Figure 6
From: No evidence of a cleaning mutualism between burying beetles and their phoretic mites
Scheme of how phoretic mites could affect social immune response (measured as lytic activity) and burying beetle fitness. (a) Mites directly affect brood size and/or value (positively or negatively), with direct fitness consequences for the burying beetle. Independently, the microbial environment alters the cost-benefit ratio of investment in lytic activity, and this is modulated accordingly, causing consequent changes in beetle fitness. (b) Mites directly affect the microbial environment, resulting in a change in bacterial cues that are used to stimulate lytic activity, with consequent changes in beetle fitness. In addition, or instead, mites influence the abundance of key bacterial groups and this has direct fitness consequences for the burying beetle.
