The frequency of multi‐queen colonies increases with altitude in a Nearctic ant

Abstract

1. Most ants in boreal and alpine habitats are facultatively polygynous, i.e. their colonies may contain one or several queens. It was investigated how the proportion of polygynous colonies varies along an elevation gradient from 60 to 2700 m in the Nearctic ant Temnothorax rugatulus (Emery). 2. Across all populations, the proportion of polygynous colonies was positively correlated with altitude. The correlation was considerably stronger when only populations in the narrow area of the Chiricahua Mts, Arizona, were compared. 3. The dominance of polygynous colonies at high altitudes may be associated with selection against solitary colony founding by young queens. In areas with short summers and long winters, hibernation mortality of solitarily founding queens may select for alternative reproductive tactics, such as polygyny and colony founding by budding. 4. Colony founding tactics need to be taken into account to more fully understand altitudinal and latitudinal patterns of ant faunas.

Social structure varies with elevation in an Alpine ant

“…In particular, we examine if polygynous colonies become more common at higher elevations, as documented in Leptothorax species (e.g. Bourke & Heinze ; Heinze & Rueppell ). The results of this study shed light on the forces maintaining this social polymorphism and, potentially, on the evolutionary history of this species.…”

Geographic patterns in colonial reproductive strategy inMyrmecina nipponica: Links between biogeography and a key polymorphism in ants

“…Although individual ants may have specific physiological adaptations to survive low temperatures (e.g. Heinze, Foitzik, Kipyatkov, & Lopatina, 1998), queens can improve their survival prospects by overwintering in the company of workers (Bourke & Heinze, 1994), likely providing DCF queens with a cold‐climate advantage over ICF queens (Bourke & Heinze, 1994; Heinze & Rueppell, 2014). Queens initiating colonies under DCF also begin with an effective workforce, which may improve efficiency and help buffer incipient colonies from environmental stress (Chouvenc, Basille, Li, & Su, 2014; Jeanson, Fewell, & Gorelick, 2007).…”

Worker demography and behavior in a supercolonial ant colony: The case of the desert antCataglyphis niger

“…Such a social structure poses evolutionary questions regarding how the species manage the conflicting demands between an optimal self‐organization system and the kin‐related conflict that is predicted to arise in view of the overall low relatedness of members of the supercolony. Several explanations have been proposed for the mutual benefits of this social dynamic: from high relatedness of the co‐inhabiting queens (the inclusive fitness explanation; Giraud, Blatrix, Poteaux, Solignac, & Jaisson, ) to robustness of the colony (higher genetic diversity, and colony size explanations; Heinze & Rueppell, ; Hughes, Ratnieks, & Oldroyd, ; Keller, ). In such complex societies in which relatedness varies greatly between individuals, often reaching that of a non‐eusocial non‐viscous population, we would expect to see within‐kin both altruistic and nepotistic interactions, like those commonly found in many vertebrate societies (Clutton‐Brock, ; Eberhard, ; Hatchwell, ).…”

“…Such a social structure poses evolutionary questions regarding how the species manage the conflicting demands between an optimal self-organization system and the kin-related conflict that is predicted to arise in view of the overall low relatedness of members of the supercolony. Several explanations have been proposed for the mutual benefits of this social dynamic: from high relatedness of the co-inhabiting queens (the inclusive fitness explanation; Giraud, Blatrix, Poteaux, Solignac, & Jaisson, 2001) to robustness of the colony (higher genetic diversity, and colony size explanations ;Heinze & Rueppell, 2014;Hughes, Ratnieks, & Oldroyd, 2008;Keller, 1995).…”