Abstract:
:Male insects rarely collaborate with each other, but pollinator fig wasps (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae) are said to be an exception. Immature fig wasps feed on galled ovules located inside figs, the inflorescences of Ficus species (Moraceae). After mating, adult pollinator males chew communal exit-holes that allow mated females (which are often also their siblings) to escape. Figs also support non-pollinating fig wasps (NPFWs), some of which produce exit-holes independently. We determined whether collaboration between pollinator males (Kradibia tentacularis from Ficus montana) was necessary for the release of their females, and used the relationship between male numbers and likelihood of success to measure the extent of cooperation during exit-hole production. These attributes were then compared with those of an NPFW (Sycoscapter sp.) from the same host plant. Pollinators were more abundant than NPFW, but their more female-biased sex ratio meant male pollinator densities were only slightly higher. Individual males of both species could produce an exit-hole. Single males of the NPFW were just as successful as single male pollinators, but only male pollinators cooperated effectively, becoming more successful as their numbers increased. The lack of cooperation among NPFW may be linked to their earlier period of intense inter-male aggression.
journal_name
Biol Lettjournal_title
Biology lettersauthors
Suleman N,Raja S,Compton SGdoi
10.1098/rsbl.2011.1016subject
Has Abstractpub_date
2012-06-23 00:00:00pages
344-6issue
3eissn
1744-9561issn
1744-957Xpii
rsbl.2011.1016journal_volume
8pub_type
杂志文章相关文献
Biology Letters文献大全abstract::Correct decision making is crucial for animals to maximize foraging success and minimize predation risk. Group-living animals can make such decisions by using their own personal information or by pooling information with other group members (i.e. social information). Here, we investigate how individuals might best bal...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0017
更新日期:2007-04-22 00:00:00
abstract::Various vertebrate species use relative numerosity judgements in comparative assessments of quantities for which they use larger/smaller relationships rather than absolute number. The numerical ability of honeybees shares basic properties with that of vertebrates but their use of absolute or relative numerosity has no...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2019.0138
更新日期:2019-06-28 00:00:00
abstract::In a warming climate, higher temperatures are likely to modulate positively or negatively the effect of other environmental factors on biota, although such interactions are poorly documented. Here, we explore under controlled conditions the combined effects of two common stressors in freshwater ecosystems, higher temp...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2016.0745
更新日期:2016-12-01 00:00:00
abstract::Unrelated same-sex individuals pairing together and cooperating to raise offspring over many years is a rare occurrence in the animal kingdom. Cooperative breeding, in which animals help raise offspring that are not their own, is often attributed to kin selection when individuals are related, or altruism when individu...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2008.0191
更新日期:2008-08-23 00:00:00
abstract::Eavesdropping on communication is widespread among animals, e.g. bystanders observing male-male contests, female mate choice copying and predator detection of prey cues. Some animals also exhibit signal matching, e.g. overlapping of competitors' acoustic signals in aggressive interactions. Fewer studies have examined ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.1096
更新日期:2012-06-23 00:00:00
abstract::Adaptive divergence may be facilitated if morphological and behavioural traits associated with local adaptation share the same genetic basis. It is therefore important to determine whether genes underlying adaptive morphological traits are associated with variation in behaviour in natural populations. Positive selecti...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0416
更新日期:2009-12-23 00:00:00
abstract::Unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly called drones, are being increasingly used in ecological research, in particular to approach sensitive wildlife in inaccessible areas. Impact studies leading to recommendations for best practices are urgently needed. We tested the impact of drone colour, speed and flight angle on the...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0754
更新日期:2015-02-01 00:00:00
abstract::Hosts may defend themselves against parasitism through a wide variety of defence mechanisms, but due to finite resources, investment in one defence mechanism may trade-off with investment in another mechanism. We studied resistance strategies against the parasitoid wasp Leptopilina boulardi in two Drosophila species. ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0725
更新日期:2012-04-23 00:00:00
abstract::Bite force is critical to feeding success, especially in animals that crush strong, brittle foods. Maximum bite force is typically measured as one value per individual, but the force-length relationship of skeletal muscle suggests that each individual should possess a range of gape height-specific, and, therefore, pre...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2012.1181
更新日期:2013-02-13 00:00:00
abstract::Both host phylogenetic placement and feeding strategy influence the structure of the gut microbiome (GMB); however, parsing their relative contributions presents a challenge. To meet this challenge, we compared GMB structure in two genera of lemurs characterized by different dietary specializations, the frugivorous br...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2019.0028
更新日期:2019-06-28 00:00:00
abstract::The fastest land animals are of intermediate size. Cheetah, antelope, greyhounds and racehorses have been measured running much faster than reported for elephants or elephant shrews. Can this be attributed to scaling of physical demands and explicit physiological constraints to supply? Here, we describe the scaling of...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2020.0579
更新日期:2020-10-01 00:00:00
abstract::Climate change leads to species range shifts and consequently to changes in diversity. For many systems, increases in diversity capacity have been forecast, with spare capacity to be taken up by a pool of weedy species moved around by humans. Few tests of this hypothesis have been undertaken, and in many temperate sys...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0806
更新日期:2013-02-23 00:00:00
abstract::The difference between maximum metabolic rate and standard metabolic rate is referred to as aerobic scope, and because it constrains performance it is suggested to constitute a key limiting process prescribing how fish may cope with or adapt to climate warming. We use an evolutionary bioenergetics model for Atlantic c...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.1032
更新日期:2015-02-01 00:00:00
