Naturwissenschaften

, Volume 99, Issue 11, pp 903–912 | Cite as

Geographic variations of life history traits and potential trade-offs in different populations of the parasitoid Leptopilina heterotoma

  • Pauline Vuarin
  • Roland Allemand
  • Joffrey Moiroux
  • Joan van Baaren
  • Patricia Gibert
Original Paper
First Online:
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

Energy allocation is determined by resource availability and trade-offs among traits, and so organisms have to give some traits priority over others to maximize their fitness according to their environment. In this study, we investigated the geographic variations in life history traits and potential trade-offs in populations of the parasitoid Leptopilina heterotoma (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) originating from the north and the south of the Rhône–Saône valley (over a gradient of 300 km, South-East France). We measured a set of traits related to reproduction, maintenance, and mobility using several estimators of each of these main functions determined at different times. We did not find any clear differences between populations from contrasting areas, whereas the southern populations, which were all assumed to be exposed to similar environmental conditions, displayed contrasting patterns of energy allocation. Thus, the most likely explanation seems to be that the evolution of the life history of L. heterotoma is probably shaped by local selective pressures, such as microclimate, microhabitats, or intensity of competition, rather than by regional ecological conditions. Using our study as an example, we discuss the interest of considering several traits and using different ways of measuring them, concluding that multiple measurements should be performed in future studies to ensure the robustness of the results.

Keywords

Life history traits Trade-off Geographic variations Energy allocation Parasitoid 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Emmanuel Desouhant and Isabelle Amat for their helpful advice and comments on a previous version of this manuscript. This work is part of the ANR CLIMEVOL project funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche. We are also grateful to the Avignon’s center of the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique and to the landowners who allowed us to collect insects in their orchards.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  • Pauline Vuarin
    • 1
    • 2
  • Roland Allemand
    • 3
  • Joffrey Moiroux
    • 1
  • Joan van Baaren
    • 1
  • Patricia Gibert
    • 3
  1. 1.UMR CNRS 6553, Equipe PaysaClimUniversité de Rennes 1RennesFrance
  2. 2.UMR CNRS/MNHN 7179, Equipe Mécanismes Adaptatifs et Evolution, Muséum National d’Histoire NaturelleBrunoyFrance
  3. 3.UMR CNRS 5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie EvolutiveUniversité Lyon 1VilleurbanneFrance

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