Queen–worker–brood coadaptation rather than conflict may drive colony resource allocation in the ant Temnothorax curvispinosus

Linksvayer, Timothy A.

doi:10.1007/s00265-007-0489-9

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Previous studies on other ant species suggested that successful colonies may have co-adapted behavioural complexes, with favourably-interacting worker, brood, and queen phenotypes (Foitzik et al, 2003;Linksvayer, 2007Linksvayer, , 2008. However, a disruption of co-adapted gene complexes may be expected to affect the social cohesion of crossed lineages even more (Linksvayer, 2008), but here we observed a predominantly positive effect of crossing on worker and larval survival. One could therefore speculate that interactions that enhance social immunity (Cremer et al, 2007) among colony members are somehow impaired in merged colonies, perhaps even to a point that natural fusion of genetically differentiated pharaoh ant colonies is selected against.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 52%

“…Previous studies on other ant species suggested that successful colonies may have co-adapted behavioural complexes, with favourably-interacting worker, brood, and queen phenotypes (Foitzik et al, 2003;Linksvayer, 2007Linksvayer, , 2008. Previous studies on other ant species suggested that successful colonies may have co-adapted behavioural complexes, with favourably-interacting worker, brood, and queen phenotypes (Foitzik et al, 2003;Linksvayer, 2007Linksvayer, , 2008.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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No benefit in diversity? The effect of genetic variation on survival and disease resistance in a polygynous social insect

Schmidt

Linksvayer

Boomsma

et al. 2011

Ecological Entomology

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1. Multiple mating by queens has been shown to enhance disease resistance in insect societies, because higher genetic diversity among nestmates improves collective immune defences or offers a certain level of herd immunity. However, it has remained ambiguous whether polygynous societies with large numbers of queens also benefit from increased genetic diversity.2. We used one of the very few ant species that can be reared across generations, the pharaoh ant, Monomorium pharaonis Linnaeus, to create experimental colonies with two types of enhanced genetic diversity: (i) mixed workers from three divergent inbred lineages representing the 'polygyny-equivalent' of multiple mating by queens (i.e. increased between-worker variation); and (ii) uniform workers whose overall heterozygosity was increased by two subsequent generations of crossing between the same divergent inbred lineages (i.e. increased within-worker variation).3. We found significant differences in worker survival among the three inbred lineages, with exposure to conidiospores of the fungal pathogen Beauveria bassiana causing significant mortality to the workers independently of their diversity type. Increased diversity did not improve the resistance to Beauveria.4. Enhanced heterozygosity colonies had worker survival rates similar to the most resistant inbred lineage, whereas colonies with mixed workers from the three inbred lineages had lower worker and larval survival. Workers did not show any infectionavoidance behaviour.5. Average larval survival appeared unaffected by the presence of conidiospores. It benefitted from increased heterozygosity but was reduced in mixed colonies independent of infection. This suggests that negative, but cryptic social interactions in mixed colonies may affect overall survival.6. The present results do not provide evidence for or against a link between increased genetic variation and increased disease resistance in pharaoh ants, but show that colonies differ considerably in general survival. Thus, increasing the genetic diversity of pharaoh ant colonies may not provide survival advantages in the face of pathogen exposure, and polygyny and polyandry may not be directly comparable mechanisms for creating adaptive resistance towards pathogens.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 52%

“…Previous studies on other ant species suggested that successful colonies may have co-adapted behavioural complexes, with favourably-interacting worker, brood, and queen phenotypes (Foitzik et al, 2003;Linksvayer, 2007Linksvayer, , 2008. Previous studies on other ant species suggested that successful colonies may have co-adapted behavioural complexes, with favourably-interacting worker, brood, and queen phenotypes (Foitzik et al, 2003;Linksvayer, 2007Linksvayer, , 2008.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No benefit in diversity? The effect of genetic variation on survival and disease resistance in a polygynous social insect

Schmidt

Linksvayer

Boomsma

et al. 2011

Ecological Entomology

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“…Statistics are presented in the ''Results'' section 1996), which is likely to increase competitive abilities. However, some studies have shown that lower relatedness (one consequence of polygyny) reduces colony efficiency (Linksvayer, 2008). While genetic diversity in thief ants may result in intracolonial conflict, research has shown that colonies with greater genetic diversity may excel at exploitative competition by foraging for longer periods throughout the day, perhaps with greater diet breadth and more efficient division of labor (Cole and Wiernasz, 1999;Wiernasz et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polygyny in thief ants responds to competition and nest limitation but not food resources

McGlynn

2009

Insect. Soc.

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Colonies of ants often house multiple queens, and variation in polygyny often tracks environmental conditions. Three hypotheses have been proposed to describe how environmental variation may account for the degree of polygyny: competition, food limitation and nest limitation. Here I evaluate these hypotheses with studies on litter-nesting thief ants (Solenopsis spp.) throughout a lowland tropical rain forest in Costa Rica. In one component, I measured how polygyny varied across a broad environmental gradient demonstrating substantial variation in resources and competition. In a second component, I manipulated the abundance of food, the spatial presentation of food and the availability of nesting space to assess the effects on queen number. The degree of polygyny increased with nest limitation and competition, but there was no indication that colonies produce queens to capitalize on food availability. The increase in queen number in response to the density of competitors suggests that an increase in queen number enhances exploitative abilities.

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“…during development may have some influence on the number of individuals produced (e.g., Linksvayer 2008), their development time (e.g., Howard and Jeanne 2004) and their size (e.g., Schwander et al 2005;Fournier et al 2008;Kovacs et al 2010). The relationships between these inputs remain unclear, and experimental studies manipulating the social environment are needed to better evaluate the respective influence of each factor (Linksvayer and Wade 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of the social environment on the survival and fungal resistance of ant brood

Purcell

Brütsch

Chapuisat

2011

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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The phenotype of social animals can be influenced by genetic, maternal and environmental effects, which include social interactions during development. In social insects, the social environment and genetic origin of brood can each influence a whole suite of traits, from individual size to caste differentiation. Here, we investigate to which degree the social environment during development affects the survival and fungal resistance of ant brood of known maternal origin. We manipulated one component of the social environment, the worker/brood ratio, of brood originating from single queens of Formica selysi. We monitored the survival of brood and measured the head size and ability to resist the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana of the resulting callow workers. The worker/brood ratio and origin of eggs affected the survival and maturation time of the brood and the size of the resulting callow workers. The survival of the callow workers varied greatly according to their origin, both in controls and when challenged with B. bassiana. However, there was no interaction between the fungal challenge and either the worker/brood ratio or origin of eggs, suggesting that these factors did not affect parasite resistance in the conditions tested. Overall, the social conditions during brood rearing and the origin of eggs had a strong impact on brood traits that are important for fitness. We detected a surprisingly large amount of variation among queens in the survival of their brood reared in standard queenless conditions, which calls for further studies on genetic, maternal and social effects influencing brood development in the social insects.

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Queen–worker–brood coadaptation rather than conflict may drive colony resource allocation in the ant Temnothorax curvispinosus

Cited by 20 publications

References 59 publications

No benefit in diversity? The effect of genetic variation on survival and disease resistance in a polygynous social insect

No benefit in diversity? The effect of genetic variation on survival and disease resistance in a polygynous social insect

Polygyny in thief ants responds to competition and nest limitation but not food resources

Effects of the social environment on the survival and fungal resistance of ant brood

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