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Foundress Number (foundress + number)
Selected AbstractsCan the extremely female-biased sex ratio of the social spider mites be explained by Hamilton's local mate competition model?ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 6 2007YUKIE SATO Abstract 1.,Extremely female-biased sex ratios are known in the social spider mite species, Stigmaeopsis longus and S. miscanthi. Whether Hamilton's local mate competition (LMC) theory can explain such sex ratios was investigated. 2.,Significant changes of the progeny sex ratios in the direction predicted by the LMC model were found in both species when the foundress number changed. Therefore, LMC can partly explain the skewed sex ratios in these species. 3.,When the foundress number increased, the progeny sex ratio was still female biased and significantly different from the prediction of the LMC model for haplodiploidy. Relatedness between foundresses could not fully explain the female-biased sex ratios. Therefore, these results suggest that there are factors other than LMC skewing the sex ratios of these species toward female. [source] Factors affecting the reproductive biology of Melittobia digitata and failure to meet the sex ratio predictions of Hamilton's local mate competition theoryENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA, Issue 1 2003M.F. Cooperband Abstract Melittobia digitata Dahms (Eulophidae, Tetrastichini), a species of parasitic wasp satisfying all of Hamilton's local mate competition requisites, does not exhibit the predicted change in sex ratio with increased foundress number. A multifactorial design was used to test how age, oviposition experience, feeding experience, mating, and foundress number affect host-acceptance, number of offspring, and sex ratio of this species developing on honey bee pupae, Apis mellifera (L.) (Apidae, Apini). All factors significantly affected the time it took for oviposition to commence. Females oviposited soonest when they were 2 days old, mated, had previous feeding and oviposition experience, and were placed on hosts with multiple foundresses. Although the age difference between 2- and 5-day-old females is small, it significantly affected reproductive behavior. Age, mating, and foundress number were found to have an effect on sex ratio, however, the foundress effect was found to be a mathematical artifact of the limited host size. After correcting for this variable, females were found to have a constant sex ratio of approximately 0.05. Several 2-way interactions between factors were revealed: age and experience, age and foundress number, age and mating, foundress number and experience, and foundress number and mating. One 3-way interaction was found between age, mating, and foundress number. This study demonstrates that the sex ratio of M. digitata is not altered with increased foundresses, as predicted by Hamilton, and that slight changes in preconditioning may modify reproductive behavior. [source] Different Stimuli Reduce Attraction to Pollinators in Male and Female Figs in the Dioecious Fig Ficus hispidaBIOTROPICA, Issue 6 2009Hao-Yuan Hu ABSTRACT Fig trees (Ficus) and their obligate pollinating wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Agaonidae) are a classic example of a coevolved mutualism. Pollinating wasps are attracted to figs only when figs are receptive. It has been shown that figs will lose their attraction to pollinators sooner in monoecious and male dioecious figs when multiple pollinators have entered the enclosed inflorescence. However, little is known about the nature of the stimulus inducing the loss of attraction. By conducting experiments on the functionally dioecious fig, Ficus hispida, we show that (1) different stimuli induce the loss of attraction in each sex, pollination in female figs, and oviposition in male figs; and (2) foundress number affects the loss of attraction in both sexes only when the prerequisites (i.e., pollination in female figs and oviposition in male figs) have been satisfied. In general, the more foundresses that enter, the earlier the fig will lose its receptivity. We argue that the stimuli in male and female figs are adaptations to the fulfillment of its respective reproduction. [source] | ||||||||||