Parasitism and constitutive defence costs to host life-history traits in a parasitoid-host interaction
1. The level of an organism's investment in defences against natural enemies depends on the fitness costs of resisting parasitism and on the costs of maintaining defences in the absence of infection. Heritable variation in resistance suggests that costs exist, but very little is known about the...
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Published in | Ecological entomology Vol. 34; no. 6; pp. 763 - 771 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Oxford, UK
Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01.12.2009
Blackwell Publishing Ltd |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | 1. The level of an organism's investment in defences against natural enemies depends on the fitness costs of resisting parasitism and on the costs of maintaining defences in the absence of infection. Heritable variation in resistance suggests that costs exist, but very little is known about the nature or magnitude of these costs in natural populations of animals. 2. A powerful technique for identifying trade-offs between fitness components is the study of correlated responses to artificial selection. We selected for increased resistance in the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella, following parasitism by the koinobiont parasitoid, Venturia canescens, and measured the cost of resistance to parasitism and the cost of maintaining resistance in the absence of immune challenge during the next generation. 3. Parasitism decreased larval host size, growth, and developmental time and was significantly negatively correlated with the size of surviving host adults. Larvae of the next generation also had a reduced developmental period, whilst the duration of the invulnerable pupal instar was increased. There was no effect on host adult size and related fecundity in the F₁ generation. |
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Bibliography: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2311.2009.01131.x ArticleID:EEN1131 ark:/67375/WNG-ZZJRNKHZ-J istex:5EB3CFE6AD721B836C4F800E2478BAA3E43CD3BA Current address: USDA‐ARS, Subtropical Horticulture Station, Miami, FL 33158, U.S.A. |
ISSN: | 0307-6946 1365-2311 |
DOI: | 10.1111/j.1365-2311.2009.01131.x |