Reproductive opportunities in insects that deposit their
eggs in discrete resource patches are frequently limited because
the availability of oviposition substrates is often spatially and
temporally restricted. Such environmental variability leads individuals to
confront time- or egg-limitation constraints. Additionally, species
with different oviposition strategies (i.e. single egg layers vs
clutch layers) commonly deal with different structural and ecological
characteristics of larval host plants. To test the hypothesis that
oviposition strategies such as laying eggs singly or in batches (clutches)
are related to these constraints (i.e. egg vs time limitation), we
compared the lifetime oviposition patterns of two closely related
sympatric species of Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae) with different
oviposition strategies. We exposed five cohorts of A. obliqua and A.
ludens females, over the course of their adult lifetimes, to three
conditions of "habitat quality" (measured as host density per cage):
unpredictable habitat quality (host density varied randomly from day to
day between 1, 5, 15, 30 and 60 hosts/cage), low habitat quality
(fixed density of one host/cage) and high habitat quality (fixed
density of 60 hosts/cage). Responses to host density conditions were
strikingly different in the two species. (1) Frequency of host visits and
oviposition events increased in A. obliqua but not in A. ludens when
host densities increased. (2) Anastrepha ludens females accepted low
quality hosts (i.e. fruits on which eggs had already been laid and were
therefore partially covered with host marking pheromone) significantly
more often than A. obliqua females did. (3) Females of A. obliqua
adjusted their oviposition activity to variations in host density,
whereas A. ludens females exhibited a constant oviposition pattern
(i.e. did not respond to variations in host density). Based on the
above, it is likely that in A. obliqua oviposition is governed by
egg-limitation and in A. ludens by time-limitation constraints. We discuss the
relationship between the oviposition strategies of each fly species and the
fruiting phenology and density of their native host plants. We also
address the possible influence of oogenesis modality and parasitism by
braconid wasps in shaping oviposition behaviour in these insects.
%0 Journal Article
%1 Diaz-Fleischer2003
%A Diaz-Fleischer, F.
%A Aluja, M.
%D 2003
%J Oikos
%K ER limitation;
%N 1
%P 125-133
%T Behavioural plasticity in relation to egg and time limitation: The case of two fly species in the genus Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae)
%V 100
%X Reproductive opportunities in insects that deposit their
eggs in discrete resource patches are frequently limited because
the availability of oviposition substrates is often spatially and
temporally restricted. Such environmental variability leads individuals to
confront time- or egg-limitation constraints. Additionally, species
with different oviposition strategies (i.e. single egg layers vs
clutch layers) commonly deal with different structural and ecological
characteristics of larval host plants. To test the hypothesis that
oviposition strategies such as laying eggs singly or in batches (clutches)
are related to these constraints (i.e. egg vs time limitation), we
compared the lifetime oviposition patterns of two closely related
sympatric species of Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae) with different
oviposition strategies. We exposed five cohorts of A. obliqua and A.
ludens females, over the course of their adult lifetimes, to three
conditions of "habitat quality" (measured as host density per cage):
unpredictable habitat quality (host density varied randomly from day to
day between 1, 5, 15, 30 and 60 hosts/cage), low habitat quality
(fixed density of one host/cage) and high habitat quality (fixed
density of 60 hosts/cage). Responses to host density conditions were
strikingly different in the two species. (1) Frequency of host visits and
oviposition events increased in A. obliqua but not in A. ludens when
host densities increased. (2) Anastrepha ludens females accepted low
quality hosts (i.e. fruits on which eggs had already been laid and were
therefore partially covered with host marking pheromone) significantly
more often than A. obliqua females did. (3) Females of A. obliqua
adjusted their oviposition activity to variations in host density,
whereas A. ludens females exhibited a constant oviposition pattern
(i.e. did not respond to variations in host density). Based on the
above, it is likely that in A. obliqua oviposition is governed by
egg-limitation and in A. ludens by time-limitation constraints. We discuss the
relationship between the oviposition strategies of each fly species and the
fruiting phenology and density of their native host plants. We also
address the possible influence of oogenesis modality and parasitism by
braconid wasps in shaping oviposition behaviour in these insects.
@article{Diaz-Fleischer2003,
abstract = {Reproductive opportunities in insects that deposit their
eggs in discrete resource patches are frequently limited because
the availability of oviposition substrates is often spatially and
temporally restricted. Such environmental variability leads individuals to
confront time- or egg-limitation constraints. Additionally, species
with different oviposition strategies (i.e. single egg layers vs
clutch layers) commonly deal with different structural and ecological
characteristics of larval host plants. To test the hypothesis that
oviposition strategies such as laying eggs singly or in batches (clutches)
are related to these constraints (i.e. egg vs time limitation), we
compared the lifetime oviposition patterns of two closely related
sympatric species of Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae) with different
oviposition strategies. We exposed five cohorts of A. obliqua and A.
ludens females, over the course of their adult lifetimes, to three
conditions of "habitat quality" (measured as host density per cage):
unpredictable habitat quality (host density varied randomly from day to
day between 1, 5, 15, 30 and 60 hosts/cage), low habitat quality
(fixed density of one host/cage) and high habitat quality (fixed
density of 60 hosts/cage). Responses to host density conditions were
strikingly different in the two species. (1) Frequency of host visits and
oviposition events increased in A. obliqua but not in A. ludens when
host densities increased. (2) Anastrepha ludens females accepted low
quality hosts (i.e. fruits on which eggs had already been laid and were
therefore partially covered with host marking pheromone) significantly
more often than A. obliqua females did. (3) Females of A. obliqua
adjusted their oviposition activity to variations in host density,
whereas A. ludens females exhibited a constant oviposition pattern
(i.e. did not respond to variations in host density). Based on the
above, it is likely that in A. obliqua oviposition is governed by
egg-limitation and in A. ludens by time-limitation constraints. We discuss the
relationship between the oviposition strategies of each fly species and the
fruiting phenology and density of their native host plants. We also
address the possible influence of oogenesis modality and parasitism by
braconid wasps in shaping oviposition behaviour in these insects.},
added-at = {2009-11-04T17:56:40.000+0100},
author = {Diaz-Fleischer, F. and Aluja, M.},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2e2e5ed80cf68b55e5a8ebd24462c82df/regineschneider},
interhash = {f0b544be966a1aba237f6b1178d88931},
intrahash = {e2e5ed80cf68b55e5a8ebd24462c82df},
journal = {Oikos},
keywords = {ER limitation;},
number = 1,
owner = {oliver},
pages = {125-133},
timestamp = {2009-11-04T17:56:40.000+0100},
title = {Behavioural plasticity in relation to egg and time limitation: The case of two fly species in the genus Anastrepha ({\em Diptera: Tephritidae})},
volume = 100,
year = 2003
}