A role for thermoregulation in the Polistes dominulus invasion: a comparison of the thermoregulatory abilities of the invasive wasp P. dominulus and the native wasp P. fuscatus

Weiner, Susan A.; Noble, Katherine; Upton, C. T.; Woods, William A.; Starks, Philip T.

doi:10.1007/s00040-010-0136-8

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…In cold environments, flying insects need to have warm thoracic muscles to produce enough power to fly (Roberts & Harrison, 1998; Weiner et al ., 2011). Bumblebees have flight muscles capable of intense metabolic activity: they produce enough heat to allow flight during mild winters (Heinrich, 1974, 1993).…”

Section: Morphological Adaptationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptations to thermal stress in social insects: recent advances and future directions

Perez

2020

Biological Reviews

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Thermal stress is a major driver of population declines and extinctions. Shifts in thermal regimes create new environmental conditions, leading to trait adaptation, population migration, and/or species extinction. Extensive research has examined thermal adaptations in terrestrial arthropods. However, little is known about social insects, despite their major role in ecosystems. It is only within the last few years that the adaptations of social insects to thermal stress have received attention. Herein, we discuss what is currently known about thermal tolerance and thermal adaptation in social insects – namely ants, termites, social bees, and social wasps. We describe the behavioural, morphological, physiological, and molecular adaptations that social insects have evolved to cope with thermal stress. We examine individual and collective responses to both temporary and persistent changes in thermal conditions and explore the extent to which individuals can exploit genetic variability to acclimatise. Finally, we consider the costs and benefits of sociality in the face of thermal stress, and we propose some future research directions that should advance our knowledge of individual and collective thermal adaptations in social insects.

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Section: Morphological Adaptationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptations to thermal stress in social insects: recent advances and future directions

Perez

2020

Biological Reviews

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“…Increased survival may occur because wasps use nutritional stores to maintain slightly elevated temperatures during the winter (Weiner et al. ) and wasps with black spots are in better nutritional condition than individuals with yellow faces (Tibbetts and Curtis ; Tibbetts ). Ability to survive the winter is a key aspect of fitness; gynes must overwinter before reproducing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, this relationship suggests that wasps with black spots that signal high agonistic ability are better able to withstand harsh winters than wasps with yellow faces that signal low agonistic ability. Increased survival may occur because wasps use nutritional stores to maintain slightly elevated temperatures during the winter (Weiner et al 2011) and wasps with black spots are in better nutritional condition than individuals with yellow faces (Tibbetts and Curtis 2007;Tibbetts 2010). Ability to survive the winter is a key aspect of fitness; gynes must overwinter before reproducing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socially selected ornaments and fitness: Signals of fighting ability in paper wasps are positively associated with survival, reproductive success, and rank

et al. 2015

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Many animals have ornaments that mediate choice and competition in social and sexual contexts. Individuals with elaborate sexual ornaments typically have higher fitness than those with less elaborate ornaments, but less is known about whether socially selected ornaments are associated with fitness. Here, we test the relationship between fitness and facial patterns that are a socially selected signal of fighting ability in Polistes dominula wasps. We found wasps that signal higher fighting ability have larger nests, are more likely to survive harsh winters, and obtain higher dominance rank than wasps that signal lower fighting ability. In comparison, body weight was not associated with fitness. Larger wasps were dominant over smaller wasps, but showed no difference in nest size or survival. Overall, the positive relationship between wasp facial patterns and fitness indicates that receivers can obtain diverse information about a signaler's phenotypic quality by paying attention to socially selected ornaments. Therefore, there are surprisingly strong parallels between the information conveyed by socially and sexually selected signals. Similar fitness relationships in social and sexually selected signals may be one reason it can be difficult to distinguish the role of social versus sexual selection in ornament evolution.

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“…This effect is likely to be seen most clearly where bees are solitary and offspring body size is determined by a lone foundresses. As sweat bee foundresses are thought to provision only a single egg per day (Richards, ), differences in the effect of temperature on daily activity levels could explain this pattern (Weiner et al ., ). For example, H. rubicundus is a larger bee than L. calceatum (see Results), which might afford thermoregulatory advantages and enable foundresses to fly for longer on any given day relative to L. calceatum (Stone, ; Bishop & Armbruster, , but see Field et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Season length, body size, and social polymorphism: size clines but not saw tooth clines in sweat bees

Davison

Field

2017

Ecological Entomology

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Abstract. 1. Annual insects are predicted to grow larger where the growing season is longer. However, transitions from one to two generations per year can occur when the season becomes sufficiently long, and are predicted to result in a sharp decrease in body size because available development time is halved. The potential for resulting saw-tooth clines has been investigated only in solitary taxa with free-living larvae.2. Size clines were investigated in two socially polymorphic sweat bees (Halictidae): transitions between solitary and social nesting occur along gradients of increasing season length, characterised by the absence or presence of workers and offspring that are individually mass provisioned by adults. How the body size changes with season length was examined, and whether transitions in social phenotype generate saw-tooth size clines. We measured Lasioglossum calceatum and Halictus rubicundus nest foundresses originating from more than 1000 km of latitude, encompassing the transition between social and solitary nesting.3. Using satellite-collected temperature data to estimate season length, it was shown that both species were largest where the season was longest. Body size increased linearly with season length in L. calceatum and non-linearly in H. rubicundus but the existence of saw-tooth clines was not supported.4. The present results suggest that because the amount of food consumed by offspring during development is determined by adults, environmental and social influences on the provisioning strategies of adult bees may be more important factors than available feeding time in determining offspring body size in socially polymorphic sweat bees.

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A role for thermoregulation in the Polistes dominulus invasion: a comparison of the thermoregulatory abilities of the invasive wasp P. dominulus and the native wasp P. fuscatus

Cited by 21 publications

References 19 publications

Adaptations to thermal stress in social insects: recent advances and future directions

Adaptations to thermal stress in social insects: recent advances and future directions

Socially selected ornaments and fitness: Signals of fighting ability in paper wasps are positively associated with survival, reproductive success, and rank

Season length, body size, and social polymorphism: size clines but not saw tooth clines in sweat bees

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