The butterfly and the wasp : host-parasitoid relationship between Boloria eunomia and Cotesia eunomiae
(2011)
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- Authors
- Supervisors
- Schtickzelle, Nicolas
- Abstract
- (en) Global environmental change affects not only species, but also their interactions, e.g. host-parasitoid relationships, exceedingly common in nature. Boloria eunomia is a well-known vulnerable butterfly species, but its parasitoid had never been profoundly investigated. In this thesis, we focused on the relationship with one of its parasitoid, the Cotesia eunomiae wasp. Firstly, the relationship was investigated from the host side. The study of the impact of habitat quality on the parasitoid prevalence revealed that suboptimal habitats may be used by the butterfly to decrease the mortality due to parasitoids (enemy-free space). Then, based on a literature review, we studied how ecological and/or morphological factors of Lepidoptera caterpillars explain why some species are parasitized by a larger set of Braconidae parasitoids. Secondly, we undertook different studies to study the relationship from the parasitoid side. An olfactometric study did not succeed in detecting infochemical compounds that are attractive for Cotesia females during their host search. Improvements in the experimental design are suggested. Then, we discussed how parasitoids affect the growth of their caterpillar host, and how the condition of the host affects survival of the parasitoid larvae. Finally, genetic analyses were conducted to characterize the metapopulation structure of C. eunomiae. However, microsatellite loci failed to reveal inter-individual and inter-population polymorphism. Finally, we explored the possible role of the caterpillar parasitism as a regulatory factor of population dynamics of the butterfly. The observed tendency was that high parasitism rates affect negatively the B. eunomia population growth rate. Altogether, this thesis is the first study of the relationship between the host B. eunomia and the parasitoid C. eunomiae, and research perspectives are discussed.
- Affiliations
Citations
Choutt, J. (2011). The butterfly and the wasp : host-parasitoid relationship between Boloria eunomia and Cotesia eunomiae. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/148376