Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jacqueline Sahm, Madlen A. Prang, Sandra Steiger
Summary: Conflicts over parental investment are common among family members. Offspring have the upper hand in these conflicts, but the presence of a male partner shifts the outcome closer to the parental optimum.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Nikoletta A. Nagy, Rita Racz, Oliver Rimington, Szilard Poliska, Pablo Orozco-terWengel, Michael W. Bruford, Zoltan Barta
Summary: This study presents the draft genome of Lethrus apterus, a species with biparental care behavior, and identifies reproduction related genes which could advance our understanding of the genetic basis and evolution of parental behavior through further comparative and functional genomic research.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Stephen T. Trumbo
Summary: Biparental associations are rare in most taxa. In the context of intruder pressure, Nicrophorus defodiens pairs show better breeding performance and produce larger broods than single females. Age also plays a significant role in contest outcomes. Paternal care behaviors are observed primarily when there is a mating opportunity or for offspring success.
Article
Entomology
Matthew Schrader, Jack Galanek
Summary: The study examines the importance of communication, specifically stridulation, in parental care among burying beetles. Through experiments on two Nicrophorus species, it was found that stridulation does not play a significant role in mating or coordinating parental care in at least two species, raising doubts about its long-assumed function in the genus.
ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Akira Ueda
Summary: This study provides evidence of competitive exclusion across phyla, showing that the small Indian mongoose has caused the local extinction of the burying beetle on Okinawa Island in Japan.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Christopher B. Cunningham, Daven Khana, Annika Carter, Elizabeth C. McKinney, Allen J. Moore
Summary: This study examines the genetic influences on parental behavior in a beetle species, finding associations between serotonin receptors and social/aggression behaviors, as well as a complex pattern of octopamine receptor expression over the reproductive cycle. Dopamine was not associated with the sampled behavioral transitions, while the glutamate receptor was most consistent with resource defense/aggression behavior changes.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Tom Ratz, Lyndon Leissle, Per T. Smiseth
Summary: The presence of conspecific intruders had no effect on the duration of biparental care relative to uniparental care, indicating no shift towards more cooperation. However, females responded to the presence of conspecific intruders by increasing their time spent providing one form of care, but only when breeding on larger resources. Therefore, the presence of intruders altered the magnitude of sex differences in care and depended on the amount of resources available for breeding.
Article
Biology
Fumei Chen, Buguo Ma, Yongda Lin, Xin Luo, Tao Xu, Yuan Zhang, Fang Chen, Yanfei Li, Yaoyao Zhang, Bin Luo, Qingmei Zhang, Xiaoxun Xie
Summary: This study analyzed the protein levels of maternal proteins in mouse uniparental and biparental embryos, revealing dynamic changes in protein expression and different fates for maternal proteins. The study also discovered a set of maternal proteins correlated with the subcortical maternal complex and identified a new maternal factor-Fbxw24, which plays an important role in early embryonic development.
Article
Ecology
Parker Hughes, Lucille J. Rudman, Matthew Schrader
Summary: Inbreeding depression occurs when closely related individuals mate and produce offspring with reduced fitness. Environmental conditions and parental effects can influence the magnitude of inbreeding depression. This study found that size-based parental effects influenced the magnitude of inbreeding depression in burying beetles. Parental body size affected larval mass, but had no effect on survival from larval dispersal to adult emergence. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms behind these findings.
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Christian O. Ayala-Ortiz, Jacob W. Farriester, Carrie J. Pratt, Anna K. Goldkamp, Jessica Matts, W. Wyatt Hoback, John E. Gustafson, Darren E. Hagen
Summary: The study aimed to investigate how the presence or absence of a food source affects gene expression in N. pustulatus. It was found that after feeding, there were as many as 651 differentially expressed genes, including those associated with insect immune response and detoxification processes. Additionally, it was discovered that N. pustulatus does not upregulate the production of genes encoding antimicrobial peptides during feeding.
Article
Ecology
Matthew Schrader, Parker Hughes, Samuel Jenkins, Ian Kusher, Jonathan Lopez, Harriet Oglesby, Katie E. McGhee
Summary: Parental care can reduce inbreeding depression in some species, but it is unclear whether variation in parental care impacts the magnitude of inbreeding depression. This study tested whether age-related changes in parental care influence the expression of inbreeding depression in burying beetles. The results showed that despite age-related changes in parental investment and the existence of inbreeding depression, there was no evidence that an interaction between the two influenced the measured traits.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shun Satoh, Redouan Bshary, Momoko Shibasaki, Seishiro Inaba, Shumpei Sogawa, Takashi Hotta, Satoshi Awata, Masanori Kohda
Summary: Through experiments on monogamous fish with biparental care, it is found that male fish show prosocial behavior towards their long-term mates and stranger females, but tend to make antisocial choices if their mates are present or if another male is the potential recipient. Cooperative species, such as humans, can exhibit both spontaneous prosocial and antisocial behaviors depending on their social relationships with conspecifics and the overall social context.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Nikoletta A. Nagy, Zoltan Nemeth, Edit Juhasz, Szilard Poliska, Rita Racz, Johanna Kiss, Andras Kosztolanyi, Zoltan Barta
Summary: In the beetle Lethrus apterus, inotocin may be involved in the regulation of parental care, as its expression levels increase over the reproductive season, with no differences found between sexes.
JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Georgia A. Lambert, Per T. Smiseth
Summary: Studies have shown a trade-off between current and future reproduction, with increased allocation to current reproduction resulting in a reduction in future offspring. This study investigates this trade-off in burying beetles, a species that provides parental care. The results suggest that increased allocation to current reproduction does not affect future ability to provide care in this species.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Stephen T. Trumbo, Paula K. B. Philbrick, Johannes Stoekl, Sandra Steiger
Summary: The study found that burying beetle parents manipulate microbial cues by preparing carcasses, making information more private and providing misleading information to competitors. Functional tests in the field demonstrated that this behavior reduced the discovery and use by congeners and competitors.
AMERICAN NATURALIST
(2021)
