TY - THES A1 - Travers-Martin, Nora Verena T1 - The role of the glucosinolate-myrosinase system for the interaction of Brassicaceae with the turnip sawfly Athalia rosae(L.) T1 - Die Rolle des Glucosinolat-Myrosinase Systems bei der Interaktion von Brassicaceae mit der Rübsenblattwespe Athalia rosae (L.) N2 - Brassicaceae and a few related plant families are characterized by possession of the glucosinolate-myrosinase system. Glucosinolates are amino-acid derived allelochemicals which are hydrolysed upon tissue damage by myrosinase enzymes to produce various degradation products which can be toxic for generalist insects. The larvae of the crucifer-specialist Athalia rosae, the turnip sawfly, sequester glucosinolates into their haemolymph. The role of the glucosinolate-myrosinase system for the interaction of the turnip sawfly with Brassicaceae was examined in this study from two different perspectives: variation within individual plants and between plant species. The plant responses to the feeding by herbivores and the short-term effects this induction had on insect behaviour were investigated in white mustard. Furthermore, plants can use multiple defences. Hence correlations of glucosinolates and myrosinase activities with other defences and nutritional quality and their long-term effects on the development of the insects were investigated in seven different plant species. N2 - Die Brassicaceen und einige nah verwandte Pflanzenfamilien zeichnen sich durch den Besitz des Glucosinolat-Myrosinase Systems aus. Glucosinolate sind von Aminosäuren abgeleitete Allelochemikalien, die nach Gewebezerstörung von Myrosinaseenzymen hydrolysiert werden. Die entstehenden Abbauprodukte wirken auf generalistische Insekten toxisch. Larven der auf Brassicaceen spezialisierten Rübsenblattwespe, Athalia rosae, sequestrieren Glucosinolate in ihre Hämolymphe. In der vorliegenden Studie wird die Rolle des Glucosinolat-Myrosinase Systems für die Interaktion von Brassicaceen mit der Rübsenblattwespe aus zwei unterschiedlichen Perspektiven untersucht: Variationen innerhalb einzelner Pflanzen und zwischen verschiedenen Pflanzenarten. Die pflanzliche Antwort innnerhalb einzelner Individuen auf Herbivorenfraß und deren kurzzeitige Auswirkungen auf das Insektenverhalten wurden am Weißen Senf untersucht. Des Weiteren nutzen Pflanzen multiple Abwehrmethoden. Daher wurden Korrelationen des Glucosinolat-Myrosinase Systems mit anderen Abwehrmethoden und mit dem Nährstoffgehalt der Pflanzen sowie deren langfristige Effekte auf die Entwicklung der Insekten an sieben verschiedenen Pflanzenarten untersucht. KW - Glucosinolate KW - Chemische Ökologie KW - Myrosinase KW - Insekten KW - Pflanzen-Insekten Interaktionen KW - Glucosinolates KW - Myrosinase KW - Insects KW - Chemical Ecology KW - Plant-Insect Interactions Y1 - 2007 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-25335 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mitesser, Oliver A1 - Weissel, Norbert A1 - Strohm, Erhard A1 - Poethke, Hans-Joachim T1 - Adaptive dynamic resource allocation in annual eusocial insects: Environmental variation will not necessarily promote graded control N2 - Background: According to the classical model of Macevicz and Oster, annual eusocial insects should show a clear dichotomous "bang-bang" strategy of resource allocation; colony fitness is maximised when a period of pure colony growth (exclusive production of workers) is followed by a single reproductive period characterised by the exclusive production of sexuals. However, in several species graded investment strategies with a simultaneous production of workers and sexuals have been observed. Such deviations from the "bang-bang" strategy are usually interpreted as an adaptive (bet-hedging) response to environmental fluctuations such as variation in season length or food availability. To generate predictions about the optimal investment pattern of insect colonies in fluctuating environments, we slightly modified Macevicz and Oster's classical model of annual colony dynamics and used a dynamic programming approach nested into a recurrence procedure for the solution of the stochastic optimal control problem. Results: 1) The optimal switching time between pure colony growth and the exclusive production of sexuals decreases with increasing environmental variance. 2) Yet, for reasonable levels of environmental fluctuations no deviation from the typical bang-bang strategy is predicted. 3) Model calculations for the halictid bee Lasioglossum malachurum reveal that bet-hedging is not likely to be the reason for the graded allocation into sexuals versus workers observed in this species. 4) When environmental variance reaches a critical level our model predicts an abrupt change from dichotomous behaviour to graded allocation strategies, but the transition between colony growth and production of sexuals is not necessarily monotonic. Both, the critical level of environmental variance as well as the characteristic pattern of resource allocation strongly depend on the type of function used to describe environmental fluctuations. Conclusion: Up to now bet-hedging as an evolutionary response to variation in season length has been the main argument to explain field observations of graded resource allocation in annual eusocial insect species. However, our model shows that the effect of moderate fluctuations of environmental conditions does not select for deviation from the classical bang-bang strategy and that the evolution of graded allocation strategies can be triggered only by extreme fluctuations. Detailed quantitative observations on resource allocation in eusocial insects are needed to analyse the relevance of alternative explanations, e.g. logistic colony growth or reproductive conflict between queen and workers, for the evolution of graded allocation strategies. KW - Insekten KW - Fitness KW - Evolution KW - Sozialität KW - resource allocation KW - fitness KW - evolution KW - eusociality KW - insect Y1 - 2007 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-45412 ER -