the choice of a habitat based on its perceived quality, is a key mechanism structuring freshwater communities. To date, individual variability in habitat selection has been neglected, and specialisation has never been considered in this type of studies. We examined the individual differences in the habitat selection of backswimmers (Notonectidae) and diving beetles (Dytiscidae). From each family, we selected one habitat generalist able to coexist with fish (Notonecta glauca, Dytiscus marginalis), and one species specialised to fishless habitats (Notonecta obliqua, Acilius sulcatus). We performed a mesocosm experiment quantifying the consistency in individuals' decisions in response to fish and vegetation structure, in relation to sex and specialisation. Neither the overall pattern of preferences nor consistency in individuals' decisions differed between specialists and generalists or between the sexes, but both were consistent within families. At the population level, backswimmers preferred fishless pools with submersed and floating macrophytes, while diving beetles showed no clear preferences. Individual decisions of backswimmers were consistent and likely driven by conspecific/heterospecific attraction. In diving beetles, individual decisions were primarily density-dependent. Our results reinforce the significance of habitat selectivity for aquatic community assembly, while suggesting a range of mechanisms driving variability in individual behaviour.

Biparental mealybugs may be more promiscuous than we thought

Knowledge on the reproductive biology of target insect pest is essential for the effective implementation of pheromone-based pest management tactics. In mealybugs, the second largest family of scale insects, the existence of female multiple mating was recently suggested. In this study, we aimed at testing how general is this behavior in mealybugs, by investigating polygyny and polyandry in two cosmopolitan pest mealybugs, Planococcus citri and Pseudococcus calceolariae. Males of these species were able to mate an average of 11.9 and 13.3 females, respectively, during their lifespan. The number of fertilized females per male decreased with male age/mating history for both mealybugs. We found no differences in female fecundity and fertility, when fertilized by males with different mating history. When we used male age as a proxy of mating history, we observed a significant negative effect on female fecundity. The females of both species remained receptive after first copula and eventually mated multiple times. The percentage of remated females of P. citri decreased linearly with time since first copula, with some maintaining receptivity up to 24 h. Males showed no preference between virgin and mated females, in static-air olfactometer tests. We found no benefit of female multiple mating in relation to fecundity. In biparental mealybugs, the mating system of males is possibly scramble competition polygyny; and that of females is possibly polyandry, with female receptivity restricted to a relatively short period. We discuss the practical implications of the results for pest management.

Effect of population structure and size on aggregation behavior of Cimex lectularius (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)

The bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), occurs in aggregations until the conditions are no longer beneficial, leading to dispersal. Active and passive bed bug dispersal causes migrations from main aggregations either within a room, from room to room within a building, or from building to building. Because bed bug movement is an important factor in the spread of infestations, we wanted to determine how population structure and size affect bed bug aggregations. Engorged bed bugs were placed in glass petri dish arenas at varying densities, sex ratios, and population compositions. Nymphs had a high tendency to aggregate, varying between 94 and 98%, and therefore were not the likely dispersal stage of the bed bug. At densities of 10 and 40 adults at a 1:1 sex ratio, there were significantly more lone females than lone males. When the population composition was varied, the percentage of lone females was significantly higher than that of males and nymphs at population compositions of 40 and 80% adults. When the sex ratio of adults was varied, there were significantly more lone females than males in arenas with 20, 50, and 80% males. Females, being found away from aggregations significantly more often than any other life stage, are potentially the dispersal stage of the bed bug. Active female dispersal away from main aggregations can potentially lead to treatment failures and should be taken into account when using control methods.

