Behavioral and physiological factors associated with juvenile hormone in Polistes wasp foundresses |
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Authors: | Elizabeth A Tibbetts Amanda Izzo and Zachary Y Huang |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA;(2) Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA;(3) Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA |
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Abstract: | Although there is increasing interest in the evolution of endocrine systems, relatively little is known about the factors
associated with natural endocrine variation in invertebrates. Here, we assess juvenile hormone (JH) titers among nest-founding
queens of the wasp Polistes dominulus over 2 years. We allowed unfamiliar wasps to battle for dominance and examined the relationships between dominance rank,
JH, ovarian development, and facial patterns. The relationship between JH-titer and dominance varied across years; there was
a stronger relationship between JH-titer and dominance in 2006 than in 2008. Across years, wasps that won dominance contests
had facial patterns with more broken black spots than wasps that lost dominance contests. There was no relationship between
dominance rank and ovarian development. The individual characteristics associated with JH-titer were also tested; JH-titers
were correlated with facial pattern brokenness and ovarian development. This study adds to previous work indicating that P. dominulus facial patterns function as a signal of fighting ability. Furthermore, the correlation between JH-titers and facial patterns
parallels previous work on testosterone and vertebrate signals and suggests that links between signals of fighting ability
and hormones that mediate fighting ability may be common across taxa. Overall, individual JH-titers vary, though they are
typically associated with factors related to individual reproductive success, including dominance, fertility, and facial pattern
brokenness. Future studies in additional contexts and taxa will be important to test how and why JH-titers vary. |
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