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Fitness, parasitoids, and biological control: an opinion1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

B.D. Roitberg ,
G. Boivin  and
L.E.M. Vet
B.D. Roitberg
Affiliation:
Behavioral Ecology Research Group and Center for Pest Management, Department of Biosciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
G. Boivin*
Affiliation:
Horticultural Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 430 Boulevard Gouin, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada J3B 3E6
L.E.M. Vet
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, PO Box 8031, 6700 EH Wageningen, the Netherlands
*
2 Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

Fitness, defined as the per capita rate of increase of a genotype with reference to the population carrying the associated genes, is a concept used by biologists to describe how well an individual performs in a population. Fitness is rarely measured directly and biologists resort to proxies more easily measured but with varying connection to fitness. Size, progeny survival, and developmental rate are the most common proxies used in the literature to describe parasitoid fitness. The importance of the proxies varies between papers looking at evolutionary theories and those assessing ecological applications. The most direct measures of fitness for parasitoids are realised fecundity for females and mating ability for males, although these proxies are more difficult to measure under natural conditions. For practical purposes, measure of size, through body size or mass, is the proxy easiest to use while providing good comparative values; however, care must be taken when using a single proxy, as proxies can be affected differently by rearing conditions of the parasitoid.

Résumé

La valeur adaptative, définie comme le taux d’accroissement per capita d’un génotype en référence à une population possédant les gènes associés, est un concept utilisé par les biologistes pour décrire la performance d’un individu dans une population. Cependant la valeur adaptative est rarement mesurée directement et les biologistes utilisent plutôt des indices, plus faciles à mesurer mais qui sont de valeur inégale. La taille, la survie de la progéniture et le taux de développement sont les indices les plus souvent utilisés dans la littérature scientifique pour décrire la valeur adaptative des parasitoïdes. Toutefois, l’importance des indices varie selon que les articles traitent d’écologie évolutive ou d’écologie appliquée. Les indices les plus directement reliés à la valeur adaptative des parasitoïdes sont la fécondité réalisée pour les femelles et la capacité d’accouplement pour les mâles. Cependant, ces indices sont difficiles à mesurer dans des conditions réalistes. D’un point de vue pratique la taille, mesurée par le biais des dimensions ou de la masse du corps, est l’indice donnant une bonne valeur comparative le plus facile à utiliser. Toutefois, la prudence s’impose lorsqu’un seul indice est utilisé. En effet, les indices peuvent être influencés différemment par les conditions d’élevage d’un parasitoïde.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 133 , Issue 3 , June 2001 , pp. 429 - 438
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2001

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Footnotes

1

Publication of this invited article was funded by the CP Alexander Fund of The Entomological Society of Canada.

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