Data from: Costs of walking: differences in egg size and starvation resistance of females between strains of the red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) artificially selected for walking ability

In many animals, movement often affects fitness components such as foraging or migration. On the other hand, individuals with higher mobility also often have fitness costs. This trade-off between movement and other traits may explain the maintenance of variation in moving ability in a population. However, few studies have focused on movement by walking, although many previous studies of insects have investigated the evolution of variations in mobility with wing polymorphism. In the present study, we focused on the walking ability of the red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum), and investigated whether females with higher than lower walking ability have fitness costs. The present results showed that females with genetically higher walking ability produced smaller eggs and had lower starvation resistance than females with lower walking ability. These results suggest that higher walking ability is costly for females, and this fitness cost may explain maintenance of variations of walking ability in a population.

在多数动物类群中，运动（movement）通常会影响适合度（fitness）相关组分，例如觅食或迁徙。另一方面，运动能力（mobility）更强的个体往往也会承担适合度成本（fitness cost）。运动与其他性状间的这种权衡（trade-off），或可解释种群内运动能力变异的维持机制。不过，尽管此前诸多昆虫相关研究已围绕翅多型（wing polymorphism）下运动能力变异的演化展开探讨，但鲜有研究聚焦步行运动。本研究以赤拟谷盗（Tribolium castaneum）的步行能力为研究对象，探讨步行能力更高的雌性个体是否存在适合度成本。本研究结果显示，遗传背景下步行能力更高的雌性个体，其所产卵粒更小，且耐饥饿能力较步行能力较低的雌性个体更弱。上述结果表明，更高的步行能力对雌性个体存在适合度成本，而该适合度成本或可解释种群内步行能力变异的维持机制。