Oosorption in response to poor food: complexity in the trade-off between reproduction and survival.

摘要: Plasticity in reproductive physiology is one avenue by which environmental signals, such as poor quality food, can be coordinated with adaptive responses. Insects have the ability to resorb oocytes that are not oviposited. Oosorption proposed an mechanism optimize fitness hostile environments, recouping resources might otherwise lost, and reinvesting them into future potential. We tested hypothesis oosorption evolved females reallocate from current effort survival reproduction, when conditions for reproduction poor, examining life-history outcome under food populations of milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) adapted live on sunflower seed. Females fed a diet pumpkin seeds, known host had higher levels ovarian apoptosis (oosorption), lower output, but no reduction life span nutrition, predicted hypothesis. However, schedule was surprising given “wait reproduce” assumption early fecundity unaffected.