Selection for early emergence, longevity and large body size in wingless, sib-mating ant males

Kureck, Ilka M.; Nicolai, Beate; Foitzik, Susanne

doi:10.1007/s00265-013-1566-x

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Our observation that LR males live as long or even longer than virgin males stands in striking contrast to data from solitary insects, in which virgin males outlive reproductive individuals (e.g., Onthophagus binodis dung beetles (Kotiaho & Simmons, )) or in which male life span is negatively associated with mating frequency ( Anopheles mosquitoes (Dao et al., )), and also to data from other animals in which reproductively active males have a decreased life span (Hellriegel & Blanckenhorn, ; Nakatsuru & Kramer, ; Preston, Stevenson, Pemberton, & Wilson, ; Van Voorhies, ). However, it matches results from the only other study about the association between life span and reproductive efforts in social insect males: wingless males of the ant Hypoponera opacior , which mated at least once, lived longer than virgin males (Kureck, Nicolai, & Foitzik, ). Yet, this result might be attributable to early eclosing males having higher chances to mate than later eclosing males and workers killing H. opacior males after all female sexuals have eclosed (Foitzik, Heinze, Oberstadt, & Herbers, ; Kureck et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…However, it matches results from the only other study about the association between life span and reproductive efforts in social insect males: wingless males of the ant Hypoponera opacior , which mated at least once, lived longer than virgin males (Kureck, Nicolai, & Foitzik, ). Yet, this result might be attributable to early eclosing males having higher chances to mate than later eclosing males and workers killing H. opacior males after all female sexuals have eclosed (Foitzik, Heinze, Oberstadt, & Herbers, ; Kureck et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

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Mating and longevity in ant males

Metzler

Heınze

Schrempf

2016

Ecology and Evolution

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Across multicellular organisms, the costs of reproduction and self‐maintenance result in a life history trade‐off between fecundity and longevity. Queens of perennial social Hymenoptera are both highly fertile and long‐lived, and thus, this fundamental trade‐off is lacking. Whether social insect males similarly evade the fecundity/longevity trade‐off remains largely unstudied. Wingless males of the ant genus Cardiocondyla stay in their natal colonies throughout their relatively long lives and mate with multiple female sexuals. Here, we show that Cardiocondyla obscurior males that were allowed to mate with large numbers of female sexuals had a shortened life span compared to males that mated at a low frequency or virgin males. Although frequent mating negatively affects longevity, males clearly benefit from a “live fast, die young strategy” by inseminating as many female sexuals as possible at a cost to their own survival.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Mating and longevity in ant males

Metzler

Heınze

Schrempf

2016

Ecology and Evolution

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“…We used male weight as proxy of their quality. Indeed, the few data available on social hymenoptera suggest that heavier males gain more mating (Wiernasz et al 1995(Wiernasz et al , 2001Couvillon et al 2010;Amin et al 2012;Kureck et al 2013). Specifically, we investigate three points.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

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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The male has done his work — the male may go

Heınze¹

2016

Current Opinion in Insect Science

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Selection for early emergence, longevity and large body size in wingless, sib-mating ant males

Cited by 6 publications

References 53 publications

Mating and longevity in ant males

Mating and longevity in ant males

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

The male has done his work — the male may go

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