Single-Sex Broods and the Evolution of Nonsiblicidal Parasitoid Wasps

Obligate siblicide as observed in many parasitoid wasps may commonly be a manifestation of parent-offspring conflict over clutch size. Genetic models have revealed that very stringent conditions may be required for a nonsiblicidal allele to successfully invade a siblicidal population. The parasitoid...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American naturalist 1993-01, Vol.141 (1), p.90-104
Main Author: Rosenheim, Jay A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alleles
Animal ethology
Armillary spheres
Biological and medical sciences
Biological evolution
Chrysididae
Clutch size
Evolution
Female animals
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hymenoptera
Insect larvae
Invertebrates
Parasite hosts
Parasitoids
Protozoa. Invertebrata
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Sex ratio
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Summary:Obligate siblicide as observed in many parasitoid wasps may commonly be a manifestation of parent-offspring conflict over clutch size. Genetic models have revealed that very stringent conditions may be required for a nonsiblicidal allele to successfully invade a siblicidal population. The parasitoid studied here, Argochrysis armilla Bohart (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae), appears to have undergone a transition from siblicidal to nonsiblicidal behavior during its recent evolutionary history. The appearance of nonsiblicide in A. armilla is paradoxical, because factors facilitating the evolution of nonsiblicidal behavior (costs of producing the fighting apparatus, female-biased sex ratios) appear to be absent, while factors favoring siblicidal behavior (superparasitism, mobile parasitoid larvae) appear to be present. Argochrysis armilla does, however, produce a preponderance of single-sex broods. I construct genetic models to demonstrate that single-sex broods can substantially relax the conditions under which a nonsiblicidal allele can invade a siblicidal population and simultaneously make more stringent the conditions under which a siblicidal allele can invade a nonsiblicidal population. The production of single-sex broods may be common during the evolutionary transition from siblicidal to nonsiblicidal behavior and could therefore play an important role in facilitating the evolution of nonsiblicidal behavior.
ISSN:0003-0147
1537-5323
DOI:10.1086/285462