Investigating the role of sexual conflict in parasitoid- host eco-evolutionary dynamics

研究性冲突在寄生生物-宿主生态进化动力学中的作用

• 批准号: 2883381
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Stirling
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2883381
• 关键词: Investigating; role; sexual; conflict; parasitoid

Finding ways to grow enough food to sustain the ever-growing human population whileminimising detrimental impacts on the natural environment is a pressing global challenge[1,2]. Current food production systems rely heavily on the use of agro-chemicals for pestcontrol, the negative impacts of which are extreme for species, ecosystems and forclimate change [3-7]. Integrated pest management (IPM) is one strategy that will becritical if we are to feed the human population without inflicting irreversible environmentaldamage. IPM prioritizes biodiversity-based pest control and considers the use of chemicalpesticides only as a last resort [8].Parasitoid wasps are a large group of insects, which are commonly used as a chemical-free means of controlling insect pests (biological control). Adults are free-living, femaleslay their eggs on or in other species and their offspring feed on this host, typically anotherinsect, invariably killing it. In addition to their economic value, parasitoid wasps have longbeen used by blue skies researchers to understand fundamental questions aboutevolution, ecology and physiology [9,10]. This research has supported their use in cropprotection and assisted biocontrol practitioners in selecting the most appropriate speciesto control a given pest [9,10].Despite the abundance of studies on parasitoid behavioural ecology, these species havereceived little attention in studies of sexual selection and sexual conflict [11]. Sexualconflict occurs when the optimum strategy or trait is different for males and females [12].For instance, the optimal mating rate is generally higher for males than females. This canresult in reduced fitness for females if accepting or resisting superfluous male copulationattempts is costly [12, 13]. If these costs manifest as reduced offspring production, therecan be consequences for recruitment and even population viability [13]For parasitoid wasps in natural and agricultural settings, sexual conflict may haveprofound consequences for parasitism rates. Understanding the extent to which sexualconflict influences individual and population fitness in these insects provides new andvaluable information on how aspects of these species' mating systems can influencehost-parasitoid dynamics and coevolution as well as the efficacy of pest control underdifferent IPM scenarios.

寻找方法种植足够的粮食来维持不断增长的人口，同时尽量减少对自然环境的有害影响是一项紧迫的全球挑战[1,2]。当前的粮食生产系统严重依赖农用化学品的使用来防治害虫，其对物种、生态系统和气候变化的负面影响非常严重[3-7]。如果我们要在不造成不可逆转的环境破坏的情况下养活人类，那么害虫综合治理 (IPM) 是一项至关重要的战略。 IPM 优先考虑基于生物多样性的害虫防治，仅将化学农药的使用视为最后手段[8]。寄生蜂是一大类昆虫，通常用作控制害虫的无化学手段（生物防治）。成虫是自由生活的，雌性在其他物种身上或体内产卵，它们的后代以该宿主（通常是另一种昆虫）为食，总是杀死它。除了经济价值之外，蓝天研究人员长期以来还利用寄生蜂来了解有关进化、生态和生理学的基本问题 [9,10]。这项研究支持了它们在作物保护中的应用，并帮助生物防治从业者选择最合适的物种来控制特定害虫[9,10]。尽管关于寄生蜂行为生态学的研究很多，但这些物种在性选择和性行为研究中很少受到关注。冲突[11]。当男性和女性的最佳策略或性状不同时，就会发生性冲突[12]。例如，男性的最佳交配率通常高于女性。如果接受或抵制多余的雄性交配尝试代价高昂，这可能会导致雌性的适应性下降[12, 13]。如果这些成本表现为后代产量减少，则可能会对招募甚至种群生存能力产生影响[13]对于自然和农业环境中的寄生蜂，性冲突可能会对寄生率产生深远的影响。了解性冲突对这些昆虫个体和种群适应性的影响程度，为了解这些物种的交配系统的各个方面如何影响寄主-寄生物动态和共同进化以及不同病虫害综合治理方案下害虫防治的功效提供了新的、有价值的信息。