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Pupal size as a proxy for fat content in laboratory-reared and field-collected Drosophila species. Sci Rep 2022; 12:12855. [PMID: 35896578 PMCID: PMC9329298 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15325-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In arthropods, larger individuals tend to have more fat reserves, but data for many taxa are still missing. For the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster, only few studies have provided experimental data linking body size to fat content. This is rather surprising considering the widespread use of D. melanogaster as a model system in biology. Here, we hypothesized that fat content in D. melanogaster is positively correlated with body size. To test this, we manipulated the developmental environment of D. melanogaster by decreasing food availability. We then measured pupal size and quantified fat content of laboratory-reared D. melanogaster. We subsequently measured pupal size and fat content of several field-caught Drosophila species. Starvation, crowding, and reduced nutrient content led to smaller laboratory-reared pupae that contained less fat. Pupal size was indeed found to be positively correlated with fat content. The same correlation was found for field-caught Drosophila pupae belonging to different species. As fat reserves are often strongly linked to fitness in insects, further knowledge on the relationship between body size and fat content can provide important information for studies on insect ecology and physiology.
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Rohner PT, Moczek AP. Evolutionary and plastic variation in larval growth and digestion reveal the complex underpinnings of size and age at maturation in dung beetles. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:15098-15110. [PMID: 34765163 PMCID: PMC8571579 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Age and size at maturity are key life-history components, yet the proximate underpinnings that mediate intra- and interspecific variation in life history remain poorly understood. We studied the proximate underpinnings of species differences and nutritionally plastic variation in adult size and development time in four species of dung beetles. Specifically, we investigated how variation in insect growth mediates adult size variation, tested whether fast juvenile growth trades-off with developmental stability in adult morphology and quantified plastic responses of digestive systems to variation in food quality. Contrary to the common size-development time trade-off, the largest species exhibited by far the shortest development time. Correspondingly, species diverged strongly in the shape of growth trajectories. Nutritionally plastic adjustments to growth were qualitatively similar between species but differed in magnitude. Although we expected rapid growth to induce developmental costs, neither instantaneous growth rates nor the duration of larval growth were related to developmental stability in the adult. This renders the putative costs of rapid growth enigmatic. We further found that larvae that encounter a challenging diet develop a larger midgut and digest more slowly than animals reared on a more nutritious diet. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that larvae invest into a more effective digestive system when exposed to low-quality nutrition, but suggest that species may diverge readily in their reliance on these mechanisms. More generally, our data highlight the complex, and often hidden, relationships between immature growth and age and size at maturation even in ecologically similar species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Armin P. Moczek
- Department of BiologyIndiana UniversityBloomingtonIndianaUSA
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3
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Task partitioning in ants lacking discrete morphological worker subcastes. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02845-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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4
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Melin A, Krenn HW, Bowie RCK, Beale CM, Manning JC, Colville JF. The allometry of proboscis length in Melittidae (Hymenoptera: Apoidae) and an estimate of their foraging distance using museum collections. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0217839. [PMID: 31173614 PMCID: PMC6555519 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
An appreciation of body size allometry is central for understanding insect pollination ecology. A recent model utilises allometric coefficients for five of the seven extant bee families (Apoidea: Anthophila) to include crucial but difficult-to-measure traits, such as proboscis length, in ecological and evolutionary studies. Melittidae were not included although they are important pollinators in South Africa where they comprise an especially rich and morphologically diverse fauna. We measured intertegular distance (correlated with body size) and proboscis length of 179 specimens of 11 species from three genera of Melittidae. With the inclusion of Melittidae, we tested the between family differences in the allometric scaling coefficients. AIC model selection was used to establish which factors provide the best estimate of proboscis length. We explored a hypothesis that has been proposed in the literature, but which has not been tested, whereby body and range sizes of bees are correlated with rainfall regions. We tested this by using body size measurements of 2109 museum specimens from 56 species of Melittidae and applied the model coefficients to estimate proboscis length and foraging distance. Our results from testing differences across bee families show that with the addition of Melittidae, we retained the overall pattern of significant differences in the scaling coefficient among Apoidea, with our model explaining 98% of the variance in species-level means for proboscis length. When testing the relationship between body size and rainfall region we found no relationship for South African Melittidae. Overall, this study has added allometric scaling coefficients for an important bee family and shown the applicability of using these coefficients when linked with museum specimens to test ecological hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annalie Melin
- Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Compton Herbarium, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Claremont, South Africa
| | - Harald W. Krenn
- Department of Integrative Zoology, University of Vienna, Faculty of Life Science, Vienna, Austria
| | - Rauri C. K. Bowie
- Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California—Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
- NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Colin M. Beale
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - John C. Manning
- Compton Herbarium, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Claremont, South Africa
- Research Centre for Plant Growth and Development, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, Scottsville, South Africa
| | - Jonathan F. Colville
- Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Kirstenbosch Research Centre, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Claremont, Cape Town, South Africa
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5
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Cole EL, Ilieş I, Rosengaus RB. Competing Physiological Demands During Incipient Colony Foundation in a Social Insect: Consequences of Pathogenic Stress. Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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6
