Behavioural side-effects of insecticide resistance in aphids increase their vulnerability to parasitoid attack

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Foster, S. P., Tomiczek, M., Thompson, R., Denholm, I., Poppy, G. M., Kraaijeveld, A. R. and Powell, W. 2007. Behavioural side-effects of insecticide resistance in aphids increase their vulnerability to parasitoid attack. Animal Behaviour. 74 (3), pp. 621-632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.12.018

AuthorsFoster, S. P., Tomiczek, M., Thompson, R., Denholm, I., Poppy, G. M., Kraaijeveld, A. R. and Powell, W.
Abstract

Previous studies using the aphid Myzus persicae have shown that strong heritable variability in a defence behaviour, response to aphid alarm pheromone, is consistently associated with the possession of two insecticide resistance mechanisms. Insecticide-susceptible and -resistant aphids therefore provide the ideal biological material for testing the hypothesis that interactions with the third trophic level (parasitoids) can play a significant inhibitory role in the evolution of adaptive traits at the second trophic level (aphids), based on a fitness trade-off between resistance to insecticides and avoidance of parasitism through defence behaviour. Eight parthenogenetic M. persicae clones, representing different insecticide resistance genotypes, were exposed to alarm pheromone to confirm their level of response. Observations of these clones during periods of exposure to adult female parasitoids, Diaeretiella rapae, were then made in small-scale arenas in the presence and absence of measured amounts of alarm pheromone. Clones showing a consistently high alarm response (insecticide-susceptible forms) displayed a range of behaviours during and after parasitoid attack that were significantly associated with greater survival (avoidance of parasitism) compared with aphids showing a low alarm response (insecticide-resistant forms). Furthermore, this culminated in the latter suffering significantly higher levels of mummification. These data not only provide important empirical evidence that a normal (wild-type) high aphid alarm response reduces vulnerability to parasitoid attack but also represent the first example of insecticide resistance genes having negative pleiotropic effects on fitness by producing maladaptive behaviours in the context of selection imposed by a higher trophic level.

Keywordsaphid; aphid alarm pheromone; fitness trade-off; insecticide resistance; Myzus persicae; parasitoids
Year of Publication2007
JournalAnimal Behaviour
Journal citation74 (3), pp. 621-632
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.12.018
Open accessPublished as non-open access
Funder project or codeCentre for Sustainable Pest and Disease Management (PDM)
Centre for Mathematical and Computational Biology (MCB)
Research in statistics relevant to biological processes
Ecological and behavioural side-effects affecting the evolution of insecticide resistance in the aphid Myzus persicae
Livelihoods improved in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online23 Aug 2007
Publication process dates
Accepted09 Dec 2006
Copyright licensePublisher copyright
ISSN0003-3472
PublisherAcademic Press Ltd- Elsevier Science Ltd

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