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The effect of W olbachia on the lifetime reproductive success of its insect host in the field
Author(s) -
Segoli M.,
Stouthamer R.,
Stouthamer C. M.,
RugmanJones P.,
Rosenheim J. A.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/jeb.12264
Subject(s) - biology , host (biology) , parasitoid , parthenogenesis , wolbachia , reproductive success , reproduction , zoology , insect , population , ecology , fecundity , genetics , demography , embryo , sociology
W olbachia is a widespread endosymbiont that induces dramatic manipulations of its host's reproduction. Although there has been substantial progress in the developing theory for W olbachia –host interactions and in measuring the effects of Wolbachia on host fitness in the laboratory, there is a widely recognized need to quantify the effects of W olbachia on the host fitness in the field. The wasp A nagrus sophiae , an egg parasitoid of planthoppers, carries a W olbachia strain that induces parthenogenesis, but its effects on the fitness of its A nagrus host are unknown. We developed a method to estimate the realized lifetime reproductive success of female wasps by collecting them soon after they die naturally in the field, counting the number of eggs remaining in their ovaries and quantifying W olbachia density in their body. We sampled from a highly infected A . sophiae population and found no evidence for W olbachia virulence and possible evidence for positive effects of W olbachia on realized reproductive success.