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Rohner PT, Blanckenhorn WU, Schäfer MA. Critical weight mediates sex-specific body size plasticity and sexual dimorphism in the yellow dung flyScathophaga stercoraria(Diptera: Scathophagidae). Evol Dev 2017; 19:147-156. [DOI: 10.1111/ede.12223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick T. Rohner
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies; University of Zurich; Winterthurerstrasse Zurich Switzerland
| | - Wolf U. Blanckenhorn
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies; University of Zurich; Winterthurerstrasse Zurich Switzerland
| | - Martin A. Schäfer
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies; University of Zurich; Winterthurerstrasse Zurich Switzerland
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Tesson SV, Okamura B, Dudaniec RY, Vyverman W, Löndahl J, Rushing C, Valentini A, Green AJ. Integrating microorganism and macroorganism dispersal: modes, techniques and challenges with particular focus on co-dispersal. ECOSCIENCE 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/11956860.2016.1148458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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8
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Liu C, Yang DR, Compton SG, Peng YQ. Larger fig wasps are more careful about which figs to enter--with good reason. PLoS One 2013; 8:e74117. [PMID: 24086315 PMCID: PMC3781092 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2013] [Accepted: 07/29/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Floral longevity reflects a balance between gains in pollinator visitation and the costs of flower maintenance. Because rewards to pollinators change over time, older flowers may be less attractive, reducing the value of extended longevity. Un-pollinated figs, the inflorescences of Ficus species, can remain receptive for long periods, but figs that are older when entered by their host-specific fig wasp pollinators produce fewer seeds and fig wasp offspring. Our field experiments with Ficushispida, a dioecious fig tree, examined how the length of time that receptive figs have remained un-pollinated influences the behaviour and reproductive success of its short-lived fig wasp pollinator, Ceratosolensolmsi marchali. The results were consistent in three different seasons, and on male and female trees, although receptivity was greatly extended during colder months. Pollinators took longer to find the ostioles of older figs, and longer to penetrate them. They also became increasingly unwilling to enter figs as they aged, and increasing numbers of the wasps became trapped in the ostiolar bracts. Larger individuals were particularly unwilling to enter older figs, resulting in older figs being pollinated by smaller wasps. On female trees, where figs produce only seeds, seed production declined rapidly with fig age. On male trees, the numbers and size of fig wasp offspring declined, and a higher proportion were male. Older male figs are harder to enter, especially for larger individuals, and offer poorer quality oviposition opportunities. This study opens an interesting new perspective on the coevolution of figs and their pollinators, especially factors influencing pollinator body size and emphasises the subtleties of interactions between mutualists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cong Liu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
- Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Da-Rong Yang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Stephen G. Compton
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
| | - Yan-Qiong Peng
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
- * E-mail:
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van den Heuvel J, Saastamoinen M, Brakefield PM, Kirkwood TBL, Zwaan BJ, Shanley DP. The predictive adaptive response: modeling the life-history evolution of the butterfly Bicyclus anynana in seasonal environments. Am Nat 2013; 181:E28-42. [PMID: 23348784 DOI: 10.1086/668818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
A predictive adaptive response (PAR) is a type of developmental plasticity where the response to an environmental cue is not immediately advantageous but instead is later in life. The PAR is a way for organisms to maximize fitness in varying environments. Insects living in seasonal environments are valuable model systems for testing the existence and form of PAR. Previous manipulations of the larval and the adult environments of the butterfly Bicyclus anynana have shown that individuals that were food restricted during the larval stage coped better with forced flight during the adult stage compared to those with optimal conditions in the larval stage. Here, we describe a state-dependent energy allocation model, which we use to test whether such a response to food restriction could be adaptive in nature where this butterfly exhibits seasonal cycles. The results from the model confirm the responses obtained in our previous experimental work and show how such an outcome was facilitated by resource allocation patterns to the thorax during the pupal stage. We conclude that for B. anynana, early-stage cues can direct development toward a better adapted phenotype later in life and, therefore, that a PAR has evolved in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joost van den Heuvel
- Evolutionary Biology Group, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9516, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
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Matsuura K, Kobayashi N. Termite queens adjust egg size according to colony development. Behav Ecol 2010. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arq101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Chirino MG, Gilbert LE, Folgarait PJ. Behavior and development of Pseudacteon curvatus (Diptera: Phoridae) varies according to the social form of its host Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in its native range. ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY 2009; 38:198-206. [PMID: 19791615 DOI: 10.1603/022.038.0125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
We assessed the performance of Pseudacteon curvatus Borgmeier with respect to the social form of Solenopsis invicta Buren in Argentina In the field, we studied the effect the parasitoid on size and proportion of ant foragers. In the laboratory, we evaluated P. curvatus oviposition preferences; host size elected; developmental periods; and sexual size dimorphism, sex ratio, and parasitoid survivorship. P. curvatus affected the average size of foraging workers on both social forms diminishing the proportion of big and increasing the proportion of minor workers. P. curvatus required a shorter orientation time and exhibited a greater number of attacks when ovipositing on monogynes workers. In the laboratory, host sizes elected by P. curvatus were similar between social forms. However, attacks on polygyne colonies were more variable, increasing the number of unviable offspring. Developmental times of females and males of P. curvatus were similar for both social forms, but total developmental periods were shorter for males from monogyne colonies. We did not find differences between sexes in emerging adults' size by social form and the female: male sex ratio was 1:1 for both social forms. P. curvatus pupae survival and adult emergence per trial from monogyne colonies were greater than from polygyne colonies. The rarity of polygyne S. invicta in its native range may prevent this phorid from adjusting its life history to that social form. Consequences of applying this phorid in biological control are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónica G Chirino
- Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Roque Saenz Peña 352, Bernal B1876BXD, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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