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Can the "challenge hypothesis" be applied to insects?
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Waterbury, CT 06702, USA. trumbo@uconn.edu
Hormones and Behavior
|December 23, 2006
Summary
Juvenile hormone (JH) did not affect dominance in burying beetles during competition for resources. Interspecific differences in JH response to social challenges may not be explained by the challenge hypothesis.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Ecology
- Endocrinology
- Insect Biology
Background:
- The challenge hypothesis, initially for testosterone in vertebrates, was extended to insect juvenile hormone (JH).
- Previous studies showed JH increases with social challenge in Nicrophorus orbicollis but not N. pustulatus.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test if juvenile hormone (JH) influences dominance in burying beetles.
- To investigate interspecific differences in JH response to social challenges.
Main Methods:
- Topical application of JH III to competing female burying beetles before resource presentation.
- Assessing carcass ownership and reproductive success in intraspecific and interspecific trials.
Main Results:
- JH supplementation did not affect dominance in N. orbicollis or during competition with N. pustulatus.
- N. pustulatus increasingly dominated N. orbicollis over time, irrespective of JH levels.
- Reproductive success was not altered by JH supplementation.
Conclusions:
- The challenge hypothesis, as applied to testosterone, may not directly translate to juvenile hormone (JH) in insects.
- Burying beetle dominance dynamics appear independent of JH manipulation in this context.
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