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Zhang AQ, Ralph MR, Stinchcombe AR. A mathematical model for the role of dopamine-D2 self-regulation in the production of ultradian rhythms. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1012082. [PMID: 38701077 PMCID: PMC11095719 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Many self-motivated and goal-directed behaviours display highly flexible, approximately 4 hour ultradian (shorter than a day) oscillations. Despite lacking direct correspondence to physical cycles in the environment, these ultradian rhythms may be involved in optimizing functional interactions with the environment and reflect intrinsic neural dynamics. Current evidence supports a role of mesostriatal dopamine (DA) in the expression and propagation of ultradian rhythmicity, however, the biochemical processes underpinning these oscillations remain to be identified. Here, we use a mathematical model to investigate D2 autoreceptor-dependent DA self-regulation as the source of ultradian behavioural rhythms. DA concentration at the midbrain-striatal synapses is governed through a dual-negative feedback-loop structure, which naturally gives rise to rhythmicity. This model shows the propensity of striatal DA to produce an ultradian oscillation characterized by a flexible period that is highly sensitive to parameter variations. Circadian (approximately 24 hour) regulation consolidates the ultradian oscillations and alters their response to the phase-dependent, rapid-resetting effect of a transient excitatory stimulus. Within a circadian framework, the ultradian rhythm orchestrates behavioural activity and enhances responsiveness to an external stimulus. This suggests a role for the circadian-ultradian timekeeping hierarchy in governing organized behaviour and shaping daily experience through coordinating the motivation to engage in recurring, albeit not highly predictable events, such as social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- An Qi Zhang
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Martin R. Ralph
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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2
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Xavier GM, Moura RR, Vasconcellos-Neto J, Gonzaga MO. Influences of sociality and maternal size on reproductive strategies: trade-offs between offspring size and quantity in five Anelosimus species (Araneae, Theridiidae). THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2024; 111:7. [PMID: 38315245 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-024-01895-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Individuals can experience accentuated disputes for resources when living with many conspecifics, even in situations in which cooperative behaviors assure benefits associated with an increase in the frequency of food acquisition and in diet breadth. Thus, intraspecific competition may exert a significant selective pressure on social animals. Theoretical models suggest that females of social species could improve their fitness by producing relatively large offspring, since body size can provide competitive advantages during foraging activities. As female reserves are limited, the production of large offspring would occur at the expense of their number. Using five Anelosimus (Araneae, Theridiidae) species, we assessed whether the social ones produce fewer and larger eggs than the subsocials. In addition, we tested the effect of female size on the adoption of each particular reproductive strategy. Small females could hypothetically invest in producing large offspring since they cannot produce as many offspring as large females. Our results suggested that, indeed, sociality influences reproductive strategies. Females of social species produced fewer and larger offspring than females of subsocial species. Subsociality, in turn, would benefit the production of many small spiderlings, possibly because a large number of siblings is important to maintain and expand new webs and to subdue prey during their initial instars. Our results also indicated that large females produce more eggs without necessarily reduce their sizes. We discussed how the costs and benefits of group living may influence reproductive strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel M Xavier
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ecologia, Conservação E Biodiversidade, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
- Núcleo de Extensão E Pesquisa Em Ecologia E Evolução (NEPEE), Departamento de Ciências Agrárias E Naturais, Universidade Do Estado de Minas Gerais, UEMG, R. Ver. Geraldo Moisés da Silva, S/N - Universitário, Ituiutaba, MG, CEP 38302-192, Brazil.
