1
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Ferrari A, Tacconi G, Polidori C. Subtle morphological changes in the visual and antennal sensory system of bees and wasps across an urbanisation gradient. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8960. [PMID: 38637599 PMCID: PMC11026482 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58804-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Increased temperature and fragmentation of green spaces in urban areas could drive variations in functional traits of insects. Such morphological shifts may occur for sensory systems, which were previously reported to be prone to change with habitat characteristics in non-urban contexts. Here, we measured traits related to the visual and antennal sensory systems in the bees Halictus scabiosae and Osmia cornuta and the wasp Polistes dominula along an urbanisation gradient within Milan (Italy). We hypothesised that fragmentation could filter for better visual properties, and that higher temperature could filter for fewer thermoreceptors and more olfactory hairs. While controlling for body size, results show subtle but appreciable responses to urbanisation in one or more traits in all species, though not always supporting our hypotheses. O. cornuta shows marginally higher ommatidia density and smaller ommatidia diameter (associated with better visual resolution) in more fragmented sites, as well as marginally fewer thermoreceptors in hotter sites, in agreement with our two predictions. On the other hand, H. scabiosae has marginally smaller antennae and P. dominula has smaller eyes at warmer locations, and the wasp also has smaller antennae and 9th flagellomeres in more fragmented areas. Perhaps higher temperatures accelerate development of sensory system at higher speed than the rest of body in these two species. Our results represent the first evidence of urbanisation effects on the visual and antennal sensory systems of bees and wasps and underline how such effects may involve a much broader bouquet of traits then previously observed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Ferrari
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP), University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milan, Italy.
| | - Greta Tacconi
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP), University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Carlo Polidori
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP), University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milan, Italy
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2
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Couto A, Marty S, Dawson EH, d'Ettorre P, Sandoz JC, Montgomery SH. Evolution of the neuronal substrate for kin recognition in social Hymenoptera. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2023; 98:2226-2242. [PMID: 37528574 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023]
Abstract
In evolutionary terms, life is about reproduction. Yet, in some species, individuals forgo their own reproduction to support the reproductive efforts of others. Social insect colonies for example, can contain up to a million workers that actively cooperate in tasks such as foraging, brood care and nest defence, but do not produce offspring. In such societies the division of labour is pronounced, and reproduction is restricted to just one or a few individuals, most notably the queen(s). This extreme eusocial organisation exists in only a few mammals, crustaceans and insects, but strikingly, it evolved independently up to nine times in the order Hymenoptera (including ants, bees and wasps). Transitions from a solitary lifestyle to an organised society can occur through natural selection when helpers obtain a fitness benefit from cooperating with kin, owing to the indirect transmission of genes through siblings. However, this process, called kin selection, is vulnerable to parasitism and opportunistic behaviours from unrelated individuals. An ability to distinguish kin from non-kin, and to respond accordingly, could therefore critically facilitate the evolution of eusociality and the maintenance of non-reproductive workers. The question of how the hymenopteran brain has adapted to support this function is therefore a fundamental issue in evolutionary neuroethology. Early neuroanatomical investigations proposed that social Hymenoptera have expanded integrative brain areas due to selection for increased cognitive capabilities in the context of processing social information. Later studies challenged this assumption and instead pointed to an intimate link between higher social organisation and the existence of developed sensory structures involved in recognition and communication. In particular, chemical signalling of social identity, known to be mediated through cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), may have evolved hand in hand with a specialised chemosensory system in Hymenoptera. Here, we compile the current knowledge on this recognition system, from emitted identity signals, to the molecular and neuronal basis of chemical detection, with particular emphasis on its evolutionary history. Finally, we ask whether the evolution of social behaviour in Hymenoptera could have driven the expansion of their complex olfactory system, or whether the early origin and conservation of an olfactory subsystem dedicated to social recognition could explain the abundance of eusocial species in this insect order. Answering this question will require further comparative studies to provide a comprehensive view on lineage-specific adaptations in the olfactory pathway of Hymenoptera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Couto
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
- Evolution, Genomes, Behaviour and Ecology (UMR 9191), IDEEV, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, IRD, 12 route 128, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91190, France
| | - Simon Marty
- Evolution, Genomes, Behaviour and Ecology (UMR 9191), IDEEV, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, IRD, 12 route 128, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91190, France
| | - Erika H Dawson
- Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology, UR 4443 (LEEC), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, 99 avenue J.-B. Clément, Villetaneuse, 93430, France
| | - Patrizia d'Ettorre
- Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology, UR 4443 (LEEC), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, 99 avenue J.-B. Clément, Villetaneuse, 93430, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 103 Boulevard Saint-Michel, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Jean-Christophe Sandoz
- Evolution, Genomes, Behaviour and Ecology (UMR 9191), IDEEV, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, IRD, 12 route 128, Gif-sur-Yvette, 91190, France
| | - Stephen H Montgomery
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, UK
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3
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Zhang F, Cao W, Zhang Y, Luo J, Hou J, Chen L, Yi G, Li H, Huang M, Dong L, Li X. S-dinotefuran affects the social behavior of honeybees (Apis mellifera)and increases their risk in the colony. PESTICIDE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 196:105594. [PMID: 37945244 DOI: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2023.105594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
The toxic effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on honeybees is a global concern, whereas little is known about the effect of stereoisomeric pesticides among honeybee social behavior. In this study, we investigated the effects of stereoisomeric dinotefuran on honeybee social behavior. We found that honeybees exhibit a preference for consuming food containing S-dinotefuran, actively engage in trophallaxis with S-dinotefuran-consuming peers, and consequently acquire higher levels of S-dinotefuran compared with R-dinotefuran. In comparison to R-dinotefuran, S-dinotefuran stimulates honeybees to elevate their body temperature, thereby attracting more peers for trophallaxis. Transcriptome analysis revealed a significant enrichment of thermogenesis pathways due to S-dinotefuran exposure. Additionally, metabolome data indicated that S-dinotefuran may enhance body temperature by promoting lipid synthesis in the lysine degradation pathway. Consequently, body temperature emerges as a key factor influencing honeybee social behavior. Our study is the first to highlight the propensity of S-dinotefuran to raise honeybee body temperature, which prompts honeybee to preferentially engage in trophallaxis with peers exhibiting higher body temperatures. This preference may lead honeybees to collect more dinotefuran-contaminated food in the wild, significantly accelerating dinotefuran transmission within a population. Proactive trophallaxis further amplifies the risk of neonicotinoid pesticide transmission within a population, making honeybees that have consumed S-dinotefuran particularly favored within their colonies. These findings may contribute to our understanding of the higher risk associated with neonicotinoid use compared with other pesticides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fu Zhang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-products Safety, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China
| | - Wenjing Cao
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-products Safety, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China
| | - Yongheng Zhang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-products Safety, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China
| | - Jie Luo
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-products Safety, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China
| | - Jiangan Hou
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-products Safety, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China
| | - Lichao Chen
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-products Safety, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China
| | - Guoqiang Yi
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-products Safety, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China
| | - Honghong Li
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-products Safety, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China
| | - Mingfeng Huang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-products Safety, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China
| | - Linxi Dong
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-products Safety, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China
| | - Xuesheng Li
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Agric-Environment and Agric-products Safety, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China.
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4
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Freiler MK, Smith GT. Neuroendocrine mechanisms contributing to the coevolution of sociality and communication. Front Neuroendocrinol 2023; 70:101077. [PMID: 37217079 PMCID: PMC10527162 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2023.101077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Communication is inherently social, so signaling systems should evolve with social systems. The 'social complexity hypothesis' posits that social complexity necessitates communicative complexity and is generally supported in vocalizing mammals. This hypothesis, however, has seldom been tested outside the acoustic modality, and comparisons across studies are confounded by varying definitions of complexity. Moreover, proximate mechanisms underlying coevolution of sociality and communication remain largely unexamined. In this review, we argue that to uncover how sociality and communication coevolve, we need to examine variation in the neuroendocrine mechanisms that coregulate social behavior and signal production and perception. Specifically, we focus on steroid hormones, monoamines, and nonapeptides, which modulate both social behavior and sensorimotor circuits and are likely targets of selection during social evolution. Lastly, we highlight weakly electric fishes as an ideal system in which to comparatively address the proximate mechanisms underlying relationships between social and signal diversity in a novel modality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan K Freiler
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States; Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States.
