Behavioral adaptations for raiding in the slave-making ant,Polyergus breviceps

Topoff, Howard; Cover, Stefan P.; Jacobs, Anke

doi:10.1007/bf01053353

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Polyergus breviceps workers, for example, are not influenced by Formica spp. alarm pheromones, and they also appear to be immune to the toxic effects of formic acid (Topoff, Cover & Jacobs, 1989).…”

Section: ( B ) Slave Raidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The coevolutionary dynamics of obligate ant social parasite systems – between prudence and antagonism

et al. 2005

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In this synthesis we apply coevolutionary models to the interactions between socially parasitic ants and their hosts. Obligate social parasite systems are ideal models for coevolution, because the close phylogenetic relationship between these parasites and their hosts results in similar evolutionary potentials, thus making mutual adaptations in a stepwise fashion especially likely to occur. The evolutionary dynamics of host-parasite interactions are influenced by a number of parameters, for example the parasite's transmission mode and rate, the genetic structure of host and parasite populations, the antagonists' migration rates, and the degree of mutual specialisation. For the three types of obligate ant social parasites, queen-tolerant and queen-intolerant inquilines and slavemakers, several of these parameters, and thus the evolutionary trajectory, are likely to differ. Because of the fundamental differences in lifestyle between these social parasite systems, coevolution should further select for different traits in the parasites and their hosts. Queen-tolerant inquilines are true parasites that exert a low selection pressure on their host, because of their rarity and the fact that they do not conduct slave raids to replenish their labour force. Due to their high degree of specialisation and the potential for vertical transmission, coevolutionary theory would predict interactions between these workerless parasites and their hosts to become even more benign over time. Queen-intolerant inquilines that kill the host queen during colony take-over are best described as parasitoids, and their reproductive success is limited by the existing worker force of the invaded host nest. These parasites should therefore evolve strategies to best exploit this fixed resource. Slavemaking ants, by contrast, act as parasites only during colony foundation, while their frequent slave raids follow a predator prey dynamic. They often exploit a number of host species at a given site, and theory predicts that their associations are best described in terms of a highly antagonistic coevolutionary arms race.

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Section: ( B ) Slave Raidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The coevolutionary dynamics of obligate ant social parasite systems – between prudence and antagonism

et al. 2005

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“…Although they have a limited task repertoire, Polyergus workers perform several specialized behaviours related to host exploitation, including scouting for host nests, recruiting nest mates to raids and attacks on host nests (Topoff, Cover & Jacobs, ; Topoff, ). These specialized behavioural acts may involve substantial sensory and cognitive processing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for adaptive brain tissue reduction in obligate social parasites (Polyergus mexicanus) relative to their hosts (Formica fusca)

Sulger

McAloon

Bulova

et al. 2014

Biol J Linn Soc Lond

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Brain investment is evolutionarily constrained by high costs of neural tissue. Several ecological factors favour the evolution of increased brain investment; we predict reduced brain region investment will accompany the evolution of organismal or social parasitism when parasites rely on host behaviour and cognition to solve ecological problems. To test this idea we investigated whether brain region investments differed between obligate slave‐making Polyergus mexicanus ant workers and their Formica fusca slave workers. Polyergus workers perform little labour for their colonies; enslaved workers of Formica host species forage, excavate nests and tend the brood. We focused on the calyces of the mushroom bodies, central processing brain regions that are larger in social insect workers that perform complex tasks. As predicted we found lower relative investment in mushroom body calyx in P. mexicanus workers than in F. fusca workers; by contrast, enslaved and free F. fusca workers did not differ in mushroom body calyx volume. We then tested whether slave‐makers and hosts differed in brain investment among sensory modalities. Polyergus slave‐makers employ several unique classes of pheromones during raids, and eye size relative to head size was smaller in P. mexicanus workers than in F. fusca workers. The size of antennal brain tissues relative to visual tissues was greater in Polyergus, both in the peripheral sensory lobes and in the mushroom body calyx, suggesting greater relative investment in antennal processing by slave‐makers. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 113, 415–422.

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“…Subsequently, the enslaved host workers carry out all necessary tasks of colony maintenance, and they also care for the slavemaker queen's brood. Obligate slavemaker workers, in contrast, are specialized on only a single task: they regularly conduct raids on neighboring host colonies, steal their brood, and carry it back to their own nest in order to replenish their supply of slaves (Wesson 1939, Alloway 1979, Buschinger et al 1980, Topoff et al 1989, Schumann 1992. For a long time it was generally accepted that social parasites were too rare to exert significant selection pressure on their hosts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Context and Specialization Influence Coevolution Between a Slavemaking Ant and Its Hosts

Brandt

Foitzik

2004

Ecology

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The dynamics of host–parasite coevolution are thought to be influenced not only by inherent parameters, but also by their community context. Here we report strong differences in the degree of specialization of a social parasite at different geographic sites. Furthermore, we provide the first empirical evidence for a deceleration of the coevolutionary arms race caused by the inclusion of a second host species into a parasite–host association. We compare two communities, each including the North American slavemaking ant Protomognathus americanus and two Leptothorax host species, with similar parasite and host densities. At the first site, the minority host species occurred at frequencies too low to sustain the parasite, whereas at the second location, both hosts constituted an exploitable resource. Thus, only in the latter community does the parasite have the options to expand its niche or to alternate between the available host species. During slave raids, which represent the crucial parasite–host encounter, hosts and slavemakers from the second site were less efficient at defending and raiding, respectively. Thus, we demonstrate a higher degree of reciprocal adaptation at the location where the parasite specializes on a single host, indicating a more advanced stage of the arms race.

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Behavioral adaptations for raiding in the slave-making ant,Polyergus breviceps

Cited by 11 publications

References 18 publications

The coevolutionary dynamics of obligate ant social parasite systems – between prudence and antagonism

The coevolutionary dynamics of obligate ant social parasite systems – between prudence and antagonism

Evidence for adaptive brain tissue reduction in obligate social parasites (Polyergus mexicanus) relative to their hosts (Formica fusca)

Community Context and Specialization Influence Coevolution Between a Slavemaking Ant and Its Hosts

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