| | - Rafael R Moura
- Núcleo de Extensão E Pesquisa Em Ecologia E Evolução (NEPEE), Departamento de Ciências Agrárias E Naturais, Universidade Do Estado de Minas Gerais, UEMG, R. Ver. Geraldo Moisés da Silva, S/N - Universitário, Ituiutaba, MG, CEP 38302-192, Brazil
| | - João Vasconcellos-Neto
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Marcelo O Gonzaga
- Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil
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3
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Weerawansha N, Wang Q, He XZ. Reproductive plasticity in response to the changing cluster size during the breeding period: a case study in a spider mite. EXPERIMENTAL & APPLIED ACAROLOGY 2023; 91:237-250. [PMID: 37651032 PMCID: PMC10562284 DOI: 10.1007/s10493-023-00834-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Animals living in clusters should adjust their reproductive strategies to adapt to the social environment. Theories predict that the benefits of cluster living would outweigh the costs of competition. Yet, it is largely unknown how animals optimize their reproductive fitness in response to the changing social environment during their breeding period. We used Tetranychus ludeni Zacher, a haplodiploid spider mite, to investigate how the ovipositing females modified their life-history traits in response to the change of cluster size (i.e., aggregation and dispersal) with a consistent population density (1 ♀/cm2). We demonstrate that (1) after females were shifted from a large cluster (16 ♀♀) to small ones (1 ♀, 5 and 10 ♀♀), they laid fewer and larger eggs with a higher female-biased sex ratio; (2) after females were shifted from small clusters to a large one, they laid fewer and smaller eggs, also with a higher female-biased sex ratio, and (3) increasing egg size significantly increased offspring sex ratio (% daughters), but did not increase immature survival. The results suggest that (1) females fertilize more larger eggs laid in a small population but lower the fertilization threshold and fertilize smaller eggs in a larger population, and (2) the reproductive adjustments in terms of egg number and size may contribute more to minimize the mate competition among sons but not to increase the number of inhabitants in the next generation. The current study provides evidence that spider mites can manipulate their reproductive output and adjust offspring sex ratio in response to dynamic social environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nuwan Weerawansha
- School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand
- Faculty of Animal Science and Export Agriculture, Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, Passara Road, Badulla, 90000, Sri Lanka
| | - Qiao Wang
- School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Xiong Zhao He
- School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
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4
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Calvo Martín M, Rodriguez Palacio E, Deneubourg JL, Nicolis SC. Emergence and retention of a collective memory in cockroaches. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0287845. [PMID: 37410767 PMCID: PMC10325095 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The stability of collective decisions-making in social systems is crucial as it can lead to counterintuitive phenomena such as collective memories, where an initial choice is challenged by environmental changes. Many social species face the challenge to perform collective decisions under variable conditions. In this study, we focused on situations where isolated individuals and groups of the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) had to choose between two shelters with different luminosities that were inverted during the experiment. The darker shelter was initially preferred, but only groups that reached a consensus within that shelter maintain their choice after the light inversion, while isolated individuals and small groups lacked site fidelity. Our mathematical model, incorporating deterministic and probabilistic elements, sheds light on the significance interactions and their stochasticity in the emergence and retention of a collective memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariano Calvo Martín
- Center for Nonlinear Phenomena and Complex Systems (CENOLI), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | | | - Jean-Louis Deneubourg
- Center for Nonlinear Phenomena and Complex Systems (CENOLI), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Stamatios C. Nicolis
- Center for Nonlinear Phenomena and Complex Systems (CENOLI), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
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Majer AD, Paitz RT, Tricola GM, Geduldig JE, Litwa HP, Farmer JL, Prevelige BR, McMahon EK, McNeely T, Sisson ZR, Frenz BJ, Ziur AD, Clay EJ, Eames BD, McCollum SE, Haussmann MF. The response to stressors in adulthood depends on the interaction between prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids and environmental context. Sci Rep 2023; 13:6180. [PMID: 37061562 PMCID: PMC10105737 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33447-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Maternal stress during reproduction can influence how offspring respond to stress later in life. Greater lifetime exposure to glucocorticoid hormones released during stress is linked to greater risks of behavioral disorders, disease susceptibility, and mortality. The immense variation in individual's stress responses is explained, in part, by prenatal glucocorticoid exposure. To explore the long-term effects of embryonic glucocorticoid exposure, we injected Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) eggs with corticosterone. We characterized the endocrine stress response in offspring and measured experienced aggression at three different ages. We found that prenatal glucocorticoid exposure affected (1) the speed at which the stress response was terminated suggesting dysregulated negative feedback, (2) baseline corticosterone levels in a manner dependent on current environmental conditions with higher levels of experienced aggression associated with higher levels of baseline corticosterone, (3) the magnitude of an acute stress response based on baseline concentrations. We finish by proposing a framework that can be used to test these findings in future work. Overall, our findings suggest that the potential adaptive nature of prenatal glucocorticoid exposure is likely dependent on environmental context and may also be tempered by the negative effects of longer exposure to glucocorticoids each time an animal faces a stressor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariana D Majer
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Ryan T Paitz
- School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 61790, USA
| | - Gianna M Tricola
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Jack E Geduldig
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Hannah P Litwa
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Jenna L Farmer
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | | | - Elyse K McMahon
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Taylor McNeely
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Zach R Sisson
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Brian J Frenz
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Alexis D Ziur
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Emily J Clay
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Brad D Eames
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | | | - Mark F Haussmann
- Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA.
