Evol Ecol Res 6: 993-1002 (2004) Full PDF if your library subscribes.
Why are so few parasitoid wasp species pro-ovigenic?
J. Ellers1* and M.A. Jervis2
1Department of Animal Ecology, Institute of Ecological Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands and 2Cardiff School of Biosciences, University of Cardiff, Cardiff CF10 3TL, UK
Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed.
e-mail: jacintha.ellers@ecology.falw.vu.nlABSTRACT
A recent survey of egg maturation strategies among parasitoid wasps showed strict pro-ovigeny (emergence with the entire potential lifetime complement of eggs mature) to be confined to a small number of species. This finding raises the following important question: Why is strict pro-ovigeny such a rare strategy? Using a dynamic programming model, we show that three traits – small body size relative to travel costs, large eggs relative to the total allocatable resources, and uniformity in host spatial distribution (which translates into extremely low stochasticity in the number of patch encounters) – either by themselves or in combination, may lead to the evolution of strict pro-ovigeny. Turning next to the empirical evidence, we conclude that the prevalence of host patchiness over spatial uniformity has been particularly important in constraining the incidence of strict pro-ovigeny among the world’s parasitoid wasp fauna. Model predictions aside, the empirical finding that strict pro-ovigeny is a rare egg maturation strategy suggests that theoreticians should – unless evidence indicates otherwise – assume synovigeny (emergence with only part of the lifetime egg complement mature upon emergence) to be the case when considering parasitoid behavioural strategies and parasitoid–host population interactions.
Keywords: body size, egg size, habitat stochasticity, life-history strategy, ovigeny index, resource allocation, trade-offs.
DOWNLOAD A FREE, FULL PDF COPY
IF you are connected using the IP of a subscribing institution (library, laboratory, etc.)
or through its VPN.
© 2004 Jacintha Ellers. All EER articles are copyrighted by their authors. All authors endorse, permit and license Evolutionary Ecology Ltd. to grant its subscribing institutions/libraries the copying privileges specified below without additional consideration or payment to them or to Evolutionary Ecology, Ltd. These endorsements, in writing, are on file in the office of Evolutionary Ecology, Ltd. Consult authors for permission to use any portion of their work in derivative works, compilations or to distribute their work in any commercial manner.
Subscribing institutions/libraries may grant individuals the privilege of making a single copy of an EER article for non-commercial educational or non-commercial research purposes. Subscribing institutions/libraries may also use articles for non-commercial educational purposes by making any number of copies for course packs or course reserve collections. Subscribing institutions/libraries may also loan single copies of articles to non-commercial libraries for educational purposes.
All copies of abstracts and articles must preserve their copyright notice without modification.