abstract::A challenge in animal ecology is to link animal movement to demography. In general, reproducing and non-reproducing animals may show different movement patterns. Dramatic changes in reproductive status, such as the loss of an offspring during the course of migration, might also affect movement. Studies linking movemen...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0379
更新日期:2014-06-01 00:00:00
abstract::Many studies during the past 50 years have found an association between father absence and earlier menarche. In connection with these findings, several evolutionary theories assume that father absence is a causal factor accelerating reproductive development. However, a recent study analysing data from the Avon Longitu...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2019.0091
更新日期:2019-06-28 00:00:00
abstract::The interaction between neuromuscular systems and body mechanics plays an important role in the production of coordinated movements in animals. Lepidopteran insects move their wings by distortion of the thorax structure via the indirect flight muscles (IFMs), which are activated by neural signals at every stroke. Howe...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.0733
更新日期:2016-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::The early life stage of long-lived species is critical to the viability of population, but is poorly understood. Longitudinal studies are needed to test whether juveniles are less efficient foragers than adults as has been hypothesized. We measured changes in the diving behaviour of 17 one-year-old king penguins Apten...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2016.0490
更新日期:2016-08-01 00:00:00
abstract::There is growing interest in the capacity of mangrove ecosystems to sequester and store 'blue carbon'. Here, we provide a synthesis of 66 dated sediment cores with previously calculated carbon accumulation rates in mangrove ecosystems to assess the effects of environmental and anthropogenic pressures. Conserved sedime...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2018.0237
更新日期:2018-10-31 00:00:00
abstract::The brown alga Fucus serratus is a key foundation species on rocky intertidal shores of northern Europe. We sampled the same population off the coast of southern Norway in 2000 and 2008, and using 26 microsatellite loci, we estimated the changes in genetic diversity and effective population size (Ne). The unexpectedly...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2008.0403
更新日期:2008-12-23 00:00:00
abstract::In Drosophila melanogaster, prolonged exposure to males reduces the longevity and fecundity of females. This harm arises from the effects of male courtship behaviours and the toxic side effects of the accessory gland proteins (Acps) in their seminal fluids. Here, we examine the relationship between male exposure and i...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2016.0105
更新日期:2016-04-01 00:00:00
abstract::Although over 50 twin and adoption studies have been performed on the genetic architecture of antisocial behaviour, far fewer studies have investigated prosocial behaviour, and none have done so on a non-western population. The present study examined mothers' ratings of prosocial behaviour in 514 pairs of 2- to 9-year...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0365
更新日期:2007-12-22 00:00:00
abstract::The carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) consists of 26 and 52 heptad-repeats in yeast and mammals, respectively. Studies in yeast showed that the strong periodicity of the YSPTSPS heptads is dispensable for cell growth and that di-heptads interspersed by spacers can act a...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2019.0068
更新日期:2019-05-31 00:00:00
abstract::Coordinated landing requires anticipating the timing and magnitude of impact, which in turn requires sensory input. To better understand how cane toads, well known for coordinated landing, prioritize visual versus vestibular feedback during hopping, we recorded forelimb joint angle patterns and electromyographic data ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2016.0196
更新日期:2016-06-01 00:00:00
abstract::A number of widely grown varieties of Vitis vinifera ssp. sativa, the grape used for wine production, are known to have resulted from crosses between Pinot noir and Gouais blanc, although it is not known which was the maternal parent in these crosses. We have analysed microsatellites and a single nucleotide polymorphi...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0810
更新日期:2010-06-23 00:00:00
abstract::The extreme body size of blue whales requires a high energy intake and therefore demands efficient foraging strategies. As an obligate lunge feeder on aggregations of small zooplankton, blue whales engulf a large volume of prey-laden water in a single, rapid gulp. The efficiency of this feeding mechanism is strongly d...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0986
更新日期:2013-02-23 00:00:00
abstract::Wolves from the Great Lakes area were historically decimated due to habitat loss and predator control programmes. Under the protection of the US Endangered Species Act, the population has rebounded to approximately 3000 individuals. We show that the pre-recovery population was dominated by mitochondrial DNA haplotypes...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0354
更新日期:2008-02-23 00:00:00
abstract::Nursery areas are fundamental for the success of many marine species, particularly for large, slow-growing taxa with low fecundity and high age of maturity. Here, we examine the population size-class structure of the extinct gigantic shark Otodus megalodon in a newly described middle Miocene locality from Northeastern...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2020.0746
更新日期:2020-11-01 00:00:00
abstract::The somasteroids are Lower Palaeozoic star-shaped animals widely regarded as ancestors of Asterozoa, the group of echinoderms that includes brittle stars and starfish. However, the origin of asterozoans, the assembly of their distinctive body organization, and their relationships with other Cambrian and Ordovician ech...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2020.0809
更新日期:2021-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::The response to intradermally injected phytohaemagglutinin (PHA-response) is a commonly used quantification of avian immunocompetence (the ability to resist pathogens). Parasite-mediated sexual selection requires heritable immunocompetence, but evidence for heritability of PHA-response in birds largely stems from full...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0135
更新日期:2007-08-22 00:00:00
abstract::Effective communication requires animal signals to be readily detected by receivers in the environments in which they are typically given. Certain light conditions enhance the visibility of colour signals and these conditions can vary depending on the orientation of the sun and the position of the signaller. We tested...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2016.0979
更新日期:2017-02-01 00:00:00