| | - G Troy Smith
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States; Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States
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5
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Kardas E, González-Rosario AM, Giray T, Ackerman JD, Godoy-Vitorino F. Gut microbiota variation of a tropical oil-collecting bee species far exceeds that of the honeybee. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1122489. [PMID: 37266018 PMCID: PMC10229882 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1122489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Interest for bee microbiota has recently been rising, alleviating the gap in knowledge in regard to drivers of solitary bee gut microbiota. However, no study has addressed the microbial acquisition routes of tropical solitary bees. For both social and solitary bees, the gut microbiota has several essential roles such as food processing and immune responses. While social bees such as honeybees maintain a constant gut microbiota by direct transmission from individuals of the same hive, solitary bees do not have direct contact between generations. They thus acquire their gut microbiota from the environment and/or the provision of their brood cell. To establish the role of life history in structuring the gut microbiota of solitary bees, we characterized the gut microbiota of Centris decolorata from a beach population in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Females provide the initial brood cell provision for the larvae, while males patrol the nest without any contact with it. We hypothesized that this behavior influences their gut microbiota, and that the origin of larval microbiota is from brood cell provisions. Methods We collected samples from adult females and males of C. decolorata (n = 10 each, n = 20), larvae (n = 4), and brood cell provisions (n = 10). For comparison purposes, we also sampled co-occurring female foragers of social Apis mellifera (n = 6). The samples were dissected, their DNA extracted, and gut microbiota sequenced using 16S rRNA genes. Pollen loads of A. mellifera and C. decolorata were analyzed and interactions between bee species and their plant resources were visualized using a pollination network. Results While we found the gut of A. mellifera contained the same phylotypes previously reported in the literature, we noted that the variability in the gut microbiota of solitary C. decolorata was significantly higher than that of social A. mellifera. Furthermore, the microbiota of adult C. decolorata mostly consisted of acetic acid bacteria whereas that of A. mellifera mostly had lactic acid bacteria. Among C. decolorata, we found significant differences in alpha and beta diversity between adults and their brood cell provisions (Shannon and Chao1 p < 0.05), due to the higher abundance of families such as Rhizobiaceae and Chitinophagaceae in the brood cells, and of Acetobacteraceae in adults. In addition, the pollination network analysis indicated that A. mellifera had a stronger interaction with Byrsonima sp. and a weaker interaction with Combretaceae while interactions between C. decolorata and its plant resources were constant with the null model. Conclusion Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that behavioral differences in brood provisioning between solitary and social bees is a factor leading to relatively high variation in the microbiota of the solitary bee.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elif Kardas
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, United States
- Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, United States
| | | | - Tugrul Giray
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, United States
| | - James D. Ackerman
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, United States
| | - Filipa Godoy-Vitorino
- Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, United States
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6
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Favreau E, Cini A, Taylor D, Câmara Ferreira F, Bentley MA, Cappa F, Cervo R, Privman E, Schneider J, Thiéry D, Mashoodh R, Wyatt CDR, Brown RL, Bodrug-Schepers A, Stralis-Pavese N, Dohm JC, Mead D, Himmelbauer H, Guigo R, Sumner S. Putting hornets on the genomic map. Sci Rep 2023; 13:6232. [PMID: 37085574 PMCID: PMC10121689 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31932-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Hornets are the largest of the social wasps, and are important regulators of insect populations in their native ranges. Hornets are also very successful as invasive species, with often devastating economic, ecological and societal effects. Understanding why these wasps are such successful invaders is critical to managing future introductions and minimising impact on native biodiversity. Critical to the management toolkit is a comprehensive genomic resource for these insects. Here we provide the annotated genomes for two hornets, Vespa crabro and Vespa velutina. We compare their genomes with those of other social Hymenoptera, including the northern giant hornet Vespa mandarinia. The three hornet genomes show evidence of selection pressure on genes associated with reproduction, which might facilitate the transition into invasive ranges. Vespa crabro has experienced positive selection on the highest number of genes, including those putatively associated with molecular binding and olfactory systems. Caste-specific brain transcriptomic analysis also revealed 133 differentially expressed genes, some of which are associated with olfactory functions. This report provides a spring-board for advancing our understanding of the evolution and ecology of hornets, and opens up opportunities for using molecular methods in the future management of both native and invasive populations of these over-looked insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emeline Favreau
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Alessandro Cini
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- Department of Biology, Università di Pisa, Via Volta 6, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Daisy Taylor
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | | | - Michael A Bentley
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Federico Cappa
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
| | - Rita Cervo
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
| | - Eyal Privman
- Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Abba Hushi 199, 3498838, Haifa, Israel
| | - Jadesada Schneider
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Denis Thiéry
- INRAe, UMR 1065 Santé et Agroécologie du Vignoble, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, ISVV, Université de Bordeaux, 33883, Villenave d'Ornon, France
| | - Rahia Mashoodh
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Christopher D R Wyatt
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Robert L Brown
- Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, 54 Gerald Street, Lincoln, 7608, New Zealand
| | - Alexandrina Bodrug-Schepers
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Computational Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190, Vienna, Austria
| | - Nancy Stralis-Pavese
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Computational Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190, Vienna, Austria
