The Role of Conflict in Breeding Systems: Burying Beetles as Experimental Organisms

Members of the family Proteaceae have extremely low mature fruit : flower (FR : FL) ratios (range 0.001–0.163) compared with other temperate, hermaphroditic, woody perennials. Sutherland’s (1986) survey of FR : FL ratios indicated that compatibility was an important factor explaining levels of fruit set. The role of compatibility in regulating FR : FL ratios was tested in five closely related species of Grevillea (Proteaceae). Species-specific compatibility was compared using the self-compatibility index (SI = ratio of selfed fruit set to crossed fruit set) calculated at fruit initiation to minimise the confounding effect of other post-fertilisation fruit losses, such as inbreeding depression and pre-dispersal predation. Fruit : flower ratios at initiation ranged from 0.041–0.249, and at maturity 0.015–0.096. Grevillea species showed highly variable breeding systems: G. linearifolia was self-incompatible (SI = 0.003), G. sphacelata, G. mucronulata, and G. oleoides were partially self-compatible (SI = 0.07–0.28) and G. longifolia was self-compatible (SI = 0.61). Intrapopulation variability in the level of self-incompatibility was high in all species but G. linearifolia. The correlation between SI and FR: FL ratios was non-significant, indicating that compatibility has a minimal effect on fruit set in the Grevillea species studied, and that these data, together with other data on proteaceous species do not support trends observed in Sutherland’s survey. Low FR : FL ratios resulted from of a combination of pollen limitation, and high levels of flower and fruit predation.

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Analysis of breeding systems, ploidy, and the role of hexaploids in three Hypericum perforatum L. populations

Industrial Crops and Products ◽

10.1016/j.indcrop.2010.01.005 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 1-6 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Luping Qu ◽

Mark P. Widrlechner ◽

Shawn M. Rigby

Keyword(s):

Hypericum Perforatum ◽

Breeding Systems ◽

Hypericum Perforatum L

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The role of juvenile hormone in competition and cooperation by burying beetles

Journal of Insect Physiology ◽

10.1016/j.jinsphys.2006.04.006 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 52 (10) ◽

pp. 1005-1011 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Michelle Pellissier Scott

Keyword(s):

Juvenile Hormone ◽

Burying Beetles ◽

Competition And Cooperation

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The rôle of unspecialized pollinators in the reproductive success of Aldabran plants

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.1979.0019 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 286 (1011) ◽

pp. 99-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Flower Colour ◽

Flower Morphology ◽

Breeding Systems ◽

Carpenter Bee ◽

Pollen Vectors ◽

Remote Islands ◽

High Degree ◽

Foraging Flight

Plants dispersed to remote islands may leave their usual pollinators behind. They are faced with extinction, inbreeding, or acceptance of other pollen vectors, possibly of the ‘generalist’ type. There are few specialized pollinator-plant relations on Aldabra. Two species, the sunbird Nectarinia sovimanga and the cetoniid beetle Mausoleopsis aldabrensis , visit many plant species. The latter was observed visiting flowers of 58 % of those species observed in flower on Aldabra in early 1974. It was apparently indifferent to distributional origin of the species, flower colour, flower morphology or whether the plants were native or introduced. It exhibited a high degree of constancy to a plant species in a foraging flight. The parallels between this beetle and the carpenter bee Xylocopa darwinii on the Galápagos Islands are pointed out. The importance of such a generalist pollinator to the chances of establishment of new immigrants to islands, and to the breeding systems of island plants in general, are discussed.

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Effect of Carcass Size on Feeding Modes of Larvae ofNicrophorus quadripunctatusKraatz (Coleoptera: Silphidae)

Psyche A Journal of Entomology ◽

10.1155/2010/206318 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 2010 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ryu Kishida ◽

Nobuhiko Suzuki

Keyword(s):

Parental Care ◽

Burying Beetles ◽

Feeding Modes ◽

Long Time

In the parental care of burying beetles ofNicrophorus, the role of males has not been clearly elucidated. To test our hypothesis that the investment in resource manipulation by males influences the feeding of larvae by males, we investigated parental efforts ofN. quadripunctatus. On the small carcasses, the time spent on resource manipulation by males was short, and the males left the carcasses without feeding the larvae (maternal feeding). On the large carcasses, the males spent a long time on resource manipulation, and the male participated in the feeding of larvae (biparental feeding). This suggests that one of the reproductive roles of males in the absence of predators and/or competitors is resource manipulation, and the paternal efforts change depending on carcass size. A longer time spent on resource manipulation by males may be a trigger for the males to participate in the feeding of larvae on large carcasses.