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Personality variation is eroded by simple social behaviours in collective foragers. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1010908. [PMID: 36862622 PMCID: PMC9980820 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The movement of groups can be heavily influenced by 'leader' individuals who differ from the others in some way. A major source of differences between individuals is the repeatability and consistency of their behaviour, commonly considered as their 'personality', which can influence both position within a group as well as the tendency to lead. However, links between personality and behaviour may also depend upon the immediate social environment of the individual; individuals who behave consistently in one way when alone may not express the same behaviour socially, when they may be conforming with the behaviour of others. Experimental evidence shows that personality differences can be eroded in social situations, but there is currently a lack of theory to identify the conditions where we would expect personality to be suppressed. Here, we develop a simple individual-based framework considering a small group of individuals with differing tendencies to perform risky behaviours when travelling away from a safe home site towards a foraging site, and compare the group behaviours when the individuals follow differing rules for aggregation behaviour determining how much attention they pay to the actions of their fellow group-members. We find that if individuals pay attention to the other members of the group, the group will tend to remain at the safe site for longer, but then travel faster towards the foraging site. This demonstrates that simple social behaviours can result in the repression of consistent inter-individual differences in behaviour, giving the first theoretical consideration of the social mechanisms behind personality suppression.
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7
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Rose C, Kyneb S, Schou MF, Bechsgaard J, Bilde T. The role of inter-individual intolerance in group cohesion and the transition to sociality in spiders. J Evol Biol 2022; 35:1020-1026. [PMID: 35674385 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Conspecific tolerance is key for maintaining group cohesion in animals. Understanding shifts from conspecific tolerance to intolerance is therefore important for understanding transitions to sociality. Subsocial species disperse to a solitary lifestyle after a gregarious juvenile phase and display conspecific intolerance as adults as a mechanism to maintain a solitary living. The development of intolerance towards group members is hypothesized to play a role in dispersal decisions in subsocial species. One hypothesis posits that dispersal is triggered by factors such as food competition with the subsequent development of conspecific intolerance, rather than conspecific intolerance developing prior to and potentially driving dispersal. Consistent with this hypothesis, we show that intolerance (inferred by inter-individual distance) developed post-dispersal in the subsocial spider Stegodyphus lineatus. The development of conspecific intolerance was delayed when maintaining spiders in groups showing plasticity in this trait, which is advantageous when trade-offs are not fixed over time. However, major evolutionary transitions, such as the transition to sociality, can permanently modify trade-offs and cause derived adaptations by the evolution of new or modified traits or evolutionary loss of traits that become redundant. Sociality in spiders has evolved repeatedly from subsocial ancestors, and social life in family groups combined with a lack of interaction with competing groups suggests relaxed selection for the development of conspecific intolerance. In the social Stegodyphus sarasinorum we found no evidence for the development of conspecific intolerance, consistent with the loss of this trait. Instead, we found evidence for conspecific attraction, which is likely to govern group cohesion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clémence Rose
- Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Sarah Kyneb
- Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | | | - Trine Bilde
- Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
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8
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Herringe CA, Middleton EJ, Boyd KC, Latty T, White TE. Benefits and costs of social foraging in velvet worms. Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Caragh A. Herringe
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney Australia
| | - Eliza J. Middleton
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney Australia
| | - Kelsey C. Boyd
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney Australia
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences University of Wollongong Wollongong Australia
| | - Tanya Latty
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney Australia
| | - Thomas E. White
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney Australia
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9
