Male reproductive tactics vary widely across the species of the ant genus Cardiocondyla, from obligatory lethal combat among co-occurring males to complete mutual tolerance. The African species C. venustula Wheeler, 1908 has an intermediate phylogenetic position between taxa with fighting males and taxa with tolerant males and also shows an intermediate male behavior. Males from 2 native populations in South Africa and a population introduced to Puerto Rico attacked and killed freshly eclosing rivals but rarely engaged in deadly fights with adult competitors. Instead, several males per colony established small "territories" in their natal nests and defended them against other males. Males with a stable territory had more contact with female sexuals than nonterritorial males and more frequently engaged in mating attempts. In controlled choice experiments, female sexuals did not show any preference for particular males. We suggest that male territoriality in C. venustula is an adaptation to the seasonal production of large numbers of female sexuals by multiple mothers.
Background: Many species of social insects have large-scale mating and dispersal flights and their populations are therefore often relatively homogenous. In contrast, dispersal on the wing appears to be uncommon in most species of the ant genus Cardiocondyla, because its males are wingless and the winged queens mate in their natal nests before dispersing on foot. Here we examine the population structure of C. venustula from South Africa. This species is of particular interest for the analysis of life history evolution in Cardiocondyla, as it occupies a phylogenetic position between tropical species with multi-queen (polygynous) colonies and fighting males and a Palearctic clade with single-queen colonies and mutually peaceful males. Males of C. venustula exhibit an intermediate strategy between lethal fighting and complete tolerancethey mostly engage in non-lethal fights and defend small territories inside their natal nests. We investigated how this reproductive behavior influences colony and population structure by analyzing samples on two geographic scales in South Africa: a small 40 × 40m 2 plot and a larger area with distances up to 5 km between sampling sites in Rietvlei Nature Reserve near Pretoria. Results: Colonies were found to be facultatively polygynous and queens appear to mate only with a single male. The extraordinarily high inbreeding coefficient suggests regular sib-mating. Budding by workers and young queens is the predominant mode of colony-founding and leads to high population viscosity. In addition, some queens appear to found colonies independently or through adoption into foreign nests. Conclusion: While C. venustula resembles tropical Cardiocondyla in queen number and mating frequency, it differs by the absence of winged disperser males. Dispersal by solitary, mated queens on foot or by short flights and their adoption by alien colonies might promote gene flow between colonies and counteract prolonged inbreeding. The abundance of suitable habitat and the high density of nests facilitate the spread of this species by budding and together with the apparent resistance against inbreeding make it a highly successful pioneer species and invader of degraded and man-made habitats.
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