Superparasitism and Male-Killing Symbiont Dynamics in Parasitoid Wasps

Laboratory data from a study on the epidemiology of the heritable male-killing symbiont Arsenophonus nasoniae in Nasonia parasitoid wasps. The research tested how host contact behavior, specifically superparasitism rates, drives symbiont spread, host sex ratios, and population extinction. Data supports findings that superparasitism is necessary for symbiont fixation and causes female-biased sex ratios.

Use Cases

• Analyze the correlation between superparasitism rates and symbiont infection prevalence to model horizontal transmission dynamics.
• Model the impact of Arsenophonus nasoniae infection on host population sex ratios and extinction risk under varying superparasitism conditions.
• Compare symbiont persistence across different Nasonia species based on their natural superparasitism proclivity to understand host-symbiont coevolution.

Strengths

• Data originates from a peer-reviewed experimental study published in a scientific journal.
• Explicitly tests a novel epidemiological framework incorporating horizontal transmission via superparasitism.
• Includes results from multiple related parasitoid species (Nasonia and other pteromalids) for comparative analysis.

Limitations

• Specific data structure, row count, column names, and file formats are not provided in the input.
• Data is from controlled laboratory experiments, which may not fully capture dynamics in natural field populations.
• Dataset was last updated in June 2020, and newer related research may exist.

Provenance

Source

Steven R. Parratt, published via the Dryad repository.

Collection Method

Experimental data from laboratory studies on parasitoid wasp populations.

Freshness

Last updated on 2020-06-24.