Evidence for rapid downward fecundity selection in an ectoparasite (Philornis downsi) with earlier host mortality in Darwin's finches.

ABSTRACT: Fecundity selection is a critical component of fitness and a major driver of adaptive evolution. Trade-offs between parasite mortality and host resources are likely to impose a selection pressure on parasite fecundity, but this is little studied in natural systems. The 'fecundity advantage hypothesis' predicts female-biased sexual size dimorphism whereby larger females produce more offspring. Parasitic insects are useful for exploring the interplay between host resource availability and parasite fecundity, because female body size is a reliable proxy for fecundity in insects. Here we explore temporal changes in body size in the myiasis-causing parasite Philornis downsi (Diptera: Muscidae) on the Galápagos Islands under conditions of earlier in-nest host mortality. We aim to investigate the

SUBMITTER: Common LK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7217188 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature