How coexistence may influence life history: the reproductive strategies of sympatric congeneric terrestrial isopods (Crustacea, Oniscidea)

Author(s)

Zimmermann, Bianca Lais ^{[1, 2]} ; Palaoro, Alexandre Varaschin ^[3] ; Bouchon, Didier ^[4] ; Almerao, Mauricio Pereira ^[5] ; Araujo, Paula Beatriz ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Santa Maria, Programa Posgrad Biodiversidade Anim, Ctr Ciencias Nat & Exatas, Ave Roraima 1000, BR-97105900 Santa Maria, RS - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Programa Posgrad Biol Anim, Dept Zool, Inst Biociencias, Av Bento Goncalves 9500, BR-91501970 Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, LAGE, Dept Ecol, Inst Biociencias, Rua Matao 321 Trav 14, Cid Univ, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Univ Poitiers, CNRS, UMR 7267, Lab Ecol & Biol Interact, Equipe Ecol Evolut Symbi, Batimcnt B8-B35, 5 Rue Albert Turpain, TSA 51106, F-86073 Poitiers 9 - France

^[5] Univ La Salle, Ave Victor Barreto 2288, BR-92010000 Canoas - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY; v. 96, n. 11, p. 1214-1220, NOV 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

Patterns of allocation between reproduction, survival, and maintenance are what we call life history. By investigating the life-history strategy of sympatric species, we may understand how they are able to coexist, as different strategies are expected to evolve in species that occupy similar niche space. Terrestrial isopods are a group in which multiple species frequently inhabit the same area. Notably, they are usually infected by Wolbachia Hertig, 1936, a notorious manipulator of the hosts' reproductive processes. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the investment in reproduction in three sympatric and closely related species of terrestrial isopods: Atlantoscia floridana (Van Name, 1940), Atlantoscia inflata Campos-Filho and Araujo, 2015, and Atlantoscia petronioi Campos-Filho, Contreira and Lopes-Leitzke, 2012, only the latter being infected with Wolbachia. We showed that the presence of the bacteria seems not to affect the fitness of A. petronioi, because there was no clear difference in the reproductive output of infected and noninfected individuals. On the other hand, we observed that the three species possess alternative life-history strategies; that is, they differ in how much they invest in maintenance (body size) and reproductive effort. Such differences probably facilitate the species coexistence, reducing the competition among them. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/22679-3 - Behavioral precursors and the origin of parental care in arthropods
• Grantee: Alexandre Varaschin Palaoro
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral