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Insects
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Behavioural Variability
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Behavioural Variability

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Behavior and Pathology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 20522

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Iago Sanmartin-Villar

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
ECOEVO Lab, Universidade de Vigo, Escola de Enxeñaría Forestal, Campus A Xunqueira, Pontevedra, Spain
Interests: adaptation; behaviour; cognition; decision-making; evolution; invasive species
Dr. Adolfo Cordero-Rivera

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ECOEVO Lab, Escola de Enxeñaría Forestal, Campus A Xunqueira, Universidade de Vigo, 36005 Pontevedra, Spain
Interests: behavioral ecology; ethology; conservation biology; Odonata; aquatic insects; rivers; ponds; amphibians; freshwater turtles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, we consider behaviour as a malleable phenotypic trait, which contributes to adaptation, and thus a driver of population dynamics and evolutionary processes. Animal behaviour also has direct applications to human interests such as pest control, conservation biology, and technology improvement.  

Behavioural variability is currently considered one of the biodiversity levels (ethodiversity) that allow the development of different strategies within and between species, but this kind of diversity is still poorly considered in conservation programmes. Behaviours can be lost due to environmental changes and with them, the opportunity to survive for the species involved and for those dependent on them and to maintain the supply of the ecosystem services from which our socioeconomics depends.

We strongly encourage all possible works related to behaviour variability in this Special Issue as another kind of variability that could help us to better understand our world, to deal with the present problems, and to be prepared for the ones that will arrive.

Keywords

  • consistency
  • experiences
  • life history
  • ontogeny
  • pattern
  • peace of life

