10.5061/DRYAD.V811C
Reavey, Catherine E.
Queen's University Belfast
Warnock, Neil D.
Queen's University Belfast
Vogel, Heiko
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Cotter, Sheena C.
Queen's University Belfast
Data from: Trade-offs between personal immunity and reproduction in the
burying beetle, N. vespilloides
Dryad
dataset
2014
phenoloxidase
Wounding
Juvenile Hormone
Nicrophorus vespilloides
ecological immunology
Immunity
2014-12-12T00:00:00Z
2014-12-12T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/art127
95539 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
We know that parental investment and immune investment are costly
processes, but it is unclear which trait will be prioritized when both may
be required. Here, we address this question using the burying beetle
Nicrophorus vespilloides, carrion breeders that exhibit biparental care of
young. Our results show that immunosuppression occurs during provision of
parental care. We measured phenoloxidase (PO) on Days 1–8 of the breeding
bout and results show a clear decrease in PO immediately from presentation
of the breeding resource onward. Having established baseline immune
investment during breeding we then manipulated immune investment at
different times by applying a wounding challenge. Beetles were wounded
prior to and during the parental care period and reproductive investment
quantified. Different effects on reproductive output occur depending on
the timing of wounding. Challenging the immune system with wounding prior
to breeding does not affect reproductive output and subsequent lifetime
reproductive success (LRS). LRS is also unaffected by applying an immune
elicitor prior to breeding, though different arms of the immune system are
up/downregulated, perhaps indicating a trade-off between cellular and
humoral immunity. In contrast, wounding during breeding reduces
reproductive output and to the greatest extent if the challenge is applied
early in the breeding bout. Despite being immunosuppressed, breeding
beetles can still respond to wounding by increasing PO, albeit not to
prebreeding levels. This upregulation of PO during breeding may affect
parental investment, resulting in a reduction in reproductive output. The
potential role of juvenile hormone in controlling this trade-off is
discussed.
Constitutive Immunity During BreedingData for Experiment 1LRSData for
Experiment 2bStimulating the Immune System AMPData for Experiment
2aStimulating the Immune System POR script for Experiment 2aStimulating
the Immune System POData for Experiment 2aImmune Upregulation During
BreedingData for Experiment 3aWounding whilst breedingR script for
Experiment 3bWounding whilst breeding with controlData for Experiment
3bWounding whilst breedingData for Experiment 3b