WASP FIGHTS

Metabolomics and contest behaviour in parasitoid wasps

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Animal contests are widely studied by animal behaviourists and behavioural ecologists and there is a well developed framework for evaluating their functional significance. Parasitoid wasps in the family Bethylidae have proven ideal organisms to test predictive models (all of the predicted major influences on contest outcome-fighting ability, prior ownership and the way that individuals value possession of the contested resource - have now been successfully explored) and also in linking contests to other areas of basic (e.g. clutch size) and applied (e.g. biological pest control) areas of animal behaviour study. The link between nutritional/physiological state and contest behaviour has rarely been fully explored. The purpose of this proposal is to evaluate a range of nutrients derived from diverse food sources (nectar and the parasitoid’s host) and their influences on contest behaviours and outcomes. It is expected that particular nutrients may affect contest ability (termed Resource Holding Potential) whereas others may influence the value of the resource to a contestant. The relative importance, and interactions between these contrasting effects, will be explored. Identification and manipulation of key nutrients (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and other metabolites) will be achieved by metabolomic analysis and other analytical and biochemical methods. The influence of nutritional state on contest behaviour will be assessed by behavioral observations. The cost of fighting behavior as influenced by nutritional state will be evaluated by real–time respirometry. The interdisciplinary approach of the proposed project will provide training opportunities in a range of modern techniques new to the researcher (metabolomics, NMR spectroscopy, biochemical methods) whereas will provide a new dimension to the understanding of dyadic animal contests by investigating the effect of variation in nutritional state between competing individuals'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Ecologists used parasitoid wasps to conduct experiments into animal contests. The purpose was to study the effect of nutrition on competing individuals and how it influenced the contest's outcome.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

To test predictive models of animal behaviour, including the outcome of fights, ecologists study parasitoid wasps of the family Bethylidae. Scientists have explored how prior ownership and the way individuals value possession of the contested resource influence a fight's outcome.

Bethylidae generally feed on nectar and on the host organisms that they parasitise. However, the influence of diet on contest behaviour and outcomes has not been examined before. Therefore, the 'Metabolomics and contest behaviour in parasitoid wasps' (WASP FIGHTS) project studied the influence of nutrition and physiological state on the outcome of fights.

More specifically, the aim of the EU-funded study was to determine the influence of a range of nutrients from diverse food sources. Researchers predicted that certain nutrients could influence the wasps' ability in contests (referred to as resource-holding potential). Other nutrients were expected to influence the value of the resource to the contestants. WASP FIGHTS therefore explored the importance and interactions between these contrasting effects.

Contests were staged between wasps fed on different diets, and the roles of carbohydrate-rich (e.g. honey) and protein-rich (yeast) diets were explored. Results indicated that parasitoid contest behaviour was weakly influenced by diet. They showed that diet is more closely related to resource value than to resource-holding potential.

WASP FIGHTS developed a methodology based on use of metabolomics and behavioural observations for exploring the effects of physiological/metabolic status on animal contests. In addition, a methodology was developed for metabolite profiling of individual parasitoid wasps.

Techniques developed by the WASP FIGHTS initiative will prove valuable to prospective physiological and ecological studies. The work will also have important implications for pest control in the future.