Flight characteristics of Mastotermes darwiniensis (Isoptera, Mastotermitidae)

Nalepa, Christine A.; Miller, L. R.; Lenz, Michael

doi:10.1007/pl00001757

Cited by 21 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…3 are supported by dry weight comparisons, but scaling of cuticle and gut weight with body size, and paedomorphic reductions of adult termites (discussed below) likely compromise detailed comparisons. Cryptocercus punctulatus adults weigh approximately 213 mg (dry weight- Nalepa and Mullins 1992) while Mastotermes dealates weigh about 52 mg (Nalepa et al 2001b), indicating, as expected, that the relationship between mass and head width is a power function. The Mastotermes head is approximately 64% of that of the cockroach, and the body weight is about 24%.…”

Section: Size Shift #3: Termite Imagoessupporting

confidence: 70%

“…In termites, juvenilization occurred within a very specific and specialized environment, and must be examined in that context. (2004), Hill (1942), Light (1933), Light and Zimmerman (1936), Miura et al (2000), Nalepa et al ( , 2001b, Nickle and Collins (1989), Park and Choe (2003), Scheffrahn et al (1998), Sewell and Gay (1978), Snyder (1954), Sumner (1933), Ware et al (2010) Cuticle In addition to being biomechanically challenging and difficult to digest, a third property of a wood diet is that it is very low in nitrogen. It is universally recognized that nitrogen is the currency of life history tradeoffs in wood feeding insects because of the mismatch between the nitrogen content of the consumers (generally 8-12% N) (Matsumoto 1976;Nalepa and Mullins 1992) and their food source (0.03-0.15% N) (Cowling and Merrill 1966;LaFage and Nutting 1978;Brune and Ohkuma 2011).…”

Section: Costs and Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Body Size and Termite Evolution

Nalepa

2011

Evol Biol

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Termites are a monophyletic lineage within the paraphyletic Blattaria, with xylophagous cockroaches in the genus Cryptocercus as sister group. Given this ancestry, termite divergence involved a substantial leap in body plans, as they are pale, fragile, and miniaturized relative to most cockroaches. Here I suggest that the evolutionary transition to an altricial morphotype in termites is grounded in the economics of utilizing a wood diet, and occurred via a series of sequential steps associated with modifications in social behavior. The chief benefit of an altricial morphotype is suggested to be nitrogen made available by decreasing individual body size and by dispensing with a heavy, melanized cuticle. The primary costs lie in increased vulnerability to environment hazards, including predators, pathogens, and desiccation. Termites tipped the evolutionary scale via cooperative behaviors that mitigate the cost or amplify the benefit of a small, fragile morphotype, and were present in rudimentary form in their cockroach relatives. These include building behavior, cooperative feeding, allogrooming, and most notably, trophallaxis. It was the directed circulation of nitrogenous reserves via trophallactic feeding among units of the superorganism rather than their progressive storage in a large, heavily armored body that was the foundation of termite evolutionary success.

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Section: Size Shift #3: Termite Imagoessupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: Costs and Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body Size and Termite Evolution

Nalepa

2011

Evol Biol

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“…First, primary M. darwiniensis reproductives may disperse poorly, thereby allowing genetic differentiation to build up among locales over time. However, a recent study suggests that M. darwiniensis winged reproductives are relatively strong flyers (Nalepa et al 2001). Alternatively, winged reproductives may disperse widely but account for only a small fraction of new colonies formed.…”

Section: Genetic Structure Among Locales and Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population and Colony Genetic Structure of the Primitive Termite Mastotermes Darwiniensis

Goodisman

Crozier

2002

Evolution

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The termite Mastotermes darwiniensis is the sole extant member of its family and occupies the basal position in the phylogeny of the eusocial order Isoptera. In this study, we investigated the micro- and macrogeographic genetic structure of M. darwiniensis in its native range in Australia. A total of 1591 workers were sampled from 136 infested trees in 24 locales. Each locale was separated by 2-350 km, and these locales were found within two broader geographic regions approximately 1500 km apart. The multilocus genotypes of all termites were assayed at six polymorphic microsatellite loci. The genetic data indicated that colonies typically fed on multiple trees within locales and extended over linear distances of up to 320 m. Single colonies were frequently headed by multiple reproductives. Workers were highly related (r = 0.40) and substantially inbred (f = 0.10). Thus, M. darwiniensis colonies are characterized by the input of alleles from multiple reproductives, which sometimes engage in consanguineous matings. Our analyses of population genetic structure above the level of the colony indicated that locales and regions were significantly differentiated (theta(locale) = 0.50, theta(region) = 0.37). Moreover, locales showed a pattern of genetic isolation by distance within regions. Thus, M. darwiniensis populations display restricted gene flow over moderate geographic distances. We suggest that the genetic patterns displayed by M. darwiniensis result primarily from selective pressures acting to maintain high relatedness among colonymates while allowing colonies to grow rapidly and dominate local habitats.

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“…In nature, alates are the first subjected to a drastic predation pressure exerted by birds, lizards, frogs and ants during the nuptial flight and the nuptial promenade. In this context, the multiplication of the number of dispersal flights, relatively frequent in basal termites (Nutting, 1969;Nalepa, 2001) and clearly shown here for the first time in the laboratory and in the field for a Macrotermitinae could be an adaptive strategy to optimize reproduction of colonies by varying the ecological conditions at the time of colony foundation. In the particular case of fungus-growing termites, this could also increase the chances that the first workers of the incipient colonies start foraging while spores from the Termitomyces carpophores are present on the ground.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Dispersal flight and colony development in the fungus-growing termites Pseudacanthotermes spiniger and P. militaris

2012

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Pseudacanthotermes spiniger and P. militaris are two African fungus-growing termites (Termitidae, Macrotermitinae) which may become pests in disturbed agrosystems where they often live in sympatry. To study their development and their reproductive strategies, colonies of both species were reared in the laboratory for 20 and 17 years, respectively, after their foundation from reproductive pairs. The first steps of development were in great part similar in both species, although P. spiniger favoured the defence during the juvenile period, while P. militaris tended to favour a rapid development. While P. spiniger colonies did not produce alates until year 7 of colony life, P. militaris colonies were able to produce a fertile progeny 4 years after their foundation. In contrast, major soldiers were more rapidly differentiated in the incipient colonies of P. spiniger. Dispersal flights occurred every year for 10 years in P. spiniger. In P. militaris, dispersal flights did not occur regularly although alates appeared yearly. The annual number of alates produced by P. spiniger increased with the colony age to reach a maximum of 25,000 individuals and global production of alates was estimated at ca. 150,000 individuals in the life of a colony. The longevity of P. spiniger and P. militaris colonies was around 20 years. These species were shown to be reproductively isolated by multiple pre-mating mechanisms. While chronological differences in dispersal flights contribute to reproductive isolation of the two species, the non-viability of experimental hybrid colonies also indicates the involvement of post-mating mechanisms of isolation.

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Flight characteristics of Mastotermes darwiniensis (Isoptera, Mastotermitidae)

Cited by 21 publications

References 12 publications

Body Size and Termite Evolution

Body Size and Termite Evolution

Population and Colony Genetic Structure of the Primitive Termite Mastotermes Darwiniensis

Dispersal flight and colony development in the fungus-growing termites Pseudacanthotermes spiniger and P. militaris

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