| | - Juliane C Dohm
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Computational Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190, Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniel Mead
- Tree of Life Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Heinz Himmelbauer
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Computational Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Muthgasse 18, 1190, Vienna, Austria
| | - Roderic Guigo
- Centre for Genomic Regulation, Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Seirian Sumner
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
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7
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Jones BM, Rubin BER, Dudchenko O, Kingwell CJ, Traniello IM, Wang ZY, Kapheim KM, Wyman ES, Adastra PA, Liu W, Parsons LR, Jackson SR, Goodwin K, Davidson SM, McBride MJ, Webb AE, Omufwoko KS, Van Dorp N, Otárola MF, Pham M, Omer AD, Weisz D, Schraiber J, Villanea F, Wcislo WT, Paxton RJ, Hunt BG, Aiden EL, Kocher SD. Convergent and complementary selection shaped gains and losses of eusociality in sweat bees. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:557-569. [PMID: 36941345 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02001-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023]
Abstract
Sweat bees have repeatedly gained and lost eusociality, a transition from individual to group reproduction. Here we generate chromosome-length genome assemblies for 17 species and identify genomic signatures of evolutionary trade-offs associated with transitions between social and solitary living. Both young genes and regulatory regions show enrichment for these molecular patterns. We also identify loci that show evidence of complementary signals of positive and relaxed selection linked specifically to the convergent gains and losses of eusociality in sweat bees. This includes two pleiotropic proteins that bind and transport juvenile hormone (JH)-a key regulator of insect development and reproduction. We find that one of these proteins is primarily expressed in subperineurial glial cells that form the insect blood-brain barrier and that brain levels of JH vary by sociality. Our findings are consistent with a role of JH in modulating social behaviour and suggest that eusocial evolution was facilitated by alteration of the proteins that bind and transport JH, revealing how an ancestral developmental hormone may have been co-opted during one of life's major transitions. More broadly, our results highlight how evolutionary trade-offs have structured the molecular basis of eusociality in these bees and demonstrate how both directional selection and release from constraint can shape trait evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beryl M Jones
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Benjamin E R Rubin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Olga Dudchenko
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Callum J Kingwell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama
| | - Ian M Traniello
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Z Yan Wang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Karen M Kapheim
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
| | - Eli S Wyman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Per A Adastra
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Weijie Liu
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Lance R Parsons
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - S RaElle Jackson
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Katharine Goodwin
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Shawn M Davidson
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Matthew J McBride
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Andrew E Webb
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Kennedy S Omufwoko
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Nikki Van Dorp
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Mauricio Fernández Otárola
- Biodiversity and Tropical Ecology Research Center (CIBET) and School of Biology, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Melanie Pham
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Arina D Omer
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - David Weisz
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Joshua Schraiber
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Illumina Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Illumina Inc, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Fernando Villanea
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - William T Wcislo
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Republic of Panama
| | - Robert J Paxton
- Institute of Biology, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany
| | - Brendan G Hunt
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Erez Lieberman Aiden
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Sarah D Kocher
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
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8
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Ontogenetic change in social context as a cue for a behavioural switch in spiderlings. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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9
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Tong C, Avilés L, Rayor LS, Mikheyev AS, Linksvayer TA. Genomic signatures of recent convergent transitions to social life in spiders. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6967. [PMID: 36414623 PMCID: PMC9681848 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34446-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The transition from solitary to social life is a major phenotypic innovation, but its genetic underpinnings are largely unknown. To identify genomic changes associated with this transition, we compare the genomes of 22 spider species representing eight recent and independent origins of sociality. Hundreds of genes tend to experience shifts in selection during the repeated transition to social life. These genes are associated with several key functions, such as neurogenesis, behavior, and metabolism, and include genes that previously have been implicated in animal social behavior and human behavioral disorders. In addition, social species have elevated genome-wide rates of molecular evolution associated with relaxed selection caused by reduced effective population size. Altogether, our study provides unprecedented insights into the genomic signatures of social evolution and the specific genetic changes that repeatedly underpin the evolution of sociality. Our study also highlights the heretofore unappreciated potential of transcriptomics using ethanol-preserved specimens for comparative genomics and phylotranscriptomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Tong
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. .,Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA.
| | - Leticia Avilés
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Linda S Rayor
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Alexander S Mikheyev
- Evolutionary Genomics Group, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, 0200, Australia
| | - Timothy A Linksvayer
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. .,Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA.
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10
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Fichtel C, Kappeler PM. Coevolution of social and communicative complexity in lemurs. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210297. [PMID: 35934963 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The endemic lemurs of Madagascar (Lemuriformes: Primates) exhibit great social and communicative diversity. Given their independent evolutionary history, lemurs provide an excellent opportunity to identify fundamental principles in the coevolution of social and communicative traits. We conducted comparative phylogenetic analyses to examine patterns of interspecific variation among measures of social complexity and repertoire sizes in the vocal, olfactory and visual modality, while controlling for environmental factors such as habitat and number of sympatric species. We also examined potential trade-offs in signal evolution as well as coevolution between body mass or brain size and communicative complexity. Repertoire sizes in the vocal, olfactory and visual modality correlated positively with group size, but not with environmental factors. Evolutionary changes in social complexity presumably antedated corresponding changes in communicative complexity. There was no trade-off in the evolution of signals in different modalities and neither body mass nor brain size correlated with any repertoire size. Hence, communicative complexity coevolved with social complexity across different modalities, possibly to service social relationships flexibly and effectively in pair- and group-living species. Our analyses shed light on the requirements and adaptive possibilities in the coevolution of core elements of social organization and social structure in a basal primate lineage. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cognition, communication and social bonds in primates'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Fichtel
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen 37077, Germany.,Leibniz-ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.,Department Anthropology/Sociobiology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter M Kappeler
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen 37077, Germany.,Leibniz-ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.,Department Anthropology/Sociobiology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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11
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Boulton RA, Field J. Sensory plasticity in a socially plastic bee. J Evol Biol 2022; 35:1218-1228. [PMID: 35849730 PMCID: PMC9543577 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The social Hymenoptera have contributed much to our understanding of the evolution of sensory systems. Attention has focussed chiefly on how sociality and sensory systems have evolved together. In the Hymenoptera, the antennal sensilla are important for optimizing the perception of olfactory social information. Social species have denser antennal sensilla than solitary species, which is thought to enhance social cohesion through nestmate recognition. In the current study, we test whether sensilla numbers vary between populations of the socially plastic sweat bee Halictus rubicundus from regions that vary in climate and the degree to which sociality is expressed. We found population differences in both olfactory and hygro/thermoreceptive sensilla numbers. We also found evidence that olfactory sensilla density is developmentally plastic: when we transplanted bees from Scotland to the south-east of England, their offspring (which developed in the south) had more olfactory hairs than the transplanted individuals themselves (which developed in Scotland). The transplanted bees displayed a mix of social (a queen plus workers) and solitary nesting, but neither individual nor nest phenotype was related to sensilla density. We suggest that this general, rather than caste-specific sensory plasticity provides a flexible means to optimize sensory perception according to the most pressing demands of the environment. Sensory plasticity may support social plasticity in H. rubicundus but does not appear to be causally related to it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca A Boulton
- Laboratory of Genetics, Plant Sciences Group, University of Stirling, Wageningen, The Netherlands.,Biological and Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Stirling, UK
| | - Jeremy Field
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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12
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Shell WA, Rehan SM. Social divergence: molecular pathways underlying castes and longevity in a facultatively eusocial small carpenter bee. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20212663. [PMID: 35317677 PMCID: PMC8941392 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Unravelling the evolutionary origins of eusocial life is a longstanding endeavour in the field of evolutionary-developmental biology. Descended from solitary ancestors, eusocial insects such as honeybees have evolved ontogenetic division of labour in which short-lived workers perform age-associated tasks, while a long-lived queen produces brood. It is hypothesized that (i) eusocial caste systems evolved through the co-option of deeply conserved genes and (ii) longevity may be tied to oxidative damage mitigation capacity. To date, however, these hypotheses have been examined primarily among only obligately eusocial corbiculate bees. We present brain transcriptomic data from a Japanese small carpenter bee, Ceratina japonica (Apidae: Xylocopinae), which demonstrates both solitary and eusocial nesting in sympatry and lives 2 or more years in the wild. Our dataset captures gene expression patterns underlying first- and second-year solitary females, queens and workers, providing an unprecedented opportunity to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying caste-antecedent phenotypes in a long-lived and facultatively eusocial bee. We find that C. japonica's queens and workers are underpinned by divergent gene regulatory pathways, involving many differentially expressed genes well-conserved among other primitively eusocial bee lineages. We also find support for oxidative damage reduction as a proximate mechanism of longevity in C. japonica.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wyatt A. Shell
