scholarly journals Compensating for a bad start: compensatory growth across life stages in an organism with a complex life cycle

2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Hyeun-Ji ◽  
Frank Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Adult Stage ◽  
Mass Gain ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Lestes Sponsa

Organisms with a complex life cycle are characterized by a life-history shift through metamorphosis and include organisms such as insects and amphibians. They must optimize their use of resources and behaviour across different life stages to maximize their fitness. An interesting question with regard to such life-history shifts is whether growth in the juvenile stage can be compensated for in the adult stage. Here we ask whether emerald damselflies (Lestes sponsa (Hansemann, 1823)) are able to compensate for depressed growth during the juvenile aquatic stage in their terrestrial adult stage. Lestes sponsa emerge at a fixed adult body size, but feed during the adult stage and are thus able to gain mass as adults. We performed a mark–recapture study to answer whether individuals that emerge from metamorphosis with a low mass are able to compensate by subsequent mass gain during the adult stage. Results showed that compensatory mass gain occurred in the adult stage such that small individuals gained more mass than large individuals. We also found that females gained more mass than males. However, individuals that emerged at a low mass still had lower mass as mature adults than individuals that emerged at a high mass, suggesting that compensation was not complete. This suggests that larval ecology and adult fitness are tightly linked and future research should focus more on elucidating the nature of this relationship.

Autonomy and integration in complex parasite life cycles

Parasitology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 143 (14) ◽  
pp. 1824-1846 ◽  
Author(s):  
DANIEL P. BENESH
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Functional Specialization ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Free Living ◽  
New Host ◽  
Complex Life Cycles ◽  
Life Cycle Stages

SUMMARYComplex life cycles are common in free-living and parasitic organisms alike. The adaptive decoupling hypothesis postulates that separate life cycle stages have a degree of developmental and genetic autonomy, allowing them to be independently optimized for dissimilar, competing tasks. That is, complex life cycles evolved to facilitate functional specialization. Here, I review the connections between the different stages in parasite life cycles. I first examine evolutionary connections between life stages, such as the genetic coupling of parasite performance in consecutive hosts, the interspecific correlations between traits expressed in different hosts, and the developmental and functional obstacles to stage loss. Then, I evaluate how environmental factors link life stages through carryover effects, where stressful larval conditions impact parasites even after transmission to a new host. There is evidence for both autonomy and integration across stages, so the relevant question becomes how integrated are parasite life cycles and through what mechanisms? By highlighting how genetics, development, selection and the environment can lead to interdependencies among successive life stages, I wish to promote a holistic approach to studying complex life cycle parasites and emphasize that what happens in one stage is potentially highly relevant for later stages.

scholarly journals Dynamics of venom composition across a complex life cycle

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaara Y. Columbus-Shenkar ◽  
Maria Y. Sachkova ◽  
Arie Fridrich ◽  
Vengamanaidu Modepalli ◽  
Kartik Sunagar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Nematostella Vectensis ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Early Life Stages ◽  
Sea Anemones ◽  
Sessile Polyp ◽  
Venom Composition ◽  
Production Dynamics

AbstractLittle is known about venom in young developmental stages of animals. The appearance of stinging cells in very early life stages of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis suggests that toxins and venom are synthesized already in eggs, embryos and larvae of this species. Here we harness transcriptomic and biochemical tools as well as transgenesis to study venom production dynamics in Nematostella. We find that the venom composition and arsenal of toxin-producing cells change dramatically between developmental stages of this species. These findings might be explained by the vastly different ecology of the larva and adult polyp as sea anemones develop from a miniature non-feeding mobile planula to a much larger sessile polyp that predates on other animals. Further, the results suggest a much wider and dynamic venom landscape than initially appreciated in animals with a complex life cycle.

How have fisheries affected parasite communities?