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Solitary Living Brings a Decreased Weight and an Increased Agility to the Domestic Silkworm, Bombyx mori. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12090809. [PMID: 34564249 PMCID: PMC8470633 DOI: 10.3390/insects12090809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary We identified and validated that solitary living brings a decreased weight and an increased agility to silkworms. Solitary silkworms have a faster movement in response to food or physical stress than group-living counterparts. These contradict previous thoughts that solitary or lonely life is always harmful to animals or humans. We identified differently expressed genes (DEGs) and microRNAs (DEmiRNAs) resulted from solitary living. These DEGs and DEmiRNAs are functionally associated with the phenotypic changes led by solitary living. Abstract The domestic silkworms, Bombyx mori, always live in groups and little is known of the outcomes of solitary living. We bred solitary silkworms and performed a comprehensive investigation of the difference between solitary and group-living silkworms. The results show that solitary silkworms had significantly lower weights than group-living counterparts. Moreover, solitary silkworms had faster movements under food luring or heat stress than the group-living ones, supported by extensive behavior experiments. These findings inferred that an increased agility resulted from solitary living. For an understanding of the molecular mechanism associated with solitary living, we performed integrated mRNA and miRNA (microRNA) sequencing of tissues for solitary and group-living silkworms. We identified 165 differently expressed genes (DEGs) and 6 differently expressed miRNAs between the solitary and group-living silkworms. Functional and pathway analyses indicated that these DEGs are associated with weight loss and agility increase. These findings compose a sketch depicting an association between the phenotypes and genes resulted from solitary living and refresh the understanding of solitary living and loneliness, which has an increased prevalence in our modern society.
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10
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Beleyur T, Murthy TG, Singh S, Somanathan H, Uma D. Web architecture, dynamics and silk investment in the social spider Stegodyphus sarasinorum. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.06.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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11
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Fisher DN, Kilgour RJ, Siracusa ER, Foote JR, Hobson EA, Montiglio PO, Saltz JB, Wey TW, Wice EW. Anticipated effects of abiotic environmental change on intraspecific social interactions. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:2661-2693. [PMID: 34212487 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Revised: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions are ubiquitous across the animal kingdom. A variety of ecological and evolutionary processes are dependent on social interactions, such as movement, disease spread, information transmission, and density-dependent reproduction and survival. Social interactions, like any behaviour, are context dependent, varying with environmental conditions. Currently, environments are changing rapidly across multiple dimensions, becoming warmer and more variable, while habitats are increasingly fragmented and contaminated with pollutants. Social interactions are expected to change in response to these stressors and to continue to change into the future. However, a comprehensive understanding of the form and magnitude of the effects of these environmental changes on social interactions is currently lacking. Focusing on four major forms of rapid environmental change currently occurring, we review how these changing environmental gradients are expected to have immediate effects on social interactions such as communication, agonistic behaviours, and group formation, which will thereby induce changes in social organisation including mating systems, dominance hierarchies, and collective behaviour. Our review covers intraspecific variation in social interactions across environments, including studies in both the wild and in laboratory settings, and across a range of taxa. The expected responses of social behaviour to environmental change are diverse, but we identify several general themes. First, very dry, variable, fragmented, or polluted environments are likely to destabilise existing social systems. This occurs as these conditions limit the energy available for complex social interactions and affect dissimilar phenotypes differently. Second, a given environmental change can lead to opposite responses in social behaviour, and the direction of the response often hinges on the natural history of the organism in question. Third, our review highlights the fact that changes in environmental factors are not occurring in isolation: multiple factors are changing simultaneously, which may have antagonistic or synergistic effects, and more work should be done to understand these combined effects. We close by identifying methodological and analytical techniques that might help to study the response of social interactions to changing environments, highlight consistent patterns among taxa, and predict subsequent evolutionary change. We expect that the changes in social interactions that we document here will have consequences for individuals, groups, and for the ecology and evolution of populations, and therefore warrant a central place in the study of animal populations, particularly in an era of rapid environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- David N Fisher
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen, AB24 3FX, U.K
| | - R Julia Kilgour
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, U.S.A
| | - Erin R Siracusa