Situation exploitation: higher male mating success when female resistance is reduced by feeding

Optimal male and female mating rates rarely coincide. Males often shift the rate in their favor by either increased signaling and by overcoming female resistance to copulation. The concept of sensory exploitation posits that males produce signals that mimic naturally selected benefits and so deceitfully attract females. However, males also have to overcome female resistance to actual copulation. Males may do so by copulating during situations when the female's ability to resist is decreased because of competing naturally selected demands. Males of the common bedbug, Cimex lectularius, an obligate blood feeder, mate at a rate, and in a manner that is harmful to females. Females have to feed regularly to produce eggs, and during feeding female body volume increases by 300%. Choice trials using unfed and either fed or experimentally enlarged but unfed females showed that the increased postfeeding body volume of females attracted more male mating attempts, strongly reduced female resistance to male mating attempts and resulted in a net increase in female mating rate. Our results, therefore, suggest that males have increased mating success in a situation that females cannot avoid because it is naturally selected. Such "situation exploitation" of low resistance may be a common phenomenon.

Pheromone-mediated aggregation in nonsocial arthropods: an evolutionary ecological perspective

Although the use of aggregation pheromones has been reported for hundreds of nonsocial arthropod species, the evolutionary ecological aspects of this behavior have received little attention. Despite the elaborate literature on mechanisms, robust data on costs and benefits of aggregation pheromones are scant. Existing literature indicates that, in contrast to the diversity of mechanisms, the ecological conditions in which aggregation pheromones are used are more alike. This points to a few general categories for costs and benefits of aggregation pheromones, and these are discussed. We subsequently review interspecific interactions that may be affected by the use of aggregation pheromones. We encounter a strikingly frequent association of aggregation pheromones with fungi and microorganisms and address cross-attraction by competitor species and exploitation by natural enemies. We show that aggregative behavior by individuals through the use of pheromones can profoundly affect ecological interactions and advocate further evolutionary and ecological investigations of pheromone-mediated aggregation.

Experimental removal of sexual selection reverses intersexual antagonistic coevolution and removes a reproductive load

Although sexual selection can provide benefits to both sexes, it also can be costly because of expanded opportunities for intersexual conflict. We evaluated the role of sexual selection in a naturally promiscuous species, Drosophila melanogaster. In two replicate populations, sexual selection was removed through enforced monogamous mating with random mate assignment or retained in promiscuous controls. Monogamous mating constrains the reproductive success of mates to be identical, thereby converting prior conflicts between mates into opportunities for mutualism. Random mate assignment removes the opportunity for females to choose beneficial qualities in their mate. The mating treatments were maintained for 47 generations, and evolution was allowed to proceed naturally within the parameters of the design. In the monogamous populations, males evolved to be less harmful to their mates, and females evolved to be less resistant to male-induced harm. The monogamous populations also evolved a greater net reproductive rate than their promiscuous controls. These results indicate a potentially widespread cost of sexual selection caused by conflicts inherent to promiscuity.

Tibial coloration, fluctuating asymmetry and female choice behaviour in the damselfly Platycypha caligata

The territorial damselfly Platycypha caligata (Odontata: Chlorocyphidae) has a courtship behaviour where males wave the white anterior surface of all six laterally enlarged tibiae at females. I experimentally altered this white tibial surface using black paint to determine the effect on male behaviour of a 25% reduction in area, or an increase in asymmetry between the left and right side of the body. I collected behavioural data on courtship, mating and fighting for males already holding territories. Neither a reduction in the area nor an increase in asymmetry of tibial whiteness affected male mating rate, courtship rate or fighting behaviour. These manipulations also had no significant effect on the daily presence at the study site. Males whose tibial whiteness was experimentally removed also showed no decrease in mating rate or change in fighting behaviour while territorial. The complete removal of tibial whiteness did, however, lead to a significant reduction in daily presence, possibly due to a reduced ability to acquire or hold a territory. There was no relationship between natural levels of asymmetry in tibial whiteness and mating rate, courting rate or fighting behaviour for males with territories. However, the natural area of tibial whiteness was significantly positively related to both mean male mating rate and copulation duration for territorial males. This result suggests that a phenotypic correlate of area of tibial whiteness, probably body size, is sexually selected through female choice among males that already hold territories.Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.