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Correlated changes in breeding status and polyunsaturated cuticular hydrocarbons: the chemical basis of nestmate recognition in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides?

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Abstract

Nestmate recognition in eusocial insects has received a lot of attention in the last decades. Recognition in subsocial species, in contrast, has been ignored almost completely and consequently, and little is known about proximate mechanisms of recognition in subsocial systems. We studied one subsocial species, the biparental brood caring burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, an interesting model organism for studies of recognition because of its ability to discriminate between breeding partners and conspecific competitors. Recognition appears to be based on a chemical cue closely linked to the breeding status of individuals. Breeding and non-breeding beetles consistently differ in their relative proportions of polyunsaturated cuticular hydrocarbons. To investigate the function of these polyenes in the burying beetles’ recognition system, we quantified their concentration on the cuticle during the early state of a breeding attempt and tested the response of breeding beetles in corresponding behavioural experiments. We observed a rapid increase in the proportion of polyunsaturated hydrocarbons of both males and females after they were provided with a carcass suitable for reproduction. Furthermore, we found that the relative amount of polyenes on an individual’s surface was closely correlated with its chance of being accepted as breeding partner. Our results support the idea that polyunsaturated hydrocarbons are involved in breeding partner recognition in N. vespilloides, functioning as a signal that conveys information about the individual’s breeding status. Breeding females have greater amount of polyenes than breeding males, and females ingest more carrion during the first days on the carcass, which supports our hypothesis that precursors for the respective polyenes are derived from ingested carrion.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Anne-Katrin Eggert for very helpful comments on the manuscript, Volker Nehring for assistance with R and Wolf Haberer and Thomas Schmitt for technical assistance. All experiments complied with the German laws. The study was supported by a Ph.D. grant from the German National Academic Foundation to S. S. and by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinsachaft to J.K.M (Mu 1175/3-1).

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  1. Department of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 1, 79104, Freiburg, Germany

    Sandra Steiger, Klaus Peschke & Josef K. Müller

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  1. Sandra Steiger
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  2. Klaus Peschke
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  3. Josef K. Müller
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Correspondence to Sandra Steiger.

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Communicated by P. Moore

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Steiger, S., Peschke, K. & Müller, J.K. Correlated changes in breeding status and polyunsaturated cuticular hydrocarbons: the chemical basis of nestmate recognition in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides?. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 62, 1053–1060 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-007-0532-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-007-0532-x

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