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Effects of Residence Time, Auto-Fertility and Pollinator Dependence on Reproductive Output and Spread of Alien and Native Asteraceae

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants8040108 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 108

Author(s):

Corli ◽

Sheppard

Keyword(s):

Residence Time ◽

Crucial Role ◽

Reproductive Output ◽

Common Garden ◽

Alien Plants ◽

Invasion Success ◽

Breeding Systems ◽

Free Access ◽

Common Garden Experiment

Alien plants benefit from auto-fertility to spread over areas where the lack of co-evolved mutualists would otherwise limit invasion success. However, the widespread generalists among mutualists and their large geographical ranges allow alien plants to be integrated into networks. The role of residence time also has to be accounted for, as it takes time for a species to spread and adapt to a new area. We investigated how residence time, auto-fertility and pollinator dependence affect reproductive output and invasion success of Asteraceae in Germany. We conducted a multi-species common-garden experiment along an alien–native continuum including 42 species of natives, archaeophytes and neophytes (casual and established), subjecting plant individuals either to free access or exclusion of pollinators. Pollinator dependence does not play a crucial role in invasion success, with most Asteraceae being able to self-fertilize. Surprisingly, both established neophytes and natives showed higher abilities to self-fertilize, while archaeophytes and casual neophytes were more attractive to pollinators. In contrast to casual neophytes, the established neophytes’ strategy was associated with a large reproductive output. Yet, auto-fertility was not associated with range size, since archaeophytes reached the largest range sizes. Elucidating how breeding systems affect invasion success is crucial for predicting and managing invasions.

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Evolution of Breeding Systems in Acrocephaline Warblers

The Auk ◽

10.1093/auk/119.2.379 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 119 (2) ◽

pp. 379-390 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Bernd Leisler ◽

Hans Winkler ◽

Michael Wink

Keyword(s):

Habitat Quality ◽

Mating Systems ◽

Paternal Care ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Breeding Systems ◽

Brood Care ◽

Social Monogamy ◽

Phylogenetic Inertia

Abstract Comparative analyses constitute an important complement to studies of adaptive behavior. Previous studies of avian mating systems considered the role of paternal care and habitat type on the evolution of polygyny. We extended those studies and included in our analyses the role of habitat quality, as characterized by food supply. Species in the monophyletic lineage of acrocephaline warblers (Acrocephalus, Chloropeta, Hippolais) are widely distributed, inhabit a variety of different habitats, and show a variety of breeding systems. We present a phylogenetic analysis of parental care and mating system characteristics in relation to ecological traits in 17 species. On the basis of a molecular phylogeny, we reconstructed patterns of changes from social monogamy to polygyny, and in paternal brood care. Specifically, we analyze the coevolution of brood care participation of males and social system, and how it relates to habitat quality. Furthermore, we assessed the phylogenetic inertia of mating systems. We found support for the hypothesis that change to highly productive habitats was associated with a greater emancipation of males from brood care, and with polygyny and promiscuity. Poor habitats, on the other hand, were associated with monogamy and the occurrence of helpers. In contrast to some morphological characters, mating systems appear to be phylogenetically labile.

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Antimicrobial strategies in burying beetles breeding on carrion

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.0805403105 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 105 (46) ◽

pp. 17890-17895 ◽

Cited By ~ 142

Author(s):

D. E. Rozen ◽

D. J. P. Engelmoer ◽

P. T. Smiseth

Keyword(s):

Parental Care ◽

Detrimental Effect ◽

Larval Growth ◽

Burying Beetle ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Burying Beetles ◽

Microbial Competition ◽

Nicrophorus Vespilloides ◽

Ephemeral Resources

Rich and ephemeral resources, such as carrion, are a source of intense interspecific competition among animal scavengers and microbial decomposers. Janzen [Janzen DH (1977) Am Nat 111:691–713] hypothesized that microbes should be selected to defend such resources by rendering them unpalatable or toxic to animals, and that animals should evolve counterstrategies of avoidance or detoxification. Despite the ubiquity of animal-microbe competition, there are few tests of Janzen's hypothesis, in particular with respect to antimicrobial strategies in animals. Here, we use the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, a species that obligately breeds on carcasses of small vertebrates, to investigate the role of parental care and avoidance as antimicrobial strategies. We manipulated competition between beetle larvae and microbes by providing beetles with either fresh carcasses or old ones that had reached advanced putrefaction. We found evidence for a strong detrimental effect of microbial competition on beetle reproductive success and larval growth. We also found that parental care can largely compensate for these negative effects, and that when given a choice between old and fresh carcasses, parents tended to choose to rear their broods on the latter. We conclude that parental care and carcass avoidance can function as antimicrobial strategies in this species. Our findings extend the range of behavioral counterstrategies used by animals during competition with microbes, and generalize the work of Janzen to include competition between microbes and insects that rely on carrion as an obligate resource for breeding and not just as an opportunistic meal.

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