Award details

Chemical mediation of contest behaviour in parasitoid wasps

Reference	BB/C504778/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Dr Ian Hardy
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Dr Robert Linforth, Professor Andrew Taylor
Institution	University of Nottingham
Department	Sch of Biosciences
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	206,371
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	18/10/2004
End date	17/11/2007
Duration	37 months

Abstract

Recent theoretical and empirical studies of animal contests and related behaviours have focussed on the importance of signals for mutual assessment and conflict resolution. Empirical work has elucidated the importance of, and information conveyed by, olfactory cues in areas such as social dominance and territoriality. Chemical analyses have, however, been subsequent rather than simultaneous to behaviour observations. This project will use a technique we have recently developed to provide real-time tracking and analysis of volatile chemical release during behavioural interactions of intact animals. Coupled with ethological descriptions of visually observed behaviours and appropriate statistical analyses, this provides a powerful and novel methodology to explore the function and roles of volatile chemical signals, such as those that we have recently discovered to be released during female-female contests in several species of parasitoid wasps. We will, for example, evaluate how volatile release and detection relate to the probability of winning, whether volatile release co-occurs with particular behaviours and whether release acts as a means of mutual assessment that affect contest duration. We will also identify and exploit further uses of real-time volatile analysis in pure and applied animal behaviour. This will begin with evaluation of the influence of volatiles on parasitoid dispersal in the context of optimal sex allocation decisions, and with identification of improvements to the release strategy of mass-reared parasitoids in a biological pest control programme.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Animal Sciences (AS)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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