scholarly journals An offspring signal of quality affects the timing of future parental reproduction

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 352-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flore Mas ◽  
Mathias Kölliker

Solicitation signals by offspring are well known to influence parental behaviour, and it is commonly assumed that this behavioural effect translates into an effect on residual reproduction of parents. However, this equivalence assumption concerning behavioural and reproductive effects caused by offspring signals remains largely untested. Here, we tested the effect of a chemical offspring signal of quality on the relative timing and amount of future reproduction in the European earwig ( Forficula auricularia ). We manipulated the nutritional condition of earwig nymphs and exposed females to their extract, or to solvent as a control. There were no significant main effects of exposure treatment on 2nd clutch production, but exposure to extracts of well-fed nymphs induced predictable timing of the 2nd relative to the 1st clutch. This result demonstrates for the first time that an offspring signal per se , in the absence of any maternal behaviour, affects maternal reproductive timing, possibly through an effect on maternal reproductive physiology.

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 547-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joël Meunier ◽  
Mathias Kölliker

The aggregation of parents with offspring is generally associated with different forms of care that improve offspring survival at potential costs to parents. Under poor environments, the limited amount of resources available can increase the level of competition among family members and consequently lead to adaptive changes in parental investment. However, it remains unclear as to what extent such changes modify offspring fitness, particularly when offspring can survive without parents such as in the European earwig, Forficula auricularia . Here, we show that under food restriction, earwig maternal presence decreased offspring survival until adulthood by 43 per cent. This effect was independent of sibling competition and was expressed after separation from the female, indicating lasting detrimental effects. The reduced benefits of maternal presence on offspring survival were not associated with higher investment in future reproduction, suggesting a condition-dependent effect of food restriction on mothers and local mother–offspring competition for food. Overall, these findings demonstrate for the first time a long-term negative effect of maternal presence on offspring survival in a species with maternal care, and highlight the importance of food availability in the early evolution of family life.


Evolution ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Wirth ◽  
Rene Le Guellec ◽  
Michel Vancassel ◽  
Michel Veuille

1965 ◽  
Vol 97 (10) ◽  
pp. 1075-1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray F. Morris

In a test at St. John's from 20 August to 9 September 1964, grooved-board traps captured more specimens of the Eluropean earwig, Forficula auricularia L., than pitfall traps containing attractants. On 19 August two replicates of one grooved-board and eight Legner traps (Fig. 1) containing bran flakes plus an attractant were set up on a city lot. The Legner traps were set in the soil so that their tops were level with the surface. They were protected from rain by a 12 in. × 12 in. board held in position over the opening by short legs at the four corners. The attractants used were: peanut butter, cod oil, sugar, molasses, honey and macerated earwigs. The traps were attended from 21 August to 9 September and all earwigs removed daily and counted in the laboratory.


2001 ◽  
Vol 133 (5) ◽  
pp. 705-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghislain Berleur ◽  
Jean Gingras ◽  
Jean-Claude Tourneur

In North America, the life cycle of the European earwig (Forficula auricularia L.) can be divided into a nesting phase (hypogean phase) and a free-foraging phase (epigean phase) (Crumb et al. 1941; Behura 1956; Lamb and Wellington 1975). Adults spend the nesting phase in the soil; females burrow into the ground at the onset of the cold weather, lay eggs, and then care for the eggs. Hatching occurs in spring; first- or second-instar nymphs move to the soil surface for the free-foraging period. The earwig, a nocturnal insect, spends the entire daylight period of hiding under trash or in dark crevices. Where two broods occur, females reenter the ground a second time (Lamb and Wellington 1975). Stomach content analyses (Crumb et al. 1941; Sunderland and Vickerman 1980) and food preference tests (McLeod and Chant 1952; Buxton and Madge 1976) revealed that the European earwig is omnivorous. Under laboratory conditions, nymphs fed freshly frozen aphids, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), survive better than those fed green algae or carrots, develop faster, and produce heavier females (Phillips 1981; Carrillo 1985).


2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew P Hill ◽  
Matthew Binns ◽  
Paul A Umina ◽  
Ary A Hoffmann ◽  
Sarina Macfadyen

2020 ◽  
pp. 003329412092135
Author(s):  
Keegan D. Greenier

Schadenfreude (pleasure about another’s misfortune) was studied using written scenarios that were manipulated to include elements that elicited disliking of the target, envy of the target, and/or deservingness of the misfortune. This was the first time all the three predictors were included in a single study, allowing for a test of their possible interactive effects. Study 1 created a large pool of scenarios based on a pilot study and had participants rate them regarding how much disliking, deservingness, or envy was felt. The eight scenarios that were most effective in eliciting the various combinations of predictors were then used in Study 2 to test for schadenfreude reactions. Results revealed strong main effects for disliking and deservingness. Interactions showed that disliking attenuated the effect of deservingness, especially for female participants. Finally, further evidence was found that malicious but not benign envy predicted schadenfreude.


2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1919) ◽  
pp. 20192478
Author(s):  
V. Berg ◽  
D. W. Lawson ◽  
A. Rotkirch

Evolutionary demography predicts that variation in reproductive timing stems from socio-ecologically contingent trade-offs between current and future reproduction. In contemporary high-income societies, the costs and benefits of current reproduction are likely to vary by socioeconomic status (SES). Two influential hypotheses, focusing on the parenthood ‘wage penalty’, and responses to local mortality have separately been proposed to influence the timing of parenthood. Economic costs of reproduction (i.e. income loss) are hypothesized to delay fertility, especially among high childhood SES individuals who experience greater opportunities to build capital through advantageous education and career opportunities. On the other hand, relatively low childhood SES individuals experience higher mortality risk, which may favour earlier reproduction. Here, we examine both hypotheses with a representative register-based, multigenerational dataset from contemporary Finland ( N = 47 678). Consistent with each hypothesis, the predicted financial cost of early parenthood was smaller, and mortality among close kin was higher for individuals with lower childhood SES. Within the same dataset, lower predicted adulthood income and more kin deaths were also independently associated with earlier parenthood. Our results provide a robust demonstration of how economic costs and mortality relate to reproductive timing. We discuss the implications of our findings for demographic theory and public policy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (5) ◽  
pp. 2335-2342
Author(s):  
Bodil N Cass ◽  
Lindsey M Hack ◽  
Tobias G Mueller ◽  
Darian Buckman ◽  
Elizabeth E Grafton-Cardwell ◽  
...  

Abstract Integrated pest management (IPM) guidelines for horticulture are typically established from years of experimental research and experience for a crop species. Ecoinformatics methods can help to quickly adapt these guidelines following major changes in growing practices. Citrus production in California is facing several major challenges, one of which is a shift away from sweet oranges [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck Sapindales: Rutaceae] toward mandarins (including mostly cultivars of C. reticulata Blanco and C. clementina hort. ex Tanaka). In the absence of IPM guidelines for mandarins, growers are relying on pest information developed from oranges. We mined a database of management records from commercial growers and consultants to determine densities for four arthropod pests: cottony cushion scale (Icerya purchasi Maskell Hemiptera: Monophlebidae), citricola scale (Coccus pseudomagnoliarum Kuwana Hemiptera: Coccidae), European earwig (Forficula auricularia Linnaeus Dermaptera: Forficulidae), citrus red mite (Panonychus citri McGregor Acari: Tetranychidae), and a natural enemy, predatory mites in the genus Euseius (Congdon Acarina: Phytoseiidae). Densities of cottony cushion scale were approximately 10–40 times higher in the two most commonly grown mandarin species than in sweet oranges, suggesting this pest is reaching outbreak levels more often on mandarins. Densities of the other pests and predatory mites did not differ significantly across citrus species. This is a first step toward establishing IPM guidelines for mandarins for these pests; more research is needed to determine how arthropod densities relate to crop performance in mandarins.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document