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4PY, U.K
| | - Jennifer R Foote
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, 1520 Queen Street East, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, P6A 2G4, Canada
| | - Elizabeth A Hobson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 318 College Drive, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, U.S.A
| | - Pierre-Olivier Montiglio
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, 141 Avenue Président-Kennedy, Montréal, QC, H2X 3X8, Canada
| | - Julia B Saltz
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005-1827, U.S.A
| | - Tina W Wey
- Maelstrom Research, The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, 1650 Cedar Avenue, Montréal, QC, H3G 1A4, Canada
| | - Eric W Wice
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005-1827, U.S.A
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12
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Bai Z, Liu Y, Sillam‐Dussès D, Wang R. Experimentally measured group direct benefits according to worker density explain group living of the termite Reticulitermes chinensis. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:8768-8775. [PMID: 34257926 PMCID: PMC8258223 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolution of cooperation requires more benefits of group living than solitary lifestyle. However, to some degree, our understanding about the benefits is hindered by abstract debates over theoretical and experimental evidences of individual selection or group selection because it is difficult to examine the actual benefits at the group level. Moreover, group density is a crucial ecological factor which deeply affects group reproduction and survival, few studies have been performed in social insects. Here, we study the effects of worker density on group direct benefits in the termite species Reticulitermes chinensis. The termite R. chinensis is an ideal model which lives with a high worker density in wood. We used the quantity of eggs and the total biomass (biomass of all group members) accumulation as two components of group benefits. We investigated the group benefits in the context of worker density according to eleven worker densities, and we measured the group benefits and the resource consumption with the same group members in two types of artificial nest areas. Moreover, we counted the stomodeal trophallaxis occurrences from any workers to queens under three worker densities to explore the degree of cooperation according to worker density. We found that both the number of eggs and the total biomass accumulation significantly increased with increasing worker density in groups. Furthermore, the consumption of resources was similar between groups with the same number of individuals gathered in small or large nest areas, but the production of eggs and the biomass accumulation were higher in groups of small nest areas than in large nest areas. Additionally, we found the stomodeal trophallaxis behavior significantly increased in higher worker density groups. Our results suggest that the group benefits influenced by the high worker density may at least partially explain the group living of eusocial insects in ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuangdong Bai
- School of Ecology and EnvironmentNorthwestern Polytechnical UniversityXi’anChina
| | - Yibin Liu
- School of Ecology and EnvironmentNorthwestern Polytechnical UniversityXi’anChina
| | - David Sillam‐Dussès
- Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology UR4443University Sorbonne Paris NordVilletaneuseFrance
| | - Rui‐Wu Wang
- School of Ecology and EnvironmentNorthwestern Polytechnical UniversityXi’anChina
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13
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Yang H, Lyu B, Yin HQ, Li SQ. Comparative transcriptomics highlights convergent evolution of energy metabolic pathways in group-living spiders. Zool Res 2021; 42:195-206. [PMID: 33709634 PMCID: PMC7995277 DOI: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2020.281] [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] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Although widely thought to be aggressive, solitary, and potentially cannibalistic, some spider species have evolved group-living behaviors. The distinct transition provides the framework to uncover group-living evolution. Here, we conducted a comparative transcriptomic study and examined patterns of molecular evolution in two independently evolved group-living spiders and twelve solitary species. We report that positively selected genes among group-living spider lineages are significantly enriched in nutrient metabolism and autophagy pathways. We also show that nutrient-related genes of group-living spiders convergently experience amino acid substitutions and accelerated relative evolutionary rates. These results indicate adaptive convergence of nutrient metabolism that may ensure energy supply in group-living spiders. The decelerated evolutionary rate of autophagy-related genes in group-living lineages is consistent with an increased constraint on energy homeostasis as would be required in a group-living environment. Together, the results show that energy metabolic pathways play an important role in the transition to group-living in spiders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Yang
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Bin Lyu
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Hai-Qiang Yin
- College of Life Science, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan 410081, China. E-mail:
