Effects of starvation on survival, cannibalism, body mass, and intestinal protozoan profile in the subterranean termite Reticulitermes lucifugus

Pinto, Mirella Lo; Agro, Alfonso

doi:10.1007/s00040-019-00711-1

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Lastly, and most likely, a life‐extending effect of food restriction is truly absent in C. secundus under these conditions. Similarly, a lack of an effect of food restriction has also been reported for workers of the termite Reticulitermes lucifugus (Lo Pinto & Agrò, 2019) and queens of the ant Temnothorax rugatulus (Negroni et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%

“…The effects of food availability on ageing and life‐history trade‐offs have been less investigated in social insects, mainly with a few studies in social Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps) (e.g., Altaye et al, 2010; Dussutour & Simpson, 2012; Negroni et al, 2021; Rueppell et al, 2007). In termites, which evolved sociality independently from social Hymenoptera (Inward et al, 2007), only two studies exist (Korb & Linsenmair, 2001; Lo Pinto & Agrò, 2019). However, none of these studies on social insects investigated the effects of resource availability on the trade‐off (i.e., investigating the consequences simultaneously for longevity as well as fecundity) at both individual (i.e., both workers and queens) and colony levels.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of food restriction on survival and reproduction of a termite

Lin

Pen

Korb

2023

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Food availability affects the trade-off between maintenance and reproduction in a wide range of organisms, but its effects on social insects remain poorly understood.In social insects, the maintenance-reproduction trade-off seems to be absent in individuals but may appear at the colony level, although this is rarely investigated. In this study, we restricted food availability in a termite species to test how it affects survival and reproduction, both at the individual and colony level. Using Bayesian multivariate response models, we found very minor effects of food restriction on the survival of queens, individual workers or on the colonies. In contrast, queen fecundity was significantly reduced, whereas colony-level fecundity (i.e., the number of dispersing alates, future reproductives) increased under food restriction as workers gave up cooperation within the colony and became alates that dispersed. Our study shows that life-history trade-offs can be mitigated by individuals' social behaviours in social organisms.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 52%