Mating behaviours and reproductive decisions are of key importance to evolutionary fitness. However, it is often difficult to measure and compare the fitness of different individuals, especially in long-lived species, and for behaviours that are subject to multiple selective forces. A striking exception though is the field of sex-allocation research, which is a triumphant success of evolutionary theory (Charnov 1982). The reason for this success is that, following Fisher (1958), the fitness consequences of different sex ratios can be readily predicted and tested analytically. These predictions are very amenable to empirical testing and provide a platform to measure the precision of adaptation, which is crucial for understanding the nature of evolutionary change.

Reproductive success is heavily influenced by life-history traits; a series of energy investment trade-offs that organisms must optimise according to their environmental conditions. These include considerations such as how many offspring and when to reproduce? The consequences of multiple trade-offs can be extremely complex, making research difficult. However, there are notable exceptions. Simple clutch size theory enabled great strides in assessing trade-offs in resource allocation, though it quickly becomes more complicated when considering investment in current versus future reproduction. Arguably, even greater success has come from consideration of investment in a particular sex. Sex allocation theory provides simple models that can be empirically tested, and has provided some of the strongest evidence for natural selection and evolution. Much of this work has focused on certain parasitoids due to their extraordinary sex ratios and the finite resources available to offspring in a host. Whilst clutch size and sex allocation theory have provided many answers, there are still questions regarding the impact of other life-history traits. In this thesis I have used the gregarious parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis in laboratory experiments to assess some of these traits. I have focused on the impact of larval competition, inbreeding, host condition and host feeding on longevity, fecundity, sex allocation and mating success. By manipulating host quality through host-feeding, I was able to vary the level of resources available to offspring. Simultaneously, by manipulating the matedstatus and number of females ovipositing on a host, I was able to vary the number and sex ratio of offspring competing for resources. My research has provided an insight into how larval competition and host-feeding impact on optimal clutch size and sex allocation. Furthermore, I have attempted to assess the extent to which body size, which is commonly associated with reproductive success, can be used to predict fitness. The appendix includes work using molecular data to understand the mating behaviour and population structure of N. vitripennis in the wild, enabling models based on assumptions of laboratory-based behaviour to be applied to wild populations.

Genomes usually work together to promote the fitness of the organism, but sometimes parts of the genome cause intragenomic conflict, and act selfishly in order to promote their transmission. An example of this conflict is a selfish B chromosome known as paternal sex ratio (PSR) in the jewel wasp Nasonia vitripennis. Transmitted solely to new progeny with the sperms hereditary material, PSR completely destroys the paternal genome during the first mitotic division of the newly fertilized embryo. This effect enhances transmission of the PSR chromosome because of the unique haplodiploid reproductive mode of Nasonia and other members of the hymenopteran insect group. Through transcriptomic analyses, our group recently discovered that the PSR chromosome expresses eleven transcripts in the wasp testis. A plausible hypothesis is that one or more of these transcripts play some role in paternal genome elimination. In this study I have begun to test this hypothesis by screening through a set of previously produced truncated versions of the PSR chromosome. Specifically, I used PCR in order to screen these truncated chromosomes for the presence of each of these PSR-specific transcripts. I could then correlate the level of genome elimination induced by each truncated PSR chromosome with the presence or absence of the expressed transcripts. My work has established that (i) three of the eleven transcripts are likely not involved in genome elimination; (ii) no single transcript alone causes genome elimination; (iii) the remaining eight of eleven transcripts are viable candidates for causing genome elimination; and (iv) it is likely that a sub-group of these transcripts may operate together to induce this effect. I discuss several models in which PSR-expressed RNA molecules could operate to cause genome elimination.

La plupart des études sur l’influence de la température sur la production des spermatozoïdes portent en grande partie sur les vertébrés. Néanmoins, les invertébrés constituent la majorité de la biodiversité terrestre animale, sont également plus sensibles à ces variations de température. Les travaux réalisés au cours de cette thèse ont porté sur la compréhension des capacités de reproduction, et sur l’influence d’une augmentation de température sur les fonctions mâles chez Nasonia vitripennis, un hyménoptère parasitoïde. Ce travail de thèse m’a permis de confirmer que chez cette espèce, la spermatogenèse était synchronisée et de décrire pour la première fois, un système de stockage intermédiaire des spermatozoïdes entre les testicules et les vésicules séminales. De plus, j’ai pu mettre en évidence que la spermatogénèse était sensible à une augmentation de température pendant le développement, altérant le sexe ratio de la descendance par des modifications d’allocations des sexes par les femelles. Ces résultats apportent de nouvelles connaissances sur la fertilité mâle chez cette espèce et démontrent la sensibilité de la spermatogenèse à la température. / Many studies on the impact of the temperature on spermatogenesis have largely focused on vertebrates. Nevertheless, invertebrates constitute the vast majority of terrestrial biodiversity, and are especially vulnerable to variations of temperatures. The studies realized during my thesis are focused on understanding male reproductive capacities and effects of heat stress on male fertility in a parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis. This work allowed to confirm that spermatogenesis was synchronized, and to describe for the first time a system of spermatozoa regulation between testis and seminal vesicles. Moreover, I was able to demonstrate that spermatogenesis was sensible to temperature variation during male development, and the offspring sex ratio was altered by modifications of sex allocation. These findings open the way to the description of male fertility in this species, and show the sensitivity of spermatogenesis to temperature variation.

The gammaproteobacterium Arsenophonus nasoniae infects Nasonia vitripennis (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), a parasitic wasp that attacks filth flies. This bacterium kills virtually all male offspring of infected females. Female wasps transmit A. nasoniae both vertically (from mother to offspring) and horizontally (to unrelated Nasonia developing in the same fly). This latter mode may enable the bacterium to colonize novel species and spread throughout a filth fly-parasitoid guild. This spread may be important for maintenance of the bacterium. The ecology of novel hosts may be significantly impacted by infection. The actual and potential host range of A. nasoniae was assessed. I used Arsenophonus-specific primers to screen a large sample of filth flies and their parasitoids. The bacterium infects a wide range of wasp species in the environment. The potential host range was determined by inoculating three wasp and one fly species with an isolate of A. nasoniae from Lethbridge, AB. The bacterium successfully infected all insects and was transmitted by two wasp species. It reduced host longevity, but did not kill males, in Trichomalopsis sarcophagae. It also caused pupal mortality in Musca domestica.