Genetic variation and task specialization in the desert leaf-cutter ant, Acromyrmex versicolor

Julian, Glennis E.; Fewell, Jennifer H.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2003.06.023

Cited by 59 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Overall, several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the evolution of multiple mating in social insects, such as increased disease resistance (Sherman, 1988), reduced risk of diploid males (Page 1980), increased potential to detoxify the secondary compounds (Gadau et al, 2003), and increased genetic diversity of workers (reviewed in Oldroyd and Fewell, 2007), particularly if workers of some patrilines are more effective at performing specific tasks (Hughes et al, 2003;Julian and Fewell, 2004;Rheindt et al, 2005; but see Fournier et al, 2008). Our direct comparison of mating frequencies to other Pogonomyrmex species, including one of the parental species, as well as the comparisons among local populations, likely controlled for differences in mating frequency arising from these alternative possibilities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High mating frequency and variation with lineage ratio in dependent-lineage harvester ants

Suni

Eldakar

2011

Insect. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Explaining the evolution of multiple mating is a challenge because of the associated costs. For social insects, mating frequency may have fitness consequences due to effects on social interactions or genetic diversity within colonies. Here, we investigated the evolution of mating frequency in a social insect species with a unique genetic system that requires multiple mating. In certain populations of Pogonomyrmex harvester ants, there are two interbreeding yet genetically distinct mitochondrial lineages. Queens must mate with males of the opposite lineage to produce workers and with males of the same lineage to produce reproductive females. We expected queens of the dependent-lineage system to exhibit high mating frequencies relative to other social insects. Furthermore, we expected queens from populations of highly asymmetric lineage ratios to exhibit even higher mating frequencies, to adequately sample the population and successfully mate with males of the less common lineage. To test these predictions, we estimated the mating frequency of 16 P. barbatus queens, and compared these mating frequencies between two populations, one with relatively equal lineage ratio (60:40) and a second with a highly asymmetrical lineage ratio (96:4). Overall, observed mating frequency exceeded 10, which is high in comparison to other social insects, and our estimates of effective mating frequency were among the highest of Pogonomyrmex species. Mating frequency at the site with the asymmetrical lineage ratio was also significantly higher than the site with the more even ratio. Our results suggest that obligate multiple mating as well as lineage ratio contribute to the evolution of high mating frequency in dependent-lineage populations.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High mating frequency and variation with lineage ratio in dependent-lineage harvester ants

Suni

Eldakar

2011

Insect. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The rationale for this hypothesis is that competition decreases the establishment rate of new colonies, and staying at home results in greater fitness than a risky dispersal event (Rosengren and Pamilo, 1983). A secondary rationale for this hypothesis is that polygyny increases genetic diversity within the colony (Evans, 1995), which in turn can result in enhanced foraging efficiency (Julian and Fewell, 2004;Wiernasz et al, 2008). This hypothesis will be supported if increases in competitors are coupled with increases in polygyny.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polygyny in thief ants responds to competition and nest limitation but not food resources

McGlynn

2009

Insect. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Colonies of ants often house multiple queens, and variation in polygyny often tracks environmental conditions. Three hypotheses have been proposed to describe how environmental variation may account for the degree of polygyny: competition, food limitation and nest limitation. Here I evaluate these hypotheses with studies on litter-nesting thief ants (Solenopsis spp.) throughout a lowland tropical rain forest in Costa Rica. In one component, I measured how polygyny varied across a broad environmental gradient demonstrating substantial variation in resources and competition. In a second component, I manipulated the abundance of food, the spatial presentation of food and the availability of nesting space to assess the effects on queen number. The degree of polygyny increased with nest limitation and competition, but there was no indication that colonies produce queens to capitalize on food availability. The increase in queen number in response to the density of competitors suggests that an increase in queen number enhances exploitative abilities.

show abstract

“…Task specialization has now been demonstrated for an extraordinary array of honey bee behaviour including nectar vs pollen foraging (Calderone and Page, 1988), caring for brood and removing dead larvae (Page et al, 1989b), grooming nestmates (Frumhoff and Baker, 1988), removing corpses and guarding the nest entrance (Robinson and Page, 1988), collecting water (Kryger et al, 2000), and thermoregulating the nest (Jones et al, 2004;Oldroyd et al, 1994). There are also links between genotype and task allocation in ants (Blatrix et al, 2000;Julian and Fewell, 2004) and wasps (O'Donnell, 1998a, b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling the role of intracolonial genetic diversity on regulation of brood temperature in honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies

et al. 2006

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In polyandrous social insects such as honey bees, a worker's affi nity for a particular task may be genetically infl uenced and so some patrilines may have lower stimulus thresholds for commencing a task than others. We used simulation models to investigate the effects of intracolonial diversity in the task thresholds that stimulate workers to engage in heating and cooling during nest thermoregulation. First, we simulated colonies comprised of one or 15 patrilines that were engaged in heating the brood nest, and observed that single patriline colonies maintained, on average, less stable brood nest temperatures than multiple patriline colonies. Second we simulated colonies with fi ve patrilines that were engaged in cooling their nest, recording the proportions of bees of different patrilines that engaged in nest cooling in response to changing temperatures. Both of our simulations show remarkably similar qualitative patterns to those that we have previously observed empirically. This provides further support for the hypothesis that geneticallybased variability in task thresholds among patrilines within honey bee colonies is an important contributor to the ability of colonies to precisely thermoregulate their nests, and we suggest that diversity is important for optimal expression of a range of other colony-level phenotypes.

show abstract

Genetic variation and task specialization in the desert leaf-cutter ant, Acromyrmex versicolor

Cited by 59 publications

References 33 publications

High mating frequency and variation with lineage ratio in dependent-lineage harvester ants

High mating frequency and variation with lineage ratio in dependent-lineage harvester ants

Polygyny in thief ants responds to competition and nest limitation but not food resources

Modelling the role of intracolonial genetic diversity on regulation of brood temperature in honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About