Larval foraging decisions in competitive heterogeneous environments accommodate diets that support egg-to-adult development in a polyphagous fly
In holometabolous insects, larval nutrition is a key factor underpinning development and fitness. Heterogeneity in the nutritional environment and larval competition can force larvae to forage in suboptimal diets, with potential downstream fitness effects. Little is known about how larvae respond to...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.190090 |
| _version_ | 1819319934178557952 |
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| author | Juliano Morimoto Shabnam Tarahi Tabrizi Ida Lundbäck Bishwo Mainali Phillip W. Taylor Fleur Ponton |
| author_facet | Juliano Morimoto Shabnam Tarahi Tabrizi Ida Lundbäck Bishwo Mainali Phillip W. Taylor Fleur Ponton |
| author_sort | Juliano Morimoto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In holometabolous insects, larval nutrition is a key factor underpinning development and fitness. Heterogeneity in the nutritional environment and larval competition can force larvae to forage in suboptimal diets, with potential downstream fitness effects. Little is known about how larvae respond to competitive heterogeneous environments, and whether variation in these responses affects current and next generations. Here, we designed nutritionally heterogeneous foraging arenas by modifying nutrient concentration, where groups of the polyphagous fruit fly Bactrocera tryoni could forage freely at various levels of larval competition. Larval foraging preferences were highly consistent and independent of larval competition, with greatest foraging propensity for high (100%) followed by intermediate (80% and 60%) nutrient concentration diets, and avoidance of lower concentration diets (less than 60%). We then used these larval preferences (i.e. 100%, 80% and 60% diets) in fitness assays in which larvae competition was maintained constant, and showed that nutrient concentrations selected by the larvae in the foraging trials had no effect on fitness-related traits such as egg hatching and pupation success, adult flight ability, sex ratio, percentage of emergence, nor on adult cold tolerance, fecundity and next-generation pupal weight. These results support the idea that polyphagous species can exploit diverse hosts and nutritional conditions with minimal fitness costs to thrive in new environments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-24T11:11:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a8cce37b0e2445bf8cace7550ed9aa21 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-24T11:11:34Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-a8cce37b0e2445bf8cace7550ed9aa212022-12-21T16:58:31ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032019-04-016410.1098/rsos.190090190090Larval foraging decisions in competitive heterogeneous environments accommodate diets that support egg-to-adult development in a polyphagous flyJuliano MorimotoShabnam Tarahi TabriziIda LundbäckBishwo MainaliPhillip W. TaylorFleur PontonIn holometabolous insects, larval nutrition is a key factor underpinning development and fitness. Heterogeneity in the nutritional environment and larval competition can force larvae to forage in suboptimal diets, with potential downstream fitness effects. Little is known about how larvae respond to competitive heterogeneous environments, and whether variation in these responses affects current and next generations. Here, we designed nutritionally heterogeneous foraging arenas by modifying nutrient concentration, where groups of the polyphagous fruit fly Bactrocera tryoni could forage freely at various levels of larval competition. Larval foraging preferences were highly consistent and independent of larval competition, with greatest foraging propensity for high (100%) followed by intermediate (80% and 60%) nutrient concentration diets, and avoidance of lower concentration diets (less than 60%). We then used these larval preferences (i.e. 100%, 80% and 60% diets) in fitness assays in which larvae competition was maintained constant, and showed that nutrient concentrations selected by the larvae in the foraging trials had no effect on fitness-related traits such as egg hatching and pupation success, adult flight ability, sex ratio, percentage of emergence, nor on adult cold tolerance, fecundity and next-generation pupal weight. These results support the idea that polyphagous species can exploit diverse hosts and nutritional conditions with minimal fitness costs to thrive in new environments.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.190090larval nutritionreproductiontrans-generational effectsdevelopmentdensityaggregation |
| spellingShingle | Juliano Morimoto Shabnam Tarahi Tabrizi Ida Lundbäck Bishwo Mainali Phillip W. Taylor Fleur Ponton Larval foraging decisions in competitive heterogeneous environments accommodate diets that support egg-to-adult development in a polyphagous fly Royal Society Open Science larval nutrition reproduction trans-generational effects development density aggregation |
| title | Larval foraging decisions in competitive heterogeneous environments accommodate diets that support egg-to-adult development in a polyphagous fly |
| title_full | Larval foraging decisions in competitive heterogeneous environments accommodate diets that support egg-to-adult development in a polyphagous fly |
| title_fullStr | Larval foraging decisions in competitive heterogeneous environments accommodate diets that support egg-to-adult development in a polyphagous fly |
| title_full_unstemmed | Larval foraging decisions in competitive heterogeneous environments accommodate diets that support egg-to-adult development in a polyphagous fly |
| title_short | Larval foraging decisions in competitive heterogeneous environments accommodate diets that support egg-to-adult development in a polyphagous fly |
| title_sort | larval foraging decisions in competitive heterogeneous environments accommodate diets that support egg to adult development in a polyphagous fly |
| topic | larval nutrition reproduction trans-generational effects development density aggregation |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.190090 |
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