Phoretic mites as benign passengers: no influence on mate choice in the burying beetle Nicrophorus nepalensis

Mate choice is a fundamental aspect of sexual selection where the chooser chooses a courter by assessing a variety of traits that communicate potential fitness. However, the influence of interspecific interactions, such as symbiosis, on mate choice remains underexplored. We addressed this shortcoming with experiments on burying beetle Nicrophorus nepalensis and their interactions with phoretic mites Poecilochirus carabi. The mites can act either as mutualists or parasites depending on the presence of competitors and mite densities, thus potentially influencing mate choice. In a laboratory experiment, we presented female N. nepalensis with a range of natural mite densities: 0, 5, 10, or 20, with males carrying either 0 or 10 mites in an olfactory-based mate choice assay. Subsequently we allowed females to breed with their chosen male and all their mites before evaluating the fitness effects of the varying mite densities. We found that females across all mite densities had no preference for males with or without mites. In line with this, the mite densities had no effect on the brood size or the averaged larva mass. However, the mite densities per breeding cohort did positively affect the number of mite offspring. Our results suggest that mites act as benign passengers, not directly affecting mate choice or fitness.