Parasitology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHELSEA L. WOOD ◽  
KEVIN D. LAFFERTY
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Parasite Species ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Parasite Diversity ◽  
Parasite Abundance ◽  
Parasite Communities ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Parasite Assemblages

SUMMARYTo understand how fisheries affect parasites, we conducted a meta-analysis of studies that contrasted parasite assemblages in fished and unfished areas. Parasite diversity was lower in hosts from fished areas. Larger hosts had a greater abundance of parasites, suggesting that fishing might reduce the abundance of parasites by selectively removing the largest, most heavily parasitized individuals. After controlling for size, the effect of fishing on parasite abundance varied according to whether the host was fished and the parasite's life cycle. Parasites of unfished hosts were more likely to increase in abundance in response to fishing than were parasites of fished hosts, possibly due to compensatory increases in the abundance of unfished hosts. While complex life cycle parasites tended to decline in abundance in response to fishing, directly transmitted parasites tended to increase. Among complex life cycle parasites, those with fished hosts tended to decline in abundance in response to fishing, while those with unfished hosts tended to increase. However, among directly transmitted parasites, responses did not differ between parasites with and without fished hosts. This work suggests that parasite assemblages are likely to change substantially in composition in increasingly fished ecosystems, and that parasite life history and fishing status of the host are important in predicting the response of individual parasite species or groups to fishing.

scholarly journals Diversification dynamics of hypermetamorphic blister beetles (Meloidae): Are homoplastic host shifts and phoresy key factors of a rushing forward strategy to escape extinction?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.K. López-Estrada ◽  
I. Sanmartín ◽  
J.E. Uribe ◽  
S. Abalde ◽  
M. García-París
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Life Strategies ◽  
Diversification Rates ◽  
Host Shifts ◽  
Extinction Rates ◽  
State Dependent ◽  
History Of

ABSTRACTChanges in life history traits, including reproductive strategies or host shifts, are often considered triggers of speciation, affecting diversification rates. Subsequently, these shifts can have dramatic effects on the evolutionary history of a lineage. In this study, we examine the consequences of changes in life history traits, in particular host-type and phoresy, within the hypermetamorphic clade of blister beetles (Meloidae). This clade exhibits a complex life cycle involving multiple metamorphoses and parasitoidism. Most tribes within the clade are bee-parasitoids, phoretic or non-phoretic, while two tribes feed on grasshopper eggs. Species richness differs greatly between bee and grasshopper specialist clades, and between phoretic and non-phoretic genera. We generated a mitogenomic phylogeny of the hypermetamorphic clade of Meloidae, including 21 newly generated complete mitogenomes. The phylogeny and estimated lineage divergence times were used to explore the association between diversification rates and changes in host specificity and phoresy, using State-Dependent Speciation and Extinction (SSE) models, while accounting for hidden factors and phylogenetic uncertainty within a Bayesian framework. The ancestor of the hypermetamorphic Meloidae was a non-phoretic bee-parasitoid, and independent transitions towards phoretic bee-parasitoidism or grasshopper specialization occurred multiple times. Bee-parasitoid lineages that are non-phoretic have significantly higher relative extinction rates and lower diversification rates than grasshopper specialists or phoretic bee-parasitoids, while no significant differences were found between the latter two strategies. This suggests that these two life strategies contributed independently to the evolutionary success of Nemognathinae and Meloinae, allowing them to escape from the evolutionary constraints imposed by their hypermetamorphic life-cycle, and that the “bee-by-crawling” strategy may be an evolutionary “dead end”. We show how SSE models can be used not only for testing diversification dependence in relation to the focal character but to identify hidden traits contributing to the diversification dynamics. The ability of blister beetles to explore new evolutionary scenarios including the development of homoplastic life strategies, are extraordinary outcomes along the evolution of a single lineage: the hypermetamorphic Meloidae.

scholarly journals Comparative analysis of helminth infectivity: growth in intermediate hosts increases establishment rates in the next host

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1947) ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer Froelick ◽  
Laura Gramolini ◽  
Daniel P. Benesh
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Cycle Progression ◽  
Recovery Rates ◽  
High Doses ◽  
Parasitic Worms ◽  
Higher Doses

Parasitic worms (i.e. helminths) commonly infect multiple hosts in succession before reproducing. At each life cycle step, worms may fail to infect the next host, and this risk accumulates as life cycles include more successive hosts. Risk accumulation can be minimized by having high establishment success in the next host, but comparisons of establishment probabilities across parasite life stages are lacking. We compiled recovery rates (i.e. the proportion of parasites recovered from an administered dose) from experimental infections with acanthocephalans, cestodes and nematodes. Our data covered 127 helminth species and 16 913 exposed hosts. Recovery rates increased with life cycle progression (11%, 29% and 46% in first, second and third hosts, respectively), because larger worm larvae had higher recovery, both within and across life stages. Recovery declined in bigger hosts but less than it increased with worm size. Higher doses were used in systems with lower recovery, suggesting that high doses are chosen when few worms are expected to establish infection. Our results indicate that growing in the small and short-lived hosts at the start of a complex life cycle, though dangerous, may substantially improve parasites' chances of completing their life cycles.

