Li Guang-Yun, Li Yu-Chuang, Liu Huai
Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Biosafety and Green Production of Upper Yangtze River (Ministry of Education), Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
Insects. 2024 Mar 29;15(4):236. doi: 10.3390/insects15040236.
Parental care behavior has evolved as a life history strategy to improve reproductive success, particularly in organisms facing challenging environments. However, the variation in maternal care, such as egg-guarding behavior in response to the social environment and the associated ecological consequence of competition, remains largely unknown. This study addresses a gap in current knowledge by examining the plasticity of maternal care behavior in the predatory mite and its impact on offspring survival and intra- and interspecific competition. Our results demonstrated that the reproductive females frequently exhibit egg-guarding behaviors, with enhanced maternal care efforts when the interspecific competitor is present. Egg masses are significantly more vulnerable to predation in the absence of maternal care. Guarding females increased egg survival rates and adversely influenced the survival of both con- and heterospecific competitors, with higher mortality rates being detected. Our findings highlight the ecological significance of maternal care behaviors and suggest that releasing and (Oudemans) together is not recommended for pest management in storage products.
亲代抚育行为已经进化成为一种生活史策略，以提高繁殖成功率，特别是在面临具有挑战性环境的生物中。然而，母体抚育的变化，例如对社会环境做出反应的护卵行为以及竞争的相关生态后果，在很大程度上仍然未知。本研究通过研究捕食螨母体抚育行为的可塑性及其对后代存活以及种内和种间竞争的影响，填补了当前知识的空白。我们的结果表明，繁殖雌螨经常表现出护卵行为，当存在种间竞争者时，母体抚育努力会增强。在没有母体抚育的情况下，卵块更容易受到捕食。护卵雌螨提高了卵的存活率，并对同种和异种竞争者的存活产生了不利影响，检测到更高的死亡率。我们的研究结果突出了母体抚育行为的生态意义，并表明不建议将腐食酪螨和粗脚粉螨一起释放用于储藏产品中的害虫管理。
