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Wiggins WD, Wilder SM. Carbohydrates complement high-protein diets to maximize the growth of an actively hunting predator. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9150. [PMID: 35919395 PMCID: PMC9336175 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 07/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In nature, food is often variable in composition and availability. As a consequence, predators may need to seek non-prey food sources. Some predators are known to feed on nectar when food is limited. Nectar and other carbohydrate resources could also be beneficial when prey are more abundant if it helps predators balance protein-biased diets. We tested if an actively hunting predator, the jumping spider, Phidippus audax, benefited from liquid carbohydrates when prey were not limited. We also tested if the benefit of carbohydrates varied with the nutrient content of prey (i.e., from protein to lipid biased). Spiders were reared on one of six live prey, Drosophila melanogaster, treatments that ranged from high protein to high lipid. Half of the spiders were given access to a 20% sucrose solution. After 2 months, we measured spider mass, cephalothorax width, instar duration, percent body fat, survival, and estimated number of prey eaten. Spiders reared on high-protein diets with carbohydrates were larger and heavier than spiders on other treatments. Access to carbohydrates also increased percent body fat and survival across prey treatments. Our results suggest that carbohydrates may be a valuable component of spider diets, especially when prey have high protein and low lipid content as is commonly observed in prey in the field. Our results highlight the importance of diet balancing for predators, and that liquid carbohydrates can be an important nutrient to supplement a diet of prey rather than just being an energy supplement during periods of starvation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Will D. Wiggins
- Department of Integrative BiologyOklahoma State UniversityStillwaterOklahomaUSA
| | - Shawn M. Wilder
- Department of Integrative BiologyOklahoma State UniversityStillwaterOklahomaUSA
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Differential allocation in a gift-giving spider: males adjust their reproductive investment in response to female condition. BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:140. [PMID: 34238218 PMCID: PMC8268551 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01870-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background When males are selective, they can either reject low-quality females or adjust their reproductive investment in response to traits that indicate female quality (e.g., body size or condition). According to the differential allocation hypothesis, males increase their reproductive investment when paired with high-quality females (positive differential allocation) or increase their reproductive investment when paired with low-quality females (negative differential allocation). This hypothesis has been proposed for monogamous species with biparental care, and most empirical studies focus on birds. Here we used the polygamous spider Paratrechalea ornata, in which males offer prey wrapped in silk as nuptial gifts, to test whether males adjust their reproductive investment in gift size, pre-copulatory and copulatory courtship, and sperm transfer in response to female body condition. Results Males exposed to females in good body condition added more flies to the gift, stimulated these females longer with abdominal touches during pre-copulatory courtship, and had longer pedipalp insertions than males exposed to females in poor body condition. Female condition affected neither silk investment in nuptial gift wrapping nor the quantity of sperm transferred by males. Finally, females in good body condition oviposited faster after copulation and laid more eggs than females in poor body condition. Conclusions We provide experimental evidence that males of a gift-giving spider exhibit positive differential allocation in three key aspects of their reproductive investment: the size of the nutritious gift, duration of pre-copulatory courtship, and duration of pedipalp insertions, which is regarded as a form of copulatory courtship in spiders. This positive differential allocation is likely associated with the benefits of copulating with females in good body condition. These females are more fecund and oviposit faster after copulation than females in poor body condition, which under natural field conditions probably reduces the risk of multiple matings and thus the level of sperm competition faced by the males. As a final remark, our findings indicate that the hypothesis of differential allocation also applies to species with a scramble competition mating system, in which males heavily invest in nuptial gift construction, but not in parental care. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12862-021-01870-1.
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Dougherty LR. Meta-analysis reveals that animal sexual signalling behaviour is honest and resource based. Nat Ecol Evol 2021; 5:688-699. [PMID: 33723423 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01409-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Animals often need to signal to attract mates and behavioural signalling may impose substantial energetic and fitness costs to signallers. Consequently, individuals often strategically adjust signalling effort to maximize the fitness payoffs of signalling. An important determinant of these payoffs is individual state, which can influence the resources available to signallers, their likelihood of mating and their motivation to mate. However, empirical studies often find contradictory patterns of state-based signalling behaviour. For example, individuals in poor condition may signal less than those in good condition to conserve resources (ability-based signalling) or signal more to maximize short-term reproductive success (needs-based signalling). To clarify this relationship, I systematically searched for published studies examining animal sexual signalling behaviour in relation to six aspects of individual state: age, mated status, attractiveness, body size, condition and parasite load. Across 228 studies and 147 species, individuals (who were predominantly male) invested more into behavioural signalling when in good condition. Overall, this suggests that animal sexual signalling behaviour is generally honest and ability-based. However, the magnitude of state-dependent plasticity was small and there was a large amount of between-study heterogeneity that remains unexplained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liam R Dougherty
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
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Wen L, Jiao X, Liu F, Zhang S, Li D. High-lipid prey reduce juvenile survivorship and delay egg laying in a small linyphiid spider Hylyphantes graminicola. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb237255. [PMID: 33161380 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.237255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Prey proteins and lipids greatly impact predator life-history traits. However, life-history plasticity offers predators the opportunity to tune the life-history traits in response to the limited macronutrients to allocate among traits. A fast-growing predator species with a strict maturation time may be more likely to consume nutritionally imbalanced prey. Here, we tested this hypothesis by examining the effect of the protein-to-lipid ratio in prey on a small sheet web-building spider, Hylyphantes graminicola, with a short life span, using adult Drosophila melanogaster as the prey. By manipulating the macronutrient content of the prey to generate three prey types with different protein-to-lipid ratios (i.e. high, intermediate and low), we demonstrated that the majority of the spiders that consumed only these flies could reach full maturity. However, juvenile spiders that consumed high-lipid (low protein-to-lipid ratio) flies had a higher rate of mortality than those consuming medium-protein and high-protein flies. The prey protein-to-lipid ratio had no significant effects on the developmental duration and size at maturity. Although the prey protein-to-lipid ratio had no significant influence on mating behaviour and female fecundity, females reared on high-lipid flies exhibited a significant delay in oviposition compared with those reared on high-protein flies. We conclude that high-lipid prey has negative effects on the survival and reproductive function of H. graminicola Our study thus provides clear evidence that low plasticity with fast development to a certain size means a high nutritional requirement for protein at a cost of lower survival and prolonged time to egg laying when prey have low protein-to-lipid content in H. graminicola.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lelei Wen
- Centre for Behavioural Ecology and Evolution (CBEE), State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, Hubei, China
| | - Xiaoguo Jiao
- Centre for Behavioural Ecology and Evolution (CBEE), State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, Hubei, China
| | - Fengxiang Liu
- Centre for Behavioural Ecology and Evolution (CBEE), State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, Hubei, China
| | - Shichang Zhang
- Centre for Behavioural Ecology and Evolution (CBEE), State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, Hubei, China
| | - Daiqin Li
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore
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Jensen K, Ko AE, Schal C, Silverman J. Insecticide resistance and nutrition interactively shape life-history parameters in German cockroaches. Sci Rep 2016; 6:28731. [PMID: 27345220 PMCID: PMC4922014 DOI: 10.1038/srep28731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2016] [Accepted: 06/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Fitness-related costs of evolving insecticide resistance have been reported in a number of insect species, but the interplay between evolutionary adaptation to insecticide pressure and variable environmental conditions has received little attention. We provisioned nymphs from three German cockroach (Blattella germanica L.) populations, which differed in insecticide resistance, with either nutritionally rich or poor (diluted) diet throughout their development. One population was an insecticide-susceptible laboratory strain; the other two populations originated from a field-collected indoxacarb-resistant population, which upon collection was maintained either with or without further selection with indoxacarb. We then measured development time, survival to the adult stage, adult body size, and results of a challenge with indoxacarb. Our results show that indoxacarb resistance and poor nutritional condition increased development time and lowered adult body size, with reinforcing interactions. We also found lower survival to the adult stage in the indoxacarb-selected population, which was exacerbated by poor nutrition. In addition, nutrition imparted a highly significant effect on indoxacarb susceptibility. This study exemplifies how poor nutritional condition can aggravate the life-history costs of resistance and elevate the detrimental effects of insecticide exposure, demonstrating how environmental conditions and resistance may interactively impact individual fitness and insecticide efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Jensen
- Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.,W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Alexander E Ko
- Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.,W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Coby Schal
- Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.,W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Jules Silverman
- Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
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Kunz K, Uhl G. Short-Term Nutritional Limitation Affects Mating Behaviour and Reproductive Output in Dwarf Spiders. Ethology 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Katrin Kunz
- Zoological Institute and Museum; General and Systematic Zoology; University of Greifswald; Greifswald Germany
| | - Gabriele Uhl
- Zoological Institute and Museum; General and Systematic Zoology; University of Greifswald; Greifswald Germany
