Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Lay Summary
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (10)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Müller, J. K.
Right arrow Articles by Elsner, T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Müller, J. K.
Right arrow Articles by Elsner, T.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Behavioral Ecology Vol. 14 No. 2: 212-220
© 2003 International Society for Behavioral Ecology

Nestmate recognition in burying beetles: the "breeder's badge" as a cue used by females to distinguish their mates from male intruders

Josef K. Müllera,, Anne-Katrin Eggerta,b and Tobias Elsnera

a Institut für Zoologie der Universität Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 1, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany b Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, Department of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120, USA

Address correspondence to: J.K. Müller. E-mail: jmueller{at}uni-freiburg.de.

Burying beetles use small vertebrate carcasses as food for their larvae and defend these carcasses against intra- and interspecific competitors. Breeding associations on carcasses can consist of single females, heterosexual pairs, or various combinations of males and females. When a heterosexual pair collaborate in a breeding attempt, they do not typically exhibit aggressive behavior toward each other, but do attack newly arrived conspecifics that attempt to usurp the carcass. We investigated the cues involved in discrimination between breeding partners and intruders by female burying beetles. We found that resident females tolerate males that have cared for a brood, as well as males that have not cared for a brood but have been on a carcass for a day or two. Males that have had no prior contact with a carcass are attacked. Females appear to use a chemical cue, the "breeder's badge," an apolar substance on the male's cuticle that can be removed by washing with pentane. This cue is reliably correlated with recent male experience with a carcass that is suitable for reproduction. The breeder's badge develops as a result of prolonged contact with such a carcass, and disappears on removal from the carcass; its presence does not require contact with a female or with larvae. Female recognition of their male partners in burying beetles thus does not involve individual recognition, but rather recognition of reproductive condition.

Key words: aggressive behavior, burying beetles, chemical cues, intraspecific competition, mate recognition, Nicrophorus, parental care, recognition of reproductive status.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.