Reproductive plasticity in response to the changing cluster size during the breeding period: a case study in a spider mite

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dc.citation.issue2
dc.citation.volume91
dc.contributor.authorWeerawansha N
dc.contributor.authorWang Q
dc.contributor.authorHe XZ
dc.coverage.spatialNetherlands
dc.date.accessioned2024-09-30T20:05:36Z
dc.date.available2024-09-30T20:05:36Z
dc.date.issued2023-10
dc.description.abstractAnimals living in clusters should adjust their reproductive strategies to adapt to the social environment. Theories predict that the benefits of cluster living would outweigh the costs of competition. Yet, it is largely unknown how animals optimize their reproductive fitness in response to the changing social environment during their breeding period. We used Tetranychus ludeni Zacher, a haplodiploid spider mite, to investigate how the ovipositing females modified their life-history traits in response to the change of cluster size (i.e., aggregation and dispersal) with a consistent population density (1 ♀/cm2). We demonstrate that (1) after females were shifted from a large cluster (16 ♀♀) to small ones (1 ♀, 5 and 10 ♀♀), they laid fewer and larger eggs with a higher female-biased sex ratio; (2) after females were shifted from small clusters to a large one, they laid fewer and smaller eggs, also with a higher female-biased sex ratio, and (3) increasing egg size significantly increased offspring sex ratio (% daughters), but did not increase immature survival. The results suggest that (1) females fertilize more larger eggs laid in a small population but lower the fertilization threshold and fertilize smaller eggs in a larger population, and (2) the reproductive adjustments in terms of egg number and size may contribute more to minimize the mate competition among sons but not to increase the number of inhabitants in the next generation. The current study provides evidence that spider mites can manipulate their reproductive output and adjust offspring sex ratio in response to dynamic social environments.
dc.description.confidentialfalse
dc.edition.editionOctober 2023
dc.format.pagination237-250
dc.identifier.author-urlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37651032
dc.identifier.citationWeerawansha N, Wang Q, He XZ. (2023). Reproductive plasticity in response to the changing cluster size during the breeding period: a case study in a spider mite.. Exp Appl Acarol. 91. 2. (pp. 237-250).
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s10493-023-00834-y
dc.identifier.eissn1572-9702
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.issn0168-8162
dc.identifier.pii10.1007/s10493-023-00834-y
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/71533
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherSpringer Nature
dc.publisher.urihttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10493-023-00834-y
dc.relation.isPartOfExp Appl Acarol
dc.rights(c) 2023 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectDynamic social environments
dc.subjectEgg size
dc.subjectFecundity
dc.subjectFertilization
dc.subjectSex allocation
dc.subjectAnimals
dc.subjectTetranychidae
dc.subjectFemale
dc.subjectReproduction
dc.subjectSex Ratio
dc.subjectMale
dc.subjectOvum
dc.subjectOviposition
dc.subjectPopulation Density
dc.titleReproductive plasticity in response to the changing cluster size during the breeding period: a case study in a spider mite
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id480098
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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