Island Syndrome in the Critically Endangered Lord Howe Island Cockroach Panesthia lata

TL;DR

A critically endangered island cockroach shows reduced aggression and increased group behavior compared to its mainland relative, suggesting similar evolutionary patterns seen in island vertebrates.

Contribution

First evidence of behavioral island syndrome in an invertebrate, specifically reduced intraspecific aggression and increased aggregation.

Findings

Lord Howe Island cockroach (P. lata) shows significantly less male aggression compared to its mainland sister species.

P. lata forms large aggregations of unrelated individuals, unlike most Panesthia species that maintain family groups.

Courtship behavior remains stable across populations, suggesting potential for interbreeding among fragmented populations.

Abstract

Following island colonisation, organisms experience a unique array of selective pressures, giving rise to a somewhat predictable suite of morphological, demographic and ecological adaptations known as the “island syndrome”. Studies of the island syndrome have provided valuable insights into processes of speciation, community assembly, adaptive radiation and ecological release, alongside many others. However, to date, behavioural aspects of island adaptation have comparatively received little scientific attention, especially among invertebrates. In this study, we examined the agonistic, courtship and aggregation behaviour of the critically endangered Lord Howe Island cockroach, Panesthia lata, and compared these to its Australian sister species, Panesthia cribrata. Behavioural assays revealed that while courtship behaviour was relatively stable across the two species, there was a significantly lower incidence of male agonism in
P. lata
. In concordance, analyses of nuclear single‐nucleotide polymorphisms showed that
P. lata
forms large aggregations of unrelated individuals, unlike most Panesthia species, which maintain stable family groups. These results align with previous findings of relaxed intraspecific aggression in island mammals and reptiles, providing novel evidence of behavioural island syndrome in an invertebrate. We also found that courtship behaviour did not vary when
P. lata
interacted with conspecifics from the same or different populations, suggesting that individuals from different populations will readily interbreed. This is a promising outcome for the conservation of this critically endangered species, which currently spans a fragmentary range consisting of small, insular populations.

The Lord Howe Island cockroach Panesthia lata was found to display significantly reduced intraspecific agonism, and to aggregate more readily with non‐kin, than its mainland sister species Panesthia cribrata. This represents the first evidence that an invertebrate species undergoes similar behavioural shifts as vertebrates following island colonisation.

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