After all, what do wasps want? The choice of sexual partner in the paper wasps Polistes

• Ano de defesa: 2015
• Autor(a) principal: Souza, André Rodrigues de
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de Viçosa
• Palavras-chave em Português: Vespa - Reprodução; Vespa - Seleção sexual; Sinais químicos; Comportamento Animal
• Link de acesso: http://www.locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/8429

The choice of sexual partner is of fundamental importance, as there are deep consequences for the animal fitness. This is particularly important when females are genetically monogamic and must store male sperm for a long time and when incestuous copulations may increase probability for the expression of recessive deleterious alleles. Social paper wasps like Polistes fit this situation, but surprisingly little is known about how sexual selection operates in this taxon. Here, we examine proximal and ultimate causes involved in the choice of sexual partner in Polistes paper wasps. We conducted laboratory assays with Polistes simillimus to examine if male visual ornamentation mediates female choice. Also, we examined in the field wether visual ornamentation in Polistes dominula males is used to mediate male- male competition. Finally, we examined, under laboratory conditions, the occurrence of intersexual nestmate discimination by chemical cues in Polistes versicolor. The results suggest that mate choice is a widespread phenomena in Polistes; It is mediated by visual and chemical information; and fitness benefits associated with male individual quality and genetic compatibility are likely candidates to explain the ultimade causes for the evolution of mate choice in these wasps.