Biology subjects

Batsleer, F.

Publications and source records attributed to Batsleer, F..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Honest cues contribute to male choice for female guarding in a herbivorous spider mite.

Mate choice is a wide-spread phenomenon with important effects on ecological and evolutionary dynamics of successive generations. Increasing evidence shows that males can choose females if females vary in quality and these mating choices can strongly impact fitness. In the herbivorous spider mite Tetranychus urticae males engage in precopulatory mate guarding of quiescent females, and it is known that females vary in their time to sexual maturity and fecundity. However, our understanding of how males maximize their reproductive success and which female phenotypic traits are important cues for their mating decisions are still limited. In many arthropod species, female body size and pheromones are well known proxies for fecundity. These traits--and thus possibly male mating decisions--are however sensitive to environmental (dietary) stress. By allowing males to freely choose amongst many (synchronized) females in a controlled semi natural environment, we found that guarded females have a higher fecundity and are closer to sexual maturity than non-guarded females. Despite the fact that female body size was positively correlated with fecundity and significantly influenced by the environment, males did not discriminate on body size nor did we find evidence that they used other cues like cuticular pheromones or copying behavior (social cues). In conclusion we were able to show male mate preference for females that are closer to sexual maturity and have higher fecundity, but we were unable to identify the female traits that signal this information

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2021

Biomorphogenic feedbacks and the spatial organisation of a dominant grass steer dune development

Nature-based solutions to mitigate the impact of future climate change depend on restoring biological diversity and natural processes. Coastal foredunes represent the most important natural flood barriers along coastlines worldwide, but their area has been squeezed dramatically because of a continuing urbanisation of coastlines, especially in Europe. Dune development is steered by the development of vegetation in interaction with sand fluxes from the beach. Marram grass (Calamagrostis arenaria, formerly Ammophila arenaria) is the main dune building species along most European coasts, but also in other continents where the species was introduced. Engineering of coastal dunes, for instance by building dunes in front of dikes, needs to be based on a solid understanding of the species interactions with the environment. Only quantitative approaches enable the further development of mechanistic models and coastal management strategies that encapsulate these biomorphogenic interactions. We here provide a quantitative review of the main biotic and physical interactions that affect marram grass performance, their interactions with sand fluxes and how they eventually shape dune development. Our review highlights that the species spatial organisation is central to dune development. We further demonstrate this importance by means of remote sensing and a mechanistic model and provide an outlook for further research on the use of coastal dunes as a nature-based solution for coastal protection.

ecology↗