Aspects of the morphology of the juvenile life stages of Paradiplozoon ichthyoxanthon Avenant-Oldewage, 2013 (Monogenea: Diplozoidae)

2014 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Annemariè Avenant-Oldewage ◽  
Simon Milne
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Ventral Sucker ◽  
Adult Stage ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Reproductive Tissue ◽  
Larval Life ◽  
Vaal Dam ◽  
First Time

AbstractThere are eight life stages in the life-cycle of Diplozoon paradoxum and limited knowledge of the life-cycle for other diplozoid genera exists. The aim of this study was to record the number of life-stages of Paradiplozoon ichthyoxanthon obtained from, Labeobarbus aeneus and Labeobarbus kimberlyensis, in the Vaal Dam from 2005 to 2007. Six larval life stages and one adult stage of P. ichtyoxanthon were identified from specimens collected in vitro and in situ. In vitro, eggs hatched after 21 days at 18°C. Eggs collected during winter were significantly larger than those laid during spring or summer. Paradiplozoon ichthyoxanthon oncomiracidia have peripheral eyes with pink pigmentation, a tubular anterior bladder-like structure, bicuspid basal pharynx valve and a branched digestive caecum and residual shell material or vitellaria in the caecum. Immature reproductive tissue connected to the ventral sucker and dorsal papillae were noted for the first time in diporpa. Large nervous ganglia and innervation of muscle were observed around the ventral sucker.

Life history of Amblyseius fustis (Pritchard and Baker), an indigenous predator of the cassava red mite, Oligonychus gossypii (zacher) in south western Nigeria

1985 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. O. Ezulike ◽  
J. A. Odebiyi
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Developmental Period ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
History Of ◽  
Male To Female

AbstractThe life history of Amblyseius fustis (Pritchard and Baker) was studied in the laboratory at a fluctuating temperature and relative humidity ranging from 24.4 to 28.0°C and 55.5 to 75.6%, respectively. The developmental stages consist of egg, larva, protonymph, deutonymph and adult. The life cycle, from egg to adult of both male and female was about 8 days, while longevity was about 19.2 days. Mated female laid an average of 18.8 eggs. There was no significant difference in the longevity and fecundity of predators fed on different life stages of the host. The proportion of male to female in the progeny of mated females was 1:4.A. fustis has a shorter developmental period and lives longer than its prey, but the latter is more fecund (26.9 eggs/♀) and has a higher proportion of females in its progeny (1:4.8). The shorter developmental period and the longer life span of the predator are likely to offset the higher fecundity of the prey.

Does mass change of primiparous bighorn ewes reflect reproductive effort?

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Y Gallant ◽  
D Réale ◽  
M Festa-Bianchet
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Mass Gain ◽  
Ovis Canadensis ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Reproductive Value ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success ◽  
Evolutionary Potential ◽  
Breeding Attempt ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Adult Mass

Reproductive effort during a female's first breeding attempt could affect subsequent fitness, particularly in species that reproduce before completing body growth. We analyzed 26 years of data on marked bighorn (Ovis canadensis) ewes to assess how variation in first reproductive effort affected other life-history traits. We measured reproductive effort as the residual of the regression of mass of primiparous ewes in late lactation on their mass 1 year earlier. Survival of the first-born lamb to weaning reduced maternal mass gain, suggesting a trade-off between reproduction and growth. Mass gain during the year of primiparity therefore appears to reflect reproductive effort. Lower mass gain was associated with lower adult mass and longevity, two important determinants of lifetime reproductive success. Reproductive effort at first parity therefore appears to lower residual reproductive value. Over their lifetime, females with low mass gain as primiparae produced proportionately more daughters than did females with high mass gain. Reproductive effort at first reproduction was not heritable, and may affect the evolutionary potential of adult mass and longevity, two fitness-related traits that are highly heritable in the study population.

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