| | - Shu-Qiang Li
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. E-mail:
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14
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Gitschlag BL, Tate AT, Patel MR. Nutrient status shapes selfish mitochondrial genome dynamics across different levels of selection. eLife 2020; 9:56686. [PMID: 32959778 PMCID: PMC7508553 DOI: 10.7554/elife.56686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cooperation and cheating are widespread evolutionary strategies. While cheating confers an advantage to individual entities within a group, competition between groups favors cooperation. Selfish or cheater mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) proliferates within hosts while being selected against at the level of host fitness. How does environment shape cheater dynamics across different selection levels? Focusing on food availability, we address this question using heteroplasmic Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that the proliferation of selfish mtDNA within hosts depends on nutrient status stimulating mtDNA biogenesis in the developing germline. Interestingly, mtDNA biogenesis is not sufficient for this proliferation, which also requires the stress-response transcription factor FoxO/DAF-16. At the level of host fitness, FoxO/DAF-16 also prevents food scarcity from accelerating the selection against selfish mtDNA. This suggests that the ability to cope with nutrient stress can promote host tolerance of cheaters. Our study delineates environmental effects on selfish mtDNA dynamics at different levels of selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan L Gitschlag
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
| | - Ann T Tate
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
| | - Maulik R Patel
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States.,Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, United States.,Diabetes Research and Training Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, United States
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15
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Havenhand JN, Filipsson HL, Niiranen S, Troell M, Crépin AS, Jagers S, Langlet D, Matti S, Turner D, Winder M, de Wit P, Anderson LG. Ecological and functional consequences of coastal ocean acidification: Perspectives from the Baltic-Skagerrak System. AMBIO 2019; 48:831-854. [PMID: 30506502 PMCID: PMC6541583 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-018-1110-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2017] [Revised: 05/21/2018] [Accepted: 10/03/2018] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Ocean temperatures are rising; species are shifting poleward, and pH is falling (ocean acidification, OA). We summarise current understanding of OA in the brackish Baltic-Skagerrak System, focussing on the direct, indirect and interactive effects of OA with other anthropogenic drivers on marine biogeochemistry, organisms and ecosystems. Substantial recent advances reveal a pattern of stronger responses (positive or negative) of species than ecosystems, more positive responses at lower trophic levels and strong indirect interactions in food-webs. Common emergent themes were as follows: OA drives planktonic systems toward the microbial loop, reducing energy transfer to zooplankton and fish; and nutrient/food availability ameliorates negative impacts of OA. We identify several key areas for further research, notably the need for OA-relevant biogeochemical and ecosystem models, and understanding the ecological and evolutionary capacity of Baltic-Skagerrak ecosystems to respond to OA and other anthropogenic drivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan N. Havenhand
- Department of Marine Sciences, Tjärnö Marine Laboratory, University of Gothenburg, Strömstad, 45296 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | | | - Susa Niiranen
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Kräftriket 2B, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Max Troell
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Kräftriket 2B, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
- Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Lilla Frescativägen 4, 10405 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anne-Sophie Crépin
- Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Lilla Frescativägen 4, 10405 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sverker Jagers
- Department of Political Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 711, Sprängkullsgatan 19, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - David Langlet
- Department of Law, University of Gothenburg, Box 650, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Simon Matti
- Department of Political Sciences, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden
| | - David Turner
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 461, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Monika Winder
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pierre de Wit
- Department of Marine Sciences, Tjärnö Marine Laboratory, University of Gothenburg, Strömstad, 45296 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Leif G. Anderson
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 461, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden
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16