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3
| | - Sandra M. Rehan
- Department of Biology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3
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13
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Azorsa F, Muscedere ML, Traniello JFA. Socioecology and Evolutionary Neurobiology of Predatory Ants. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.804200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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14
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Medina M, Baker DM, Baltrus DA, Bennett GM, Cardini U, Correa AMS, Degnan SM, Christa G, Kim E, Li J, Nash DR, Marzinelli E, Nishiguchi M, Prada C, Roth MS, Saha M, Smith CI, Theis KR, Zaneveld J. Grand Challenges in Coevolution. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.618251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
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15
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Freelance CB, Magrath MJL, Elgar MA, Wong BBM. Long‐term captivity is associated with changes to sensory organ morphology in a critically endangered insect. J Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael J. L. Magrath
- School of BioSciences The University of Melbourne Parkville Vic. Australia
- Department of Wildlife Conservation and Science Zoos Victoria Parkville Vic. Australia
| | - Mark A. Elgar
- School of BioSciences The University of Melbourne Parkville Vic. Australia
| | - Bob B. M. Wong
- School of Biological Sciences Monash University Clayton Vic. Australia
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16
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Wcislo WT. A Dual Role for Behavior in Evolution and Shaping Organismal Selective Environments. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-012921-052523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The hypothesis that evolved behaviors play a determining role in facilitating and impeding the evolution of other traits has been discussed for more than 100 years with little consensus beyond an agreement that the ideas are theoretically plausible in accord with the Modern Synthesis. Many recent reviews of the genomic, epigenetic, and developmental mechanisms underpinning major behavioral transitions show how facultative expression of novel behaviors can lead to the evolution of obligate behaviors and structures that enhance behavioral function. Phylogenetic and genomic studies indicate that behavioral traits are generally evolutionarily more labile than other traits and that they help shape selective environments on the latter traits. Adaptive decision-making to encounter resources and avoid stress sources requires specific sensory inputs, which behaviorally shape selective environments by determining those features of the external world that are biologically relevant. These recent findings support the hypothesis of a dual role for behavior in evolution and are consistent with current evolutionary theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- William T. Wcislo
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama
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17
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Godfrey RK, Oberski JT, Allmark T, Givens C, Hernandez-Rivera J, Gronenberg W. Olfactory System Morphology Suggests Colony Size Drives Trait Evolution in Odorous Ants (Formicidae: Dolichoderinae). Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.733023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In social insects colony fitness is determined in part by individual worker phenotypes. Across ant species, colony size varies greatly and is thought to affect worker trait variation in both proximate and ultimate ways. Little is known about the relationship between colony size and worker trait evolution, but hypotheses addressing the role of social structure in brain evolution suggest workers of small-colony species may have larger brains or larger brain regions necessary for complex behaviors. In previous work on odorous ants (Formicidae: Dolichoderinae) we found no correlation between colony size and these brain properties, but found that relative antennal lobe size scaled negatively with colony size. Therefore, we now test whether sensory systems scale with colony size, with particular attention to olfactory components thought to be involved in nestmate recognition. Across three species of odorous ants, Forelius mccooki, Dorymyrmex insanus, and D. bicolor, which overlap in habitat and foraging ecology but vary in colony size, we compare olfactory sensory structures, comparing those thought to be involved in nestmate recognition. We use the visual system, a sensory modality not as important in social communication in ants, as a control comparison. We find that body size scaling largely explains differences in eye size, antennal length, antennal sensilla density, and total number of olfactory glomeruli across these species. However, sensilla basiconica and olfactory glomeruli in the T6 cluster of the antennal lobe, structures known to be involved in nestmate recognition, do not follow body size scaling observed for other structures. Instead, we find evidence from the closely related Dorymyrmex species that the larger colony species, D. bicolor, invests more in structures implicated in nestmate recognition. To test for functional consequences, we compare nestmate and non-nestmate interactions between these two species and find D. bicolor pairs of either type engage in more interactions than D. insaus pairs. Thus, we do not find evidence supporting a universal pattern of sensory system scaling associated with changes in colony size, but hypothesize that observed differences in the olfactory components in two closely related Dorymyrmex species are evidence of a link between colony size and sensory trait evolution.
