The Mechanism Of Sex Ratio Adjustment In A Pollinating Fig Wasp

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 18 Apr 2008 - 7:00 PDT

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Fig wasps are a model system for the study of sex ratio evolution because as more females enter a fig to lay their eggs they produce a higher proportion of sons.

How they achieve this has not confirmed before. We managed to poison females at varying times after entry into figs, without killing their offspring.

They produced most of their sons in the first few minutes and mostly daughters after that.

This simple mechanism leads to sex ratio adjustment because as more females enter a fig there is more competition for oviposition sites, and smaller clutches are less female-biased.

Dr. Steve Compton, University of Leeds, UK

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