Predators and cannibals modulate sex‐specific plasticity in life‐history and immune traits

Abstract

1 In organisms with complex life cycles, optimality models predict age and size at transition to translate larval condition into adult fitness. Recent studies, however, revealed that only a proportion of fitness is explained by age and size at transition. Moreover, sexes differ in the linkage of larval condition and adult fitness. 2 In this study, we tested the hypothesis that immune traits may be partly decoupled from age and size at habitat transition and therefore contribute to the sex-specific linkage of larval condition and adult fitness. 3 We reared larvae of the damselfly Coenagrion puella under the threat of predators and cannibals. We then examined sex-specific patterns in two life-history traits as well as two immune traits and tested for independency of the plastic responses among life-history and immune traits. 4 Results revealed immune traits to be partly decoupled from life-history traits. Moreover, the sexes differed in the plasticity of life-history as well as immune traits. Our results give strong evidence that sex-specific translation of larval condition into adult fitness may be linked to immune traits as well as age and size at transition.