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Mathot KJ, Dingemanse NJ, Nakagawa S. The covariance between metabolic rate and behaviour varies across behaviours and thermal types: meta‐analytic insights. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2018; 94:1056-1074. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2018] [Revised: 11/26/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kimberley J. Mathot
- Canada Research Chair in Integrative Ecology, Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Alberta CW405 Biological Sciences Building, T6G 2E9 Edmonton Alberta Canada
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea ResearchDepartment of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University 1790 AB, den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
| | - Niels J. Dingemanse
- Behavioural Ecology, Department Biology IILudwig‐Maximilians University of Munich Grosshadener Strasse 2, DE‐82152, Planegg‐Martinsried, Munich Germany
| | - Shinichi Nakagawa
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales 2052 Australia
- Diabetes and Metabolism Division, Garvan Institute of Medical Research 384 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney New South Wales 2010 Australia
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17
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Majer M, Holm C, Lubin Y, Bilde T. Cooperative foraging expands dietary niche but does not offset intra-group competition for resources in social spiders. Sci Rep 2018; 8:11828. [PMID: 30087391 PMCID: PMC6081395 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-30199-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2017] [Accepted: 07/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Group living animals invariably risk resource competition. Cooperation in foraging, however, may benefit individuals in groups by facilitating an increase in dietary niche. To test this, we performed a comparative study of social and solitary spider species. Three independently derived social species of Stegodyphus (Eresidae) occupy semi-arid savannas and overlap with three solitary congeners. We estimated potential prey availability in the environment and prey acquisition by spiders in their capture webs. We calculated dietary niche width (prey size) and breadth (taxonomic range) to compare resource use for these six species, and investigated the relationships between group size and average individual capture web production, prey biomass intake rate and variance in biomass intake. Cooperative foraging increased dietary niche width and breadth by foraging opportunistically, including both larger prey and a wider taxonomic range of prey in the diet. Individual capture web production decreased with increasing group size, indicating energetic benefits of cooperation, and variance in individual intake rate was reduced. However, individual biomass intake also decreased with increasing group size. While cooperative foraging did not completely offset resource competition among group members, it may contribute to sustaining larger groups by reducing costs of web production, increasing the dietary niche and reducing the variance in prey capture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marija Majer
- Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, 8499000, Israel
- Institute of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Christina Holm
- Institute of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Yael Lubin
- Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, 8499000, Israel.
| | - Trine Bilde
- Institute of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000, Aarhus, Denmark
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18
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Dumke M, Herberstein ME, Schneider JM. Advantages of social foraging in crab spiders: Groups capture more and larger prey despite the absence of a web. Ethology 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marlis Dumke
- Department of Biology, Zoological Institute and Museum; University Hamburg; Hamburg Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences; Macquarie University; North Ryde New South Wales Australia
| | - Marie E. Herberstein
- Department of Biological Sciences; Macquarie University; North Ryde New South Wales Australia
| | - Jutta M. Schneider
- Department of Biological Sciences; Macquarie University; North Ryde New South Wales Australia
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19
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Widenfalk LA, Leinaas HP, Bengtsson J, Birkemoe T. Age and level of self‐organization affect the small‐scale distribution of springtails (Collembola). Ecosphere 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lina A. Widenfalk
- Department of Ecology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences P.O. Box 7044 Uppsala SE‐75007 Sweden
| | - Hans Petter Leinaas
- Department of Biosciences University of Oslo P.O. Box 1066, Blindern Oslo N‐0316 Norway
| | - Jan Bengtsson
- Department of Ecology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences P.O. Box 7044 Uppsala SE‐75007 Sweden
| | - Tone Birkemoe
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management Norwegian University of Life Sciences P.O. Box 5003 Ås NO 1432 Norway
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20
