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Fighting over defence chemicals disrupts mating behaviour

View ORCID ProfileSarah Catherine Paul, View ORCID ProfileCaroline Müller
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.12.430958
Sarah Catherine Paul
1Chemical Ecology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstr. 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
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  • For correspondence: sarahcatherinepaul@gmail.com
Caroline Müller
1Chemical Ecology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstr. 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
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Abstract

Studies on intraspecific contest behaviour predominantly focus on contests between individuals of the same sex, however contest behaviour is also expected to occur between individuals of the opposite sex including possible mates. Here we investigate potential trade-offs between mating and fighting behaviour in the turnip sawfly (Athalia rosae). Adults of this species collect chemical defence compounds (clerodanoids) directly from plants but also indirectly by nibbling on conspecifics that have already obtained clerodanoids themselves, a highly aggressive behavioural interaction. An A. rosae individual without clerodanoids may therefore be the potential mate or attacker of an individual of the opposite sex that has gained clerodanoids. We paired males and females with or without clerodanoid access and manipulated body mass differences between the sexes via the early life starvation of females. We show that asymmetrical clerodanoid acquisition between male-female pairs causes an increase in agonistic nibbling behaviour, irrespective of sex. Moreover, fighting over clerodanoids disrupted mating behaviour, and the frequency of aggressive nibbling behaviour in these pairs was determined by the comparative body mass of the attacking individual. Our study highlights the vital importance of investigating agonistic intersex interactions not only over mating but also over resources.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4537747

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted February 13, 2021.
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Fighting over defence chemicals disrupts mating behaviour
Sarah Catherine Paul, Caroline Müller
bioRxiv 2021.02.12.430958; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.12.430958
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Fighting over defence chemicals disrupts mating behaviour
Sarah Catherine Paul, Caroline Müller
bioRxiv 2021.02.12.430958; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.12.430958

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