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18
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Solitary Living Brings a Decreased Weight and an Increased Agility to the Domestic Silkworm, Bombyx mori. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12090809. [PMID: 34564249 PMCID: PMC8470633 DOI: 10.3390/insects12090809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary We identified and validated that solitary living brings a decreased weight and an increased agility to silkworms. Solitary silkworms have a faster movement in response to food or physical stress than group-living counterparts. These contradict previous thoughts that solitary or lonely life is always harmful to animals or humans. We identified differently expressed genes (DEGs) and microRNAs (DEmiRNAs) resulted from solitary living. These DEGs and DEmiRNAs are functionally associated with the phenotypic changes led by solitary living. Abstract The domestic silkworms, Bombyx mori, always live in groups and little is known of the outcomes of solitary living. We bred solitary silkworms and performed a comprehensive investigation of the difference between solitary and group-living silkworms. The results show that solitary silkworms had significantly lower weights than group-living counterparts. Moreover, solitary silkworms had faster movements under food luring or heat stress than the group-living ones, supported by extensive behavior experiments. These findings inferred that an increased agility resulted from solitary living. For an understanding of the molecular mechanism associated with solitary living, we performed integrated mRNA and miRNA (microRNA) sequencing of tissues for solitary and group-living silkworms. We identified 165 differently expressed genes (DEGs) and 6 differently expressed miRNAs between the solitary and group-living silkworms. Functional and pathway analyses indicated that these DEGs are associated with weight loss and agility increase. These findings compose a sketch depicting an association between the phenotypes and genes resulted from solitary living and refresh the understanding of solitary living and loneliness, which has an increased prevalence in our modern society.
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19
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Milet-Pinheiro P, Santos PSC, Prieto-Benítez S, Ayasse M, Dötterl S. Differential Evolutionary History in Visual and Olfactory Floral Cues of the Bee-Pollinated Genus Campanula (Campanulaceae). PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 10:1356. [PMID: 34371561 PMCID: PMC8309401 DOI: 10.3390/plants10071356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Visual and olfactory floral signals play key roles in plant-pollinator interactions. In recent decades, studies investigating the evolution of either of these signals have increased considerably. However, there are large gaps in our understanding of whether or not these two cue modalities evolve in a concerted manner. Here, we characterized the visual (i.e., color) and olfactory (scent) floral cues in bee-pollinated Campanula species by spectrophotometric and chemical methods, respectively, with the aim of tracing their evolutionary paths. We found a species-specific pattern in color reflectance and scent chemistry. Multivariate phylogenetic statistics revealed no influence of phylogeny on floral color and scent bouquet. However, univariate phylogenetic statistics revealed a phylogenetic signal in some of the constituents of the scent bouquet. Our results suggest unequal evolutionary pathways of visual and olfactory floral cues in the genus Campanula. While the lack of phylogenetic signal on both color and scent bouquet points to external agents (e.g., pollinators, herbivores) as evolutionary drivers, the presence of phylogenetic signal in at least some floral scent constituents point to an influence of phylogeny on trait evolution. We discuss why external agents and phylogeny differently shape the evolutionary paths in floral color and scent of closely related angiosperms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulo Milet-Pinheiro
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein Allee, 89081 Ulm, Germany; (P.S.C.S.); (M.A.)
| | - Pablo Sandro Carvalho Santos
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein Allee, 89081 Ulm, Germany; (P.S.C.S.); (M.A.)
| | - Samuel Prieto-Benítez
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos-ESCET, C/Tulipán, s/n, Móstoles, 28933 Madrid, Spain;
- Ecotoxicology of Air Pollution Group, Environmental Department, CIEMAT, Avda. Complutense, 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Manfred Ayasse
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein Allee, 89081 Ulm, Germany; (P.S.C.S.); (M.A.)
