Fig. 6.

Egg clusters lacking the native symbionts are more vulnerable to fungal infection in field-collected soil. a Egg clusters exposed to untreated field-collected soil (N = 8 egg clutches, Friedman χ²(2) = 10.57, p = 0.005; Nemenyi: A vs. B p < 0.05). b Egg clusters exposed to field-collected soil inoculated with P. lilacinum spores (N = 9 egg clutches, Friedman χ²(2) = 7.47, p = 0.024; Nemenyi: A vs. B p < 0.05). Fungal growth was estimated qualitatively during blind monitoring of egg clutches using subsets that were either aposymbiotic (symbiont-free), reinfected with a previously recovered egg-wash (reinfected), or untreated (symbiotic), and exposed to soil from their natural environment. The level of growth (1–4) corresponded to increasing amount of fungal biomass visible on the egg surface. Each line corresponds to an independent egg clutch and the color of the line represents absence (red) or presence (blue) of lagriamide in untreated eggs of the corresponding clutch