Inbreeding and learning affect fitness and colonization of new host plants, a behavioral innovation in the spider mite Tetranychus urticae

Habitat fragmentation increases the isolation of natural populations resulting in reduced genetic variability and increased species extinction risk. Behavioral innovation through learning, i.e., the expression of a new learned behavior in a novel context, can help animals colonize new suitable and increasingly fragmented habitats. It has remained unclear, however, how reduced genetic variability affects learning for colonizing more or less suitable habitats. Here, we show that inbreeding in a subsocial invertebrate, the spider mite Tetranychus urticae, reduces novel host plant colonization and reproductive fitness. When provided with the possibility to learn from previous experience with a host plant species, out-bred mites learned to avoid new, less suitable, host plant species (aversive learning), while inbred mites did not adapt their behavior. We further found that both inbred and outbred mites learn at a cost as fertility was reduced in experienced mites. Our results reveal that inbreeding reduces the learning component of behavioral innovation for host plant colonization.

Automated summary

Habitat fragmentation reduces genetic variability and increases species extinction risk. However, learning behavior can help animals adapt to fragmented habitats. In this study, inbreeding was found to reduce the ability of a spider mite species to learn and colonize new host plants.