Differential use of conspecific-derived information by sexual and asexual parasitic wasps exploiting partially depleted host patches |
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Authors: | Isabelle Amat Emmanuel Desouhant Carlos Bernstein |
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Institution: | (1) Université de Lyon, F-69000, Lyon ; Université Lyon 1 ; CNRS, UMR5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France |
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Abstract: | When foraging partially depleted patches (i.e., a fraction of hosts are already parasitized), female parasitoids must decide:
1—whether to superparasitize, and 2—whether to stay in their current patch (thus missing the opportunity of finding a better
patch elsewhere). To make these decisions, parasitoids may rely on different cues, produced both by the environment and by
conspecifics. Animals thriving in different environments may differ in cues they use. In the solitary parasitoid Venturia canescens, thelytokous (asexual) and arrhenotokous (sexual) individuals are found in two contrasting environments. Thelytokous females,
from anthropogenic conditions, are known to cope with superparasitism in an adaptive way. On the other hand, little is known
about superparasitism by arrhenotokous females. We compared the host exploitation strategies of thelytokous and arrhenotokous
females in partially depleted patches. Hosts parasitized by thelytokous females were more frequently avoided than those parasitized
by arrhenotokous females, suggesting a stronger chemical marking of the former. Only thelytokous females used information
from conspecifics for patch-leaving decisions. The conformity of the differences in the behavior of thelytokous and arrhenotokous
females with the environmental conditions they experience in their habitat is discussed. |
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Keywords: | Habitat specialization Patch-time allocation Reproductive modes Superparasitism Venturia canescens |
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