Reproductive parameters vary with social and ecological factors in the polygynous ant Formica exsecta
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چکیده
منابع مشابه
Reproductive parameters vary with social and ecological factors in the polygynous ant Formica exsecta
Due to their haplo-diploid sex determination system and the resulting conflict over optimal sex allocation between queens and workers, social Hymenoptera have become important model species to study variation in sex allocation. While many studies indeed reported sex allocation to be affected by social factors such as colony kin structure or queen number, others, however, found that sex allocati...
متن کاملInbreeding and reproductive investment in the ant Formica exsecta.
In social animals, inbreeding depression may manifest by compromising care or resources individuals receive from inbred group members. We studied the effects of worker inbreeding on colony productivity and investment in the ant Formica exsecta. The production of biomass decreased with increasing inbreeding, as did biomass produced per worker. Inbred colonies produced fewer gynes (unmated reprod...
متن کاملColony sex ratios vary with queen number but not relatedness asymmetry in the ant Formica exsecta.
Split-sex-ratio theory assumes that conflict over whether to produce predominately males or female reproductives (gynes) is won by the workers in haplodiploid insect societies and the outcome is determined by colony kin structure. Tests of the theory have the potential to provide support for kin-selection theory and evidence of social conflict. We use natural variation in kinship among polygyno...
متن کاملRestricted effective queen dispersal at a microgeographic scale in polygynous populations of the ant Formica exsecta.
Ecological constraints on effective dispersal have been suggested to be a key factor influencing social evolution in animal societies as well as the shift from single queen colonies (monogyny) to multiple queen colonies (polygyny) in ants. However, little is known about the effective dispersal patterns of ant queens. Here we investigate the microgeographic genetic structure of mitochondrial hap...
متن کاملReproductive specialization in multiple-queen colonies of the ant Formica exsecta
In polygynous (multiple queens per nest) colonies of social insects, queens can increase their reproductive share by laying more eggs or by increasing the proportion of eggs that develop into reproductive individuals instead of workers. We used polymorphic microsatellite loci to determine the genetically effective contribution of queens to the production of gynes (new queens), males, and 2 diff...
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ژورنال
عنوان ژورنال: Oikos
سال: 2008
ISSN: 0030-1299
DOI: 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2008.16207.x