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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Macroecology of parental care in arthropods: higher mortality risk leads to higher benefits of offspring protection in tropical climates

Full text
Author(s):
Santos, Eduardo S. A. ; Bueno, Pedro P. ; Gilbert, James D. J. ; Machado, Glauco
Total Authors: 4
Document type: Journal article
Source: BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS; v. 92, n. 3, p. 1688-1701, AUG 2017.
Web of Science Citations: 11
Abstract

The intensity of biotic interactions varies around the world, in such a way that mortality risk imposed by natural enemies is usually higher in the tropics. A major role of offspring attendance is protection against natural enemies, so the benefits of this behaviour should be higher in tropical regions. We tested this macroecological prediction with a meta-regression of field experiments in which the mortality of guarded and unguarded broods was compared in arthropods. Mortality of unguarded broods was higher, and parental care was more beneficial, in warmer, less seasonal environments. Moreover, in these same environments, additional lines of defence further reduced offspring mortality, implying that offspring attendance alone is not enough to deter natural enemies in tropical regions. These results help to explain the high frequency of parental care among tropical species and how biotic interactions influence the occurrence of parental care over large geographic scales. Finally, our findings reveal that additional lines of defences - an oftentimes neglected component of parental care - have an important effect on the covariation between the benefits of parental care and the climate-mediated mortality risk imposed by natural enemies. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 12/50229-1 - Macroecology of sexual selection: large-scale influence of climate on sexually selected traits
Grantee:Glauco Machado
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
FAPESP's process: 15/10448-4 - Interplay between paternal care and sexual selection in harvestmen
Grantee:Glauco Machado
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
FAPESP's process: 12/20468-4 - Neotropical dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata): a study system for the macro-ecology of sexual selection
Grantee:Eduardo da Silva Alves dos Santos
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
FAPESP's process: 12/10167-7 - Macroecology of parental care in arthropods: with many enemies comes great responsability to the parents
Grantee:Pedro Penna Bueno
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation