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Effect of larval food stress on male adult behaviour, morphology and reproductive investment in the butterfly Pararge aegeria

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Abstract

Males of several animals increase their reproductive success by territorial behaviour. In butterflies, males may defend a territory (i.e., territorial perching tactic), but this is assumed to be an energetically costly way to locate mates. Limitations of the energy budget may affect fight performance, and may, consequently, force males to adopt an alternative non-territorial searching behaviour (i.e., patrolling tactic) to maximize reproductive success. In this study, we tested to what extent behavioural tactics adopted by adult males of the butterfly Pararge aegeria (L.) were affected by the nutritional conditions during the larval stage. We compared the occurrence of territorial versus patrolling behaviour, lipid mass, flight muscle ratio, metabolic rate and spermatophore production of low quality males that were reared as a larva on drought-stressed host plants and control, high quality males. Low quality males were less likely to adopt the territorial perching tactic and emerged as adults with lower lipid mass than high quality males, but they were able to restore their lipid mass through adult feeding (and perhaps the breakdown of flight muscles). Host plant quality also affected spermatophore size. Independent of the larval food treatment, territorial perching males metabolised more lipids than non-territorial males, produced larger spermatophores and copulated for longer than males adopting non-territorial behaviour. We discuss the results relative to the co-existence of the behavioural tactics (perching and patrolling).

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Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to Christophe Pels and Gaëlle Rigaux for practical assistance, to Augustin Joiris for help with respirometry, to Gilles San Martin for statistical advice and to Katherine Mitchell for language editing. L. V. V. was supported by a FRIA PhD grant from the Fund for Scientific Research-FNRS (F.R.S.-FNRS). This research was also supported by a ARC-Research grant of the Académie Louvain/UCL (ARC Grant 10/15-031) to HVD and NS. This is publication no BRC 262 of the Biodiversity Research Centre (UCL).

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  1. Behavioural Ecology and Conservation Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL), Croix du Sud 4-5, bte. 7.07.04, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Lesley Vande Velde & Hans Van Dyck

  2. Quantitative Conservation Biology Group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL), Croix du Sud 4-5, bte. 7.07.04, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Nicolas Schtickzelle

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  1. Lesley Vande Velde
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Correspondence to Hans Van Dyck.

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Vande Velde, L., Schtickzelle, N. & Van Dyck, H. Effect of larval food stress on male adult behaviour, morphology and reproductive investment in the butterfly Pararge aegeria . Evol Ecol 27, 221–234 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-012-9580-4

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