Local resource competition and sex ratio in the ant Cataglyphis cursor

Pearcy, Morgan; Aron, Serge

doi:10.1093/beheco/arj067

Cited by 36 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The other 13 colonies were collected in early May 2012, brought back to the laboratory where sexuals emerged, and experiments were carried out in June 2012. As QR colonies produce a male‐biased sex ratio (Pearcy & Aron ) and the experiment also required gynes, we collected five colonies which we rendered queenless (QL) by removing the queen, and transplanted into artificial enclosures at Banyuls‐sur‐mer (details in Cronin et al. ) in September 2011, just before the hibernation period.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Evidence of Inclusive Sexual Selection in the Ant Cataglyphis cursor: Worker Aggressions Differentially Affect Male Access to Virgin Queens

2015

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Sexual selection typically shapes the traits of individuals capable of reproduction. However, in social species, it may also affect the behaviour of non‐reproductive individuals if this increases their inclusive fitness. We examined the potential role of workers during mating in the polyandrous ant Cataglyphis cursor. In this species, mating takes place on the ground near the nest entrance, and workers chase away foreign males trying to mate with young queens (gynes). We investigated the effects of worker aggression on male mating attempts by placing three or four males in the presence of one foreign gyne and 20 of her nestmate workers and contrasted this with a second group of 3–4 males in the presence of another gyne without nestmate workers (n = 8 paired replicates). Workers strongly attacked males (more than 20 aggressions per minute), although this did not affect the total number of mating attempts by the 3–4 males or the skew in the number of mating attempts among these males. However, there was an interaction between worker aggression and relative male weight, as relatively heavy males attempted to mate more often than lighter males in the absence of worker whereas the reverse occurred in the presence of workers. Our study is the first to experimentally test the potential role of non‐reproductive individuals in sexual selection. It shows that workers could potentially change male mating success by disfavouring heavier males.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Evidence of Inclusive Sexual Selection in the Ant Cataglyphis cursor: Worker Aggressions Differentially Affect Male Access to Virgin Queens

2015

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“…Moreover, colony fission may provoke local resource competition compared to independent colony founding, especially in ants, because dispersal of female propagules is limited by the lack of wings in workers. Consequently, the payoff of producing many gynes may be reduced compared to the production of males, which disperse farther away from the mother colony (Craig 1980;Bulmer 1983;Bourke and Franks 1995;Pearcy and Aron 2006).…”

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confidence: 99%

Production of sexuals in a fission-performing ant: dual effects of queen pheromones and colony size

Boulay

Hefetz

Cerdá

et al. 2007

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Models based on the kin selection theory predict that in social hymenopterans, queens may favor a lower investment in the production of sexuals than workers. However, in perennial colonies, this conflict may be tuned down by colony-level selection because of the trade off between colony survival and reproductive allocation. In this study, we present a survey of sexual production in colonies of Aphaenogaster senilis, a common species of ant in the Iberian Peninsula. Similar to most species that reproduce by fission, males were found in large excess compared to gynes (172:1). Sexuals were more likely to be found in queenless than in queenright (QR) field colonies. However, we also found a few gynes and numerous males in very large QR colonies. We compared these data with those available in the literature for A. rudis, a congeneric species from North America that has independent colony founding. The sex ratio in this species was only five males for each female, and sexuals were mostly found in QR nests, irrespective of colony size. We confirmed queen inhibition of sexual production in A. senilis in laboratory experiments and provide evidence that this inhibition is mediated by a nonvolatile pheromone. To seek the potential source of such a queen pheromone, we analyzed the secretions of two conspicuous exocrine glands, the Dufour's and postpharyngeal glands (DG and PPG, respectively) in both queens and workers. Both secretions were composed of hydrocarbons, but that of DG also contained small quantities of tetradecanal and hexadecanal. The hydrocarbon profile of the DG and PPG showed notable caste specificity suggesting a role in caste-related behavior. The PPG secretions also differed between colonies suggesting its role in colonylevel recognition. We suggest that in A. senilis, there are two modes of colony fission: First, in very large colonies, gynes are produced, probably because of the dilution of the queen pheromone, and consequently one or more gynes leave the mother colony with workers and brood to found a new nest. This is beneficial at the colony level because it avoids the production of costly sexuals in small colonies. However, because the queen and workers have different optima for sexual production, we hypothesize that queens tend to overproduce the pheromone to delay their production. This in turn may drive workers to leave the mother colony during nest relocation and to produce sexuals once they are away from the queen's influence, creating a second mode of colony fission.

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“…Previous studies indeed showed that workers may also arise from queen parthenogenesis in C. cursor [6]. Moreover, field collections show that few colonies produce female sexuals and, in this situation, their number is very limited (median, 5; range, 1 -17) [11]. Intrinsic factors such as colony size may be prime factors in accounting for differences in the production of sexuals among colonies [14].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Ant queens adjust egg fertilization to benefit from both sexual and asexual reproduction

2011

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An enduring problem in evolutionary biology is the near ubiquity of sexual reproduction despite the inherent cost of transmitting only half the parent's genes to progeny. Queens of some ant species circumvent this cost by using selectively both sexual reproduction and parthenogenesis: workers arise from fertilized eggs, while new queens are produced by parthenogenesis. We show that queens of the ant Cataglyphis cursor maximize the transmission rate of their genes by regulating the proportion of fertilized and parthenogenetic eggs laid over time. Parthenogenetic offspring are produced in early spring, when workers raise the brood into sexuals. After the mating period, queens lay mostly fertilized eggs that will be reared as the non-reproductive caste.

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Local resource competition and sex ratio in the ant Cataglyphis cursor

Cited by 36 publications

References 38 publications

First Evidence of Inclusive Sexual Selection in the Ant Cataglyphis cursor: Worker Aggressions Differentially Affect Male Access to Virgin Queens

First Evidence of Inclusive Sexual Selection in the Ant Cataglyphis cursor: Worker Aggressions Differentially Affect Male Access to Virgin Queens

Production of sexuals in a fission-performing ant: dual effects of queen pheromones and colony size

Ant queens adjust egg fertilization to benefit from both sexual and asexual reproduction

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