Data from: Towards a synthesis of frameworks in nutritional ecology: interacting effects of protein, carbohydrate, and phosphorus on field cricket fitness

Phosphorus has been identified as an important determinant of nutrition-related biological variation. The macronutrients protein (P) and carbohydrates (C), both alone and interactively, are known to affect animal performance. No study, however, has investigated the importance of phosphorus relative to dietary protein or carbohydrates, or the interactive effects of phosphorus with these macronutrients, on fitness-related traits in animals. We used a nutritional geometry framework to address this question in adult field crickets (Gryllus veletis). Our results showed that lifespan, weight gain, acoustic mate signalling and egg production were maximized on diets with different P : C ratios, that phosphorus did not positively affect any of these fitness traits, and that males and females had different optimal macronutrient intake ratios for reproductive performance. When given a choice, crickets selected diets that maximized both lifespan and reproductive performance by preferentially eating diets with low P : C ratios, and females selected diets with a higher P : C ratio than males. Conversely, phosphorus intake was not regulated. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of disentangling the influences of different nutrients, and of quantifying both their individual and interactive effects, on animal fitness traits, so as to gain a more integrative understanding of their nutritional ecology.

磷已被证实为影响营养相关生物学变异的关键调控因子。宏量营养素蛋白质与碳水化合物，无论单独发挥作用还是产生交互效应，均会对动物的生长表现产生影响。然而，目前尚无研究探讨磷相较于膳食蛋白质或碳水化合物的重要性，亦未探究磷与这些宏量营养素的交互作用对动物适合度相关性状的影响。我们采用营养几何学（nutritional geometry）研究框架，以成年维勒特田野蟋蟀（Gryllus veletis）为研究对象解答上述问题。研究结果显示：寿命、体重增量、声学配偶信号传递与产卵量均在不同磷碳比（P:C ratio）的膳食条件下达到峰值；磷并未对上述任一适合度性状产生正向影响；且雌雄个体在繁殖性能方面的最优宏量营养素摄入比例存在显著差异。当获得食物选择机会时，蟋蟀会优先选取低磷碳比的膳食，以此同时最大化寿命与繁殖性能，且雌性选择的磷碳比高于雄性。与之相反，磷的摄入量并未受到主动调控。总体而言，本研究结果凸显了厘清不同营养素对动物适合度性状的影响，并量化其单独作用与交互作用的重要性，以期更全面地理解动物的营养生态学。