Enforced altruism in insect societies

Wenseleers, Tom; Ratnieks, Francis L. W.

doi:10.1038/444050a

Cited by 229 publications

(268 citation statements)

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“…The deterrent effect of coercion has also been shown by comparing worker reproduction in colonies with and without a queen [14] (Figure 3). In queenless colonies, policing is absent, and a last batch of worker-derived males is reared before the colony dies out.…”

Section: Glossarymentioning

confidence: 84%

“…If policing does coerce altruism by reducing the opportunity for workers to reproduce, we predict that fewer workers should lay eggs in species with more effective egg policing [7,13]. Recently, a comparative study of ten species found strong support for this prediction: species in which worker-laid eggs had a greater chance of being killed had smaller proportions of egg-laying workers [14] (Figure 3).…”

Section: Glossarymentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Similarly, Frank has argued for the importance of social control mechanisms in promoting cooperation in a wide range of systems [12]. Nevertheless, it is only recently that theoretical models have been developed that specifically determine the extent to which altruism in insect societies is enforced [7,13] and that enough empirical evidence has accumulated to test the predictions of these models [14]. Here we summarize this work.…”

Section: Altruism In Insect Societiesmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Coercion: social pressure in the form of the punishment or policing of group members, usually to prevent them from acting selfishly and thereby harming the group or colony as a whole; the words enforcement and sanction have similar meanings [5]. Enforced altruism: altruism, or the level of altruism, favoured by natural selection acting on individuals in social groups with coercion [14]. Eusociality: social groups in which some individuals specialise in work or helping to enhance the direct reproduction of others.…”

Section: Glossarymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Relatedness: the correlation in genotype or behaviour of interacting individuals [4]; a correlation in behaviour can also arise from nongenetic causes, for example cultural resemblance ('cultural relatedness') [65]. Voluntary altruism: altruism, or the level of altruism, favoured by natural selection acting on individuals in social groups in the absence of coercion [14]. societies, including vertebrate and human societies, and interspecific mutualisms.…”

Section: Glossarymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Altruism in insect societies and beyond: voluntary or enforced?

Ratnieks

Wenseleers

2008

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

170

196

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Section: Glossarymentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Glossarymentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Altruism In Insect Societiesmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Glossarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Glossarymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Altruism in insect societies and beyond: voluntary or enforced?

Ratnieks

Wenseleers

2008

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

170

196

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Eusociality and Cooperation

Keller

Chapuisat

2010

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

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The evolution of eusociality, here defined as the emergence of societies with reproductive division of labour and cooperative brood care, was first seen as a challenge to Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Why should individuals permanently forgo direct reproduction to help other individuals to reproduce? Kin selection, the indirect transmission of genes through relatives, is the key process explaining the evolution of permanently nonreproductive helpers. However, in some taxa helpers delay reproduction until a breeding opportunity becomes available. Overall, eusociality evolved when ecological conditions promote stable associations of related individuals that benefit from jointly exploiting and defending common resources. High levels of cooperation and robust mechanisms of division of labour are found in many animal societies. However, conflicts among individuals are still frequent when group members that are not genetically identical compete over reproduction or resource allocation. Evolution of Reproductive Altruism and Eusociality Social life provides such advantages that it has led to a tremendous ecological success of social animals, particularly social insects. Social insects are found in almost every

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Eusociality and Cooperation

Keller

Chapuisat

2017

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

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Ants, termites and many species of bees and wasps form tightly integrated social groups in which permanently nonreproducing workers help rear the offspring of a few fertile individuals, the queens and males. Such societies with marked reproductive division of labour are called eusocial. The evolution of eusociality puzzled Darwin: How could workers pass on their characteristics to the next generation if they did not reproduce? Kin selection, the indirect transmission of genes through relatives, is the key process explaining the evolution and maintenance of permanently nonreproducing workers. Overall, eusociality evolved in life‐long associations of monogamous parents and offspring, which jointly exploit and defend common resources. Robust and efficient division of labour contributes to the great ecological success of eusocial species. Yet, despite high levels of integration, conflicts among individuals are still common in eusocial groups, and several sophisticated mechanisms have evolved to maintain social cohesion. Key Concepts Eusociality is characterised by reproductive division of labour, cooperative brood care and overlap of generations. The hallmark of eusociality is the presence of a caste that is permanently committed to a nonreproductive helper role. Eusociality confers great ecological success, but has a scattered taxonomic distribution. Kin selection is the key process explaining the evolution of permanently nonreproducing helpers. Eusociality evolved in groups of highly related individuals, typically comprising the offspring of a monogamous pair. Eusociality is linked with division of labour, which is sometimes associated with morphological castes. The allocation of workers to tasks is a self‐organising process that occurs without central control and emerges from local interactions. In social insects, division of labour is remarkably robust and flexible to cope with unpredictable changes in the environment. Individuals in animal societies are not clones; they have partially divergent genetic interests, which can lead to various forms of conflicts. Some types of conflicts are controlled by social means such as bribing, coercion or punishment.

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Enforced altruism in insect societies

Abstract: Cooperation among workers and their seeming altruism result from strict policing by nestmates.

Cited by 229 publications

References 8 publications

Altruism in insect societies and beyond: voluntary or enforced?

Altruism in insect societies and beyond: voluntary or enforced?

Eusociality and Cooperation

Eusociality and Cooperation

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