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ViewAttendees 13

PBT

Student Competition 10-Minute Paper

Grad 10-min: PBT, Behavior, Ecology, Climate Change

Adult behavior and nutrition, but not body size, are related to reproductive physiology in a Neotropical paper wasp

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Student Competition On-Demand

Female primitively eusocial paper wasps (Mischocyttarus pallidipectus) perform specific tasks on the nest based on reproductive development, forming behavioral castes where subordinate female workers forage while dominant females remain on the nest. Foraging females return to the nest with both insect prey (high-nitrogen content) and nectar (low-nitrogen content) for the colony, but dominant females are more likely to receive higher value insect prey from foragers, and are often ovary-developed while foragers remain functionally sterile. The goal of this study was to explore the adult mechanisms affecting ovary development in this species. We hypothesized that dominant females would be feeding on a more animal-based diet, as reflected by stable isotope analysis to measure δ15N tissue content. Additionally, dominant females would spend more time on the nest, providing opportunity to take high-value prey items from subordinate foragers. Field-collected behavioral data was used to construct social networks and measure time on nest for each wasp. Ovaries and body sizes were measured via photographs from in-field dissections. Dominant females spent more time on the nest, had better-developed ovaries, and their tissues were significantly more enriched in 15N.  Body size (determined prior to adulthood) did not correspond to ovary development but was related to increased dominance. Additionally, we found that all adult females (regardless of ovary development) were significantly more enriched in δ15N than females in the final pupal stage. Taken together these results suggest adult nutrition impacts ovary development post-emergence in M. pallidipectus.