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More highly female‐biased sex ratio in the fig wasp, Blastophaga nipponica Grandi (Agaonidae)
Author(s) -
Kinoshita Motoaki,
Kasuya Eiiti,
Yahara Tetsukazu
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
population ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1438-390X
pISSN - 1438-3896
DOI - 10.1007/bf02763409
Subject(s) - sex ratio , biology , competition (biology) , pollinator , zoology , ecology , demography , pollination , pollen , population , sociology
The sex ratio of the pollinator fig wasp, Blastophaga nipponica Grandi (Agaonidae), was examined in an experiment manipulating the number of foundresses. The sex ratio of B. nipponica was conditional on the number of foundresses and corresponded to the qualitative prediction of the local mate competition (LMC) theory that the proportion of males increases as foundress number increases. However, the sex ratio of B. nipponica was consistently more female‐biased than predicted by extended LMC theories that incorporated effects of inbreeding, and these deviations were statistically significant. Plausible factors that would make predictions more female‐biased are discussed.