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Walter A, Bechsgaard J, Scavenius C, Dyrlund TS, Sanggaard KW, Enghild JJ, Bilde T. Characterisation of protein families in spider digestive fluids and their role in extra-oral digestion. BMC Genomics 2017; 18:600. [PMID: 28797246 PMCID: PMC5553785 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-017-3987-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2017] [Accepted: 08/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Spiders are predaceous arthropods that are capable of subduing and consuming relatively large prey items compared to their own body size. For this purpose, spiders have evolved potent venoms to immobilise prey and digestive fluids that break down nutrients inside the prey's body by means of extra-oral digestion (EOD). Both secretions contain an array of active proteins, and an overlap of some components has been anecdotally reported, but not quantified. We systematically investigated the extent of such protein overlap. As venom injection and EOD succeed each other, we further infer functional explanations, and, by comparing two spider species belonging to different clades, assess its adaptive significance for spider EOD in general. RESULTS We describe the protein composition of the digestive fluids of the mygalomorph Acanthoscurria geniculata and the araneomorph Stegodyphus mimosarum, in comparison with previously published data on a third spider species. We found a number of similar hydrolases being highly abundant in all three species. Among them, members of the family of astacin-like metalloproteases were particularly abundant. While the importance of these proteases in spider venom and digestive fluid was previously noted, we now highlight their widespread use across different spider taxa. Finally, we found species specific differences in the protein overlap between venom and digestive fluid, with the difference being significantly greater in S. mimosarum compared to A. geniculata. CONCLUSIONS The injection of venom precedes the injection with digestive fluid, and the overlap of proteins between venom and digestive fluid suggests an early involvement in EOD. Species specific differences in the overlap may reflect differences in ecology between our two study species. The protein composition of the digestive fluid of all the three species we compared is highly similar, suggesting that the cocktail of enzymes is highly conserved and adapted to spider EOD.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Walter
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
| | | | - Carsten Scavenius
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Thomas S Dyrlund
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Kristian W Sanggaard
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Jan J Enghild
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Trine Bilde
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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21
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McCue MD, Salinas I, Ramirez G, Wilder S. The postabsorptive and postprandial metabolic rates of praying mantises: Comparisons across species, body masses, and meal sizes. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2016; 93-94:64-71. [PMID: 27568396 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2016.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2016] [Revised: 08/19/2016] [Accepted: 08/20/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The metabolic rate of an animal affects the amount of energy available for its growth, activity and reproduction and, ultimately, shapes how energy and nutrients flow through ecosystems. Standard metabolic rate (SMR; when animals are post-absorptive and at rest) and specific dynamic action (SDA; the cost of digesting and processing food) are two major components of animal metabolism. SMR has been studied in hundreds of species of insects, but very little is known about the SMR of praying mantises. We measured the rates of CO2 production as a proxy for metabolic rate and tested the prediction that the SMR of mantises more closely resembles the low SMR of spiders - a characteristic generally believed to be related to their sit-and-wait foraging strategy. Although few studies have examined SDA in insects we also tested the prediction that mantises would exhibit comparatively large SDA responses characteristic of other types of predators (e.g., snakes) known to consume enormous, protein-rich meals. The SMR of the mantises was positively correlated with body mass and did not differ among the four species we examined. Their SMR was best described by the equation μW=1526*g0.745 and was not significantly different from that predicted by the standard 'insect-curve'; but it was significantly higher than that of spiders to which mantises are ecologically more similar than other insects. Mantises consumed meals as large as 138% of their body mass and within 6-12h of feeding and their metabolic rates doubled before gradually returning to prefeeding rates over the subsequent four days. We found that the SDA responses were isometrically correlated with meal size and the relative cost of digestion was 38% of the energy in each meal. We conclude that mantises provide a promising model to investigate nutritional physiology of insect predators as well as nutrient cycling within their ecological communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marshall D McCue
- Department of Biological Sciences, St. Mary's University, San Antonio, TX, United States.
| | - Isabella Salinas
- Department of Biological Sciences, St. Mary's University, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Gabriella Ramirez
- Department of Biological Sciences, St. Mary's University, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Shawn Wilder
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, United States
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