Flight Behaviour Attenuates The Trade-off Between Flight Capability And Reproduction In A Wing-polymorphic Cricket

When different energetically costly traits compete for limited resources, animals may invest in some traits at the expense of others. In many species of field crickets, individuals that are flight-capable, as indicated by morphology and muscle physiology, invest less in reproductive behaviour and development of gametes than flight-incapable individuals. We show that this apparent trade-off is essentially erased when flight-capable individuals are allowed to fly.

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Filed under: Biology on November 27th, 2008