Maternal adjustment of the sex ratio in broods of the broad-horned flour beetle, Gnathocerus cornutus.

Integrative and Comparative Biology
Tami Cruickshank, Michael J Wade

Abstract

We report that females of the broad-horned flour beetle, Gnathocerus cornutus, can plastically adjust the sex ratio in their broods in response to environmental quality. Specifically, females reared in nutritionally poor environments produce broods that are 65% female, on average, with the degree of female-bias in some broods approaching 95%. In addition, females reared in nutritionally poor environments lay significantly more eggs than do females reared on standard medium, which produce broods with an even sex ratio. These effects of the mother's environment on size and sex ratio in broods are manifest even when oviposition occurs in the standard nutritional environment; indeed, the degree of female-bias increases with advancing female age despite the availability of nutritional resources to females at the time of egg laying. Our studies rule out sex-specific differences in viability early in larval development as the mechanism for the bias in sex-ratio of broods, since females reared in nutritionally poor environments have broods with hatchability and larval viability comparable to those of nonstressed females. Our studies also rule out an effect of the sire on the sex ratio in broods, since all male mates were reared on stan...Continue Reading

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Citations

Sep 26, 2015·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Isobel BooksmytheMichael D Jennions
Sep 25, 2019·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·Guillaume J Dury, Michael J Wade

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