Dataset Information

Onset of Oviposition Triggers Abrupt Reduction in Migratory Flight Behavior and Flight Muscle in the Female Beet Webworm, Loxostege sticticalis.

ABSTRACT: Flight and reproduction are usually considered as two life history traits that compete for resources in a migratory insect. The beet webworm, Loxostege sticticalis L., manages the costs of migratory flight and reproduction through a trade-off in timing of these two life history traits, where migratory behavior occurs during the preoviposition period. To gain insight into how migratory flight and reproduction are coordinated in the female beet webworm, we conducted experiments beginning at the end of the preoviposition period. We used flight mills to test whether flight performance and supportive flight musculature and fuel are affected by the number of eggs oviposited, or by the age of mated and unmated females after onset of oviposition by the former. The results showed that flight distance, flight velocity, flight duration, and flight muscle mass decreased abruptly at the onset of oviposition, compared to that of virgin females of the same age which did not change over the next 7 d. These results indicate that onset of oviposition triggers a decrease in flight performance and capacity in female beet webworms, as a way of actively managing reallocation of resources away from migratory flight and into egg production. In addition to the abrupt switch, there was a gradual, linear decline in flight performance, flight muscle mass, and flight fuel relative to the number of eggs oviposited. The histolysis of flight muscle and decrease of triglyceride content indicate a progressive degradation in the ability of adults to perform additional migratory flights after onset of oviposition. Although the results show that substantial, albeit reduced, long-duration flights remain possible after oviposition begins, additional long-distance migratory flights probably are not launched after the initiation of oviposition.

SUBMITTER: Cheng Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5125633 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Onset of Oviposition Triggers Abrupt Reduction in Migratory Flight Behavior and Flight Muscle in the Female Beet Webworm, Loxostege sticticalis.

Cheng Yunxia Y Luo Lizhi L Sappington Thomas W TW Jiang Xingfu X Zhang Lei L Frolov Andrei N AN

PloS one 20161128 11

Flight and reproduction are usually considered as two life history traits that compete for resources in a migratory insect. The beet webworm, Loxostege sticticalis L., manages the costs of migratory flight and reproduction through a trade-off in timing of these two life history traits, where migratory behavior occurs during the preoviposition period. To gain insight into how migratory flight and reproduction are coordinated in the female beet webworm, we conducted experiments beginning at the en ...[more]

PMID: 27893835

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Project description:BackgroundThe consumption of conspecific young by adult individuals is a common phenomenon across various animal taxa. Possible adaptive benefits of such behaviour include the acquisition of nutrients, decreased competition for one's own offspring, and/or increased mating opportunities. Clutch cannibalism has occasionally been observed in several species of Neotropical poison frogs, but the circumstances under which this behaviour occurs has rarely been investigated experimentally. Recent experiments with the poison frog Allobates femoralis have shown that males indiscriminately transport all clutches located inside their own territory to bodies of water, but become highly cannibalistic when taking over a new territory. Females are able to indirectly discriminate between their own and foreign clutches by location and take over transport duties of their own clutches only in the absence of the father. Cannibalism by A. femoralis females has not been previously observed. We thus asked if, and under which circumstances, cannibalism of unrelated clutches by female A. femoralis would occur, by manipulating the presence of the clutch's father, the female's own reproductive state, and the female's familiarity with the environment.ResultsFemales clearly cannibalize foreign clutches. Cannibalism was most pronounced when the female had not recently produced her own clutch and the father of the foreign clutch was absent. The female's familiarity with the area had no significant influence on the likelihood of cannibalism to occur.ConclusionsOur data indicate that both previous oviposition and the father's presence reduce cannibalistic behaviour in A. femoralis females. Cannibalistic females may gain nutritional benefits or enhanced inclusive fitness by preying on other females' offspring. The finding that the father's presence at the clutch site/territory was sufficient to reduce cannibalism by females suggests a prominent role of male territoriality for the evolution of male parental care.

Dataset Information

Onset of Oviposition Triggers Abrupt Reduction in Migratory Flight Behavior and Flight Muscle in the Female Beet Webworm, Loxostege sticticalis.

Publications

Onset of Oviposition Triggers Abrupt Reduction in Migratory Flight Behavior and Flight Muscle in the Female Beet Webworm, Loxostege sticticalis.

Similar Datasets

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