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Reproductive and brood-rearing strategies in Alchisme grossa (Hemiptera: Membracidae): genetic analyses of kinship relationships

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Abstract

Alchisme grossa is a treehopper species showing maternal care until at least the third nymphal instar. A secondary female treehopper has frequently been observed near a family (primary female guarding its egg clutch). Intraspecific brood parasitism, communal breeding or alloparental care may be suggested as possible mechanisms to explain secondary female presence. To distinguish between these phenomena, we performed relatedness analyses of genetic samples of groups including one A. grossa primary female, a secondary female and the associated offspring using polymorphic microsatellites. Furthermore, we characterized the behavioral interaction between both females during maternal care and the reproductive strategy (monandry or polyandry) of A. grossa females by estimating the number of male parents. We observed the presence of secondary females in 35.9% of monitored families. The behaviors characterized suggest the occurrence of brood parasitism in the interaction between both females. Nevertheless, all offspring within a family were descendants only of the primary female and a single male, thus showing that A. grossa females are monandrous. The results, taken together with data on the reproductive biology reported for other treehoppers, are consistent with the occurrence of brood parasitism in A. grossa.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to Noemí Rojas-Hernández for her support and advice on DNA extraction and genetic analyses. The financial support of ISP (International Science Program at Uppsala University) through its BOL-01 and LANBIO (Latin American Network for Research on Bioactive Natural Compounds) programs and of IFS (International Foundation for Science) Grant D/5472-1 are gratefully acknowledged. DV thanks Millennium Nucleus of Ecology and Sustainable Management of Oceanic Islands (ESMOI) and CONICYT PIA Apoyo CCTE AFB170008. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their wise and generous suggestions which substantially improved the original version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad Mayor Real Y Pontificia de San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca, Junin esq. Estudiantes # 692, Sucre, Bolivia

    Omar N. Urquizo & C. F. Pinto

  2. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile

    D. Veliz, C. Vega-Retter & H. M. Niemeyer

  3. Núcleo Milenio de Ecología Y Manejo Sustentable de Islas Oceánicas (ESMOI), Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo, Chile

    D. Veliz

  4. Centro de Investigación en Complejidad Social, Facultad de Gobierno, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile

    D. Torrico-Bazoberry

  5. Instituto de Entomología, Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de La Educación, Av. José Pedro Alessandri 774, Santiago, Chile

    L. Flores-Prado

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  1. Omar N. Urquizo
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Correspondence to C. F. Pinto.

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Urquizo, O.N., Veliz, D., Torrico-Bazoberry, D. et al. Reproductive and brood-rearing strategies in Alchisme grossa (Hemiptera: Membracidae): genetic analyses of kinship relationships. Insect. Soc. 67, 347–354 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-020-00776-3

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