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Chiswell R, Girard M, Fricke C, Kasumovic MM. Prior mating success can affect allocation towards future sexual signaling in crickets. PeerJ 2014; 2:e657. [PMID: 25392758 PMCID: PMC4226636 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2014] [Accepted: 10/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Fitness is often correlated with the expression level of a sexually selected trait. However, sexually selected traits are costly to express such that investment in their expression should be optimised to maximize their overall fitness gains. Social interactions, in the form of successful and unsuccessful matings, may offer males one type of feedback allowing them to gauge how to allocate their resources towards sexual signaling. Here we tested whether adult male black field crickets (Teleogryllus commodus) modify the extent of their calling effort (the sexually selected trait) in response to successful and unsuccessful matings with females. To examine the effect that mating interactions with females have on investment into sexual signaling, we monitored male calling effort after maturation and then provided males with a female at two points within their life, manipulating whether or not males were able to successfully mate each time. Our results demonstrate that males alter their investment towards sexual signaling in response to successful matings, but only if the experience occurs early in their life. Males that mated early decreased their calling effort sooner than males that were denied a mating. Our results demonstrate that social feedback in the form of successful and unsuccessful matings has the potential to alter the effort a male places towards sexual signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Chiswell
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales , Kensington, Sydney, NSW , Australia
| | - Madeline Girard
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California , Berkeley, CA , USA
| | - Claudia Fricke
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Muenster , Muenster , Germany
| | - Michael M Kasumovic
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales , Kensington, Sydney, NSW , Australia
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Albo MJ, Melo-González V, Carballo M, Baldenegro F, Trillo MC, Costa FG. Evolution of worthless gifts is favoured by male condition and prey access in spiders. Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Burdfield-Steel ER, Dougherty LR, Smith LA, Collins LA, Shuker DM. Variation in social and sexual behaviour in four species of aposematic seed bugs (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae): the role of toxic and non-toxic food. Behav Processes 2013; 99:52-61. [PMID: 23796773 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2013.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2013] [Revised: 06/10/2013] [Accepted: 06/12/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Understanding variation in social behaviour both within and among species continues to be a challenge. Evolutionary or ecological theory typically predicts the optimal behaviour for an animal under a given set of circumstances, yet the real world presents much greater variation in behaviour than predicted. This variation is apparent in many social and sexual interactions, including mate choice, and has led to a renewed focus on individual variation in behaviour. Here we explore within and among species variation in social behaviour in four species of aposematic seed bug (Lygaeidae: Hemiptera). These species are Müllerian mimics, with characteristic warning colouration advertising their chemical toxicity. We examine the role of diet in generating variation in two key behaviours: social aggregation of nymphs and mate choice. We test how behaviour varies with exposure to either milkweed (a source of defensive compounds) or sunflower (that provides no defence). We show that although the four species vary in their food preferences, and diet influences their life-history (as highlighted by body size), social aggregation and mate choice is relatively unaffected by diet. We discuss our findings in terms of the evolution of aposematism, the importance of automimicry, and the role of diet in generating behavioural variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily R Burdfield-Steel
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews KY14 7AU, United Kingdom.
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Kidd MR, Dijkstra PD, Alcott C, Lavee D, Ma J, O’Connell LA, Hofmann HA. Prostaglandin F2α facilitates female mating behavior based on male performance. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1559-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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12
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Body size influences male pheromone signals but not the outcome of mating contests in Nasonia vitripennis. Anim Behav 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Schmidt JM, Sebastian P, Wilder SM, Rypstra AL. The nutritional content of prey affects the foraging of a generalist arthropod predator. PLoS One 2012; 7:e49223. [PMID: 23145130 PMCID: PMC3493534 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0049223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2012] [Accepted: 10/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
While foraging theory predicts that predatory responses should be determined by the energy content and size of prey, it is becoming increasingly clear that carnivores regulate their intake of specific nutrients. We tested the hypothesis that prey nutrient composition and predator nutritional history affects foraging intensity, consumption, and prey selection by the wolf spider, Pardosa milvina. By altering the rearing environment for fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, we produced high quality flies containing more nitrogen and protein and less lipid than low quality fruit flies. In one experiment, we quantified the proportion of flies taken and consumption across a range of densities of either high or low quality flies and, in a second experiment, we determined the prey capture and consumption of spiders that had been maintained on contrasting diets prior to testing. In both cases, the proportion of prey captured declined with increasing prey density, which characterizes the Type II functional response that is typical of wolf spiders. Spiders with similar nutritional histories killed similar numbers of each prey type but consumed more of the low quality prey. Spiders provided high quality prey in the weeks prior to testing killed more prey than those on the low quality diet but there was no effect of prior diet on consumption. In the third experiment, spiders were maintained on contrasting diets for three weeks and then allowed to select from a mixture of high and low quality prey. Interestingly, feeding history affected prey preferences: spiders that had been on a low quality diet showed no preference but those on the high quality diet selected high quality flies from the mixture. Our results suggest that, even when prey size and species identity are controlled, the nutritional experience of the predator as well as the specific content of the prey shapes predator-prey interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason M. Schmidt
- Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Peter Sebastian
- Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Shawn M. Wilder
- Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Ann L. Rypstra
- Department of Zoology, Miami University, Hamilton, Ohio, United States of America
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Albo MJ, Toft S, Bilde T. Female spiders ignore condition-dependent information from nuptial gift wrapping when choosing mates. Anim Behav 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Condition dependence of male nuptial gift construction in the spider Pisaura mirabilis (Pisauridae). J ETHOL 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-011-0281-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Jensen K, Mayntz D, Toft S, Raubenheimer D, Simpson SJ. Nutrient regulation in a predator, the wolf spider Pardosa prativaga. Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.01.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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