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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13 pages, 2253 KiB  
Article
Sex-Specific Effect of the Dietary Protein to Carbohydrate Ratio on Personality in the Dubia Cockroach
by Sofia Bouchebti, Fernando Cortés-Fossati, Ángela Vales Estepa, Maria Plaza Lozano, Daniel S. Calovi and Sara Arganda
Insects 2022, 13(2), 133; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13020133 - 27 Jan 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4977
Abstract
Animal personality, defined by behavioral variations among individuals consistent over contexts or time, is shaped by genetic and environmental factors. Among these factors, nutrition can play an important role. The Geometric Framework of Nutrition has promoted a better understanding of the role of [...] Read more.
Animal personality, defined by behavioral variations among individuals consistent over contexts or time, is shaped by genetic and environmental factors. Among these factors, nutrition can play an important role. The Geometric Framework of Nutrition has promoted a better understanding of the role of the macronutrient proportion in animal development, survival, reproduction, and behavior, and can help to disentangle its modulatory effect on animal personality. In this study, we investigated the effects of protein to carbohydrate (P:C) ratio in the personality of the cockroach Blaptica dubia. Newly emerged adults were fed over a period of eight weeks on five different diets varying in their P:C ratio and their diet consumption, mass variation, survival, exploratory behavior, and mobility were assessed. We found that females, unlike males, were able to regulate their nutrient intake and preferred carbohydrate-rich diets. Females also gained more body mass and lived longer compared to males. In addition, their behavior and mobility were not affected by the diet. In males, however, high-protein diets induced a bolder personality. We suggest that the sex-specific effects observed on both survival and behavior are related to the nutrient intake regulation capacity and might improve the species’ fitness in adverse nutritional conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioural Variability)
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15 pages, 2300 KiB  
Article
Behavior of Nymphs and Adults of the Black-Legged Tick Ixodes scapularis and the Lone Star Tick Ambylomma americanum in Response to Thermal Stimuli
by Fernando Otálora-Luna, Joseph C. Dickens, Jory Brinkerhoff and Andrew Y. Li
Insects 2022, 13(2), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13020130 - 26 Jan 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4637
Abstract
Ticks use chemical and thermal signals emitted by humans and other vertebrates to locate suitable hosts for a blood meal. Here, we study the behavior of black-legged Ixodes scapularis and the lone star ticks Amblyomma americanum exposed to heat sources held at temperatures [...] Read more.
Ticks use chemical and thermal signals emitted by humans and other vertebrates to locate suitable hosts for a blood meal. Here, we study the behavior of black-legged Ixodes scapularis and the lone star ticks Amblyomma americanum exposed to heat sources held at temperatures near those of vertebrate hosts (32 °C). First, we used a locomotion compensator to test behavioral responses of ticks to an infrared light emitting diode (LED). The servosphere allowed us to measure parameters such as velocity, acceleration, linearity, and orientation. Then a heating element (Peltier) located in one of the extremes of a double-choice vertical rod (flying T), was employed to observe upward movement of the ticks toward such a heat source. While both species oriented toward the LED, only lone star ticks were attracted to the Peltier element while climbing upward. In conclusion, we showed that heat attracted ticks from short distances up to several centimeters on a the servosphere, and those responses differed between the two species of ticks on the flying T. We discuss our results in the context of the ecology of both tick species and their potential in tick survey and management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioural Variability)
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20 pages, 1445 KiB  
Article
Multiple Mating of Aphelinus asychis Enhance the Number of Female Progeny but Shorten the Longevity
by Shengyin Wang, Libo Wang, Jiawen Liu, Dayu Zhang and Tongxian Liu
Insects 2021, 12(9), 823; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12090823 - 14 Sep 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2908
Abstract
The Aphelinus asychis female adult is an important arrhenotocous parthenogenesis parasitoid of Myzus persicae, and its reproductive mode is beneficial for the population continuation of A. asychis by way of multiple mating and backcross. To explore the effect of mating on the [...] Read more.
The Aphelinus asychis female adult is an important arrhenotocous parthenogenesis parasitoid of Myzus persicae, and its reproductive mode is beneficial for the population continuation of A. asychis by way of multiple mating and backcross. To explore the effect of mating on the population fitness and control efficiency of A. asychis, its mating frequency and backcross were observed under laboratory conditions. The results showed that most matings in A. asychis involved four distinct stages: courtship, pre-copulatory, copulation, and post-copulatory behaviours. Only the duration of courtship increased significantly with an increase in copulation frequency for females, and the courtship duration of A. asychis females mated with different males were significantly shorter than those mated with the same male at the same mating times, which suggested that A. asychis females might prefer to mate with different males to enrich the genotype of their offspring. The total number of mummified aphids and the female and male longevity decreased significantly with an increase in mating frequency. On the contrary, female progenies increased significantly with an increase of mating frequency, suggesting that sperm limitation might occur in females when they only mated once. These results imply that females might prefer to receive more sperm by mating multiple times in their life span. In addition, we found that the intrinsic rate of increase (r) of A. asychis of the control group (0.2858 d−1) was significantly greater than that in the backcross treatment (0.2687 d−1). The finite killing rate (θ) of A. asychis of the control group was similar to that in the backcross treatment, which showed that this treatment had a negligible negative effect on the control efficiency of A. asychis. In conclusion, the results showed that multiple mating increased the number and proportion of A. asychis female progenies but shortened the longevity of female and male adults, while the negative effect of backcross on the control efficiency of A. asychis was negligible. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioural Variability)
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12 pages, 1668 KiB  
Article
Intrasexual Vibrational Behavior of Philaenus spumarius in Semi-Field Conditions
by Imane Akassou, Sabina Avosani, Valentina Caorsi, Vincenzo Verrastro, Marco Ciolli and Valerio Mazzoni
Insects 2021, 12(7), 584; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12070584 - 28 Jun 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2756
Abstract
Insects that communicate by vibrational signals live in a complex interactive network of communication. Most studies on insect intrasexual behavior, based on plant-borne vibrational signals, have targeted few individuals. Despite their importance, behaviors that occur within groups were often overlooked. The study of [...] Read more.
Insects that communicate by vibrational signals live in a complex interactive network of communication. Most studies on insect intrasexual behavior, based on plant-borne vibrational signals, have targeted few individuals. Despite their importance, behaviors that occur within groups were often overlooked. The study of multiple individuals, when insects occur in high density could simulate the environment in which they live and provide more reliable information on their behavior. In semi-field conditions, we investigated the intrasexual behavior of the meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius. Vibrational signals exchanged among individuals of the same sex were recorded throughout their adult stage, from late spring to early autumn, and during the day, from the morning to the evening using a laser vibrometer. Males were less active than females throughout the season and their interactions were less frequent compared to females. Intrasexual interactions were characterized by signal overlapping in both unisex groups, in addition to signal alternating only in the case of males. In conclusion, the study of signaling behavior in intrasexual groups contributed to a better understanding of P. spumarius social behavior. We discuss the hypothesis of a possible competitive behavior between males and cooperative behavior between females. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioural Variability)
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20 pages, 1708 KiB  
Article
Body Size and Behavioural Plasticity Interact to Influence the Performance of Free-Foraging Bumble Bee Colonies
by Jacob G. Holland, Shinnosuke Nakayama, Maurizio Porfiri, Oded Nov and Guy Bloch
Insects 2021, 12(3), 236; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12030236 - 10 Mar 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3750
Abstract
Specialisation and plasticity are important for many forms of collective behaviour, but the interplay between these factors is little understood. In insect societies, workers are often developmentally primed to specialise in different tasks, sometimes with morphological or physiological adaptations, facilitating a division of [...] Read more.
Specialisation and plasticity are important for many forms of collective behaviour, but the interplay between these factors is little understood. In insect societies, workers are often developmentally primed to specialise in different tasks, sometimes with morphological or physiological adaptations, facilitating a division of labour. Workers may also plastically switch between tasks or vary their effort. The degree to which developmentally primed specialisation limits plasticity is not clear and has not been systematically tested in ecologically relevant contexts. We addressed this question in 20 free-foraging bumble bee (Bombus terrestris) colonies by continually manipulating colonies to contain either a typically diverse, or a reduced (“homogeneous”), worker body size distribution while keeping the same mean body size, over two trials. Pooling both trials, diverse colonies produced a larger comb mass, an index of colony performance. The link between body size and task was further corroborated by the finding that foragers were larger than nurses even in homogeneous colonies with a very narrow body size range. However, the overall effect of size diversity stemmed mostly from one trial. In the other trial, homogeneous and diverse colonies showed comparable performance. By comparing behavioural profiles based on several thousand observations of individuals, we found evidence that workers in homogeneous colonies in this trial rescued colony performance by plastically increasing behavioural specialisation and/or individual effort, compared to same-sized individuals in diverse colonies. Our results are consistent with a benefit to colonies of large and small specialists under certain conditions, but also suggest that plasticity or effort can compensate for reduced (size-related) specialisation. Thus, we suggest that an intricate interplay between specialisation and plasticity is functionally adaptive in bumble bee colonies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Behavioural Variability)
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