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Host specialisation and competition asymmetry in coleopteran parasitoids

  • Behavioral ecology – original research
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Abstract

When specialists and generalists compete for a limited resource, specialists are more constrained because they are less likely to find an alternative resource. In parasitoids with overlapping host ranges, asymmetric competition should therefore exist where specialists are more likely to win the host in a contest. Competition between parasitoids has been studied mostly in hymenopterans. In hymenopteran parasitoid wasps, females must reach the host to lay their eggs and can thus strongly influence the outcome of competition between future offspring by killing eggs or larvae of competitors. We studied competition between the free-ranging larvae of two sympatric coleopteran parasitoid rove beetles (one specialist, Aleochara bilineata and a generalist, Aleochara bipustulata) with overlapping host ranges competing in agricultural fields for pupae of the cabbage root fly. In these species, females lay their eggs in the soil, then first instars find the host where they will develop as solitary parasitoids and deal with potential competitors. Because adult longevity and fecundity favour the generalist, we postulated that first instars of the specialist would be superior larval competitors. Accordingly, we studied the outcome of encounters between first instars of the two species provided with a single host. Irrespective of its release prior to or simultaneously with its generalist competitor, the larva of the specialist most often won. Moreover, specialist larvae still won half of the encounters when generalist larvae were given a 24-h advantage. This might explain the coexistence of the two species in the field.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank V. Chaminade for providing pupae and for rearing maintenance.

Author contribution statement

M. B., D. P. and A. M. C. conceived and designed the experiments. M. B. performed the experiments. M. B. and Y. O. analyzed the data. M. B. wrote the manuscript. D. P., A. M. C. and Y. O. provided editorial advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Rennes 1, UMR1349 IGEPP, 35000, Rennes, France

    Mikaël Bili, A. M. Cortesero & D. Poinsot

  2. Agrocampus Ouest, UMR1349 IGEPP, 35000, Rennes, France

    Y. Outreman

  3. Université Européenne de Bretagne, Rennes, France

    Mikaël Bili, A. M. Cortesero & D. Poinsot

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  1. Mikaël Bili
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  2. A. M. Cortesero
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  3. Y. Outreman
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Correspondence to Mikaël Bili.

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Communicated by Thomas S. Hoffmeister.

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Bili, M., Cortesero, A.M., Outreman, Y. et al. Host specialisation and competition asymmetry in coleopteran parasitoids. Oecologia 182, 111–118 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3639-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3639-9

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