Kapranas, Apostolos and Zenner, Annemie N.R.L. and Mangan, Rosie and Griffin, Christine (2020) Objective and subjective components of resource value in lethal fights between male entomopathogenic nematodes. Animal Behaviour, 164. pp. 149-154. ISSN 0003-3472

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Abstract

Males sometimes engage in fights over contested resources such as access to mates; in this case, fighting behaviour may be adjusted based on the value they place on the females. Resource value (RV) can have two components. First, males can assess the quality of females, which constitutes an objective assessment of RV. Second, internal state such as previous mating experience can also influence motivation to fight thus constituting a subjective assessment of RV. If mating opportunities are scarce and available females have a major impact on the lifetime reproductive success of males, then fighting can be fatal; in this situation it is uncertain whether males would adjust fighting behaviour based on RV. We found that both female quality, that is, virginity (objective component of RV) and male mating status (subjective component of RV) influenced fighting intensity between males of the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema longicaudum which engage in lethal fights. Male nematodes were more likely to engage in fighting and fought longer and more frequently in the presence of virgin (high-quality) females than in the presence of mated (lower-quality) females. Male mating status was also found to influence fighting behaviour: mated males were the winners in staged fights between mated and virgin males. Mated males may have superior fighting ability (greater resource-holding potential), but RV asymmetries between mated and virgin males cannot be excluded. Males were more likely to win when they were resident, but we did not find a significant interaction effect between male mating and residency status.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	entomopathogenic nematodes; female quality; lethal fights; male mating status; resource value;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > Biology
Item ID:	14971
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.04.015
Depositing User:	Dr. Christine Griffin
Date Deposited:	08 Nov 2021 11:43
Journal or Publication Title:	Animal Behaviour
Publisher:	Elsevier
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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