| | - Stefan Dötterl
- Department of Biosciences, Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria;
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20
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Leighton GM, Birmingham T. Multiple factors affect the evolution of repertoire size across birds. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Changes in signaling repertoires across species allow for insight into the macroevolutionary forces that control signaling systems. Signaling systems are theorized to be affected by both the social and ecological environments of species. With respect to social variables, increased social complexity is thought to lead to increased vocal complexity. Although ecology can affect signaling systems in numerous ways, one potential effect of ecology is that more cluttered habitats should lead to greater reliance on nonvisual (e.g., vocal) signals. To test these concepts on a macroevolutionary scale, we compiled a large dataset of avian vocal repertoires. We amassed vocal repertoires for 821 species of birds and for many of these species categorized their vocalizations into usage categories (e.g., alarm, contact). To analyze the social and ecological forces that act on repertoire evolution, we incorporated datasets with several social variables (e.g., cooperative breeding and length of social bond), and included data on the habitat and foraging behaviors of species within the dataset. We used Bayesian phylogenetic analysis to test for potential relationships within the data. We found that cooperative breeding was a significant predictor of larger repertoire size in birds; we also find several, more targeted effects. For instance, foraging strata affected repertoire size and repertoire composition. In sum, we find considerable evidence that social features affect repertoire size while certain ecological variables have more targeted effects on vocal repertoires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavin M Leighton
- Department of Biology, SUNY Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Tucker Birmingham
- College of Agriculture and Life Science, Cornell University, Corson-Mudd, Ithaca, NY, USA
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21
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Hagadorn MA, Johnson MM, Smith AR, Seid MA, Kapheim KM. Experience, but not age, is associated with volumetric mushroom body expansion in solitary alkali bees. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:jeb.238899. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.238899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
In social insects, changes in behavior are often accompanied by structural changes in the brain. This neuroplasticity may come with experience (experience-dependent) or age (experience-expectant). Yet, the evolutionary relationship between neuroplasticity and sociality is unclear, because we know little about neuroplasticity in the solitary relatives of social species. We used confocal microscopy to measure brain changes in response to age and experience in a solitary halictid bee (Nomia melanderi). First, we compared the volume of individual brain regions among newly emerged females, laboratory females deprived of reproductive and foraging experience, and free-flying, nesting females. Experience, but not age, led to significant expansion of the mushroom bodies – higher-order processing centers associated with learning and memory. Next, we investigated how social experience influences neuroplasticity by comparing the brains of females kept in the laboratory either alone or paired with another female. Paired females had significantly larger olfactory regions of the mushroom bodies. Together, these experimental results indicate that experience-dependent neuroplasticity is common to both solitary and social taxa, whereas experience-expectant neuroplasticity may be an adaptation to life in a social colony. Further, neuroplasticity in response to social chemical signals may have facilitated the evolution of sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mallory A. Hagadorn
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, 5305 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322, USA
| | - Makenna M. Johnson
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, 5305 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322, USA
| | - Adam R. Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, 800 22nd St NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Marc A. Seid
- Biology Department, University of Scranton, 800 Linden St, Scranton, PA 18510, USA
| | - Karen M. Kapheim
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, 5305 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322, USA
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22
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Kingwell C, Böröczky K, Steitz I, Ayasse M, Wcislo W. Cuticular and Dufour's Gland Chemistry Reflect Reproductive and Social State in the Facultatively Eusocial Sweat Bee Megalopta genalis (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). J Chem Ecol 2021; 47:420-432. [PMID: 33682070 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-021-01262-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Queen pheromones evolved independently in multiple eusocial insect lineages, in which they mediate reproductive conflict by inhibiting worker ovarian development. Although fundamentally important for reproductive division of labor - the hallmark of eusociality - their evolutionary origins are enigmatic. Here, we analyze cuticular and Dufour's gland chemistries across alternative social and reproductive phenotypes in Megalopta genalis bees (tribe Augochlorini, family Halictidae) that facultatively express simple eusociality. Reproductive bees have distinct overall glandular and cuticular chemical phenotypes compared with non-reproductive workers. On the cuticle, a likely site of signal transmission, reproductives are enriched for certain alkenes, most linear alkanes, and are heavily enriched for all methyl-branched alkanes. Chemicals belonging to these compound classes are known to function as fertility signals in other eusocial insect taxa. Some macrocyclic lactones, compounds that serve as queen pheromones in the other eusocial halictid tribe (Halictini), are also enriched among reproductives relative to workers. The intra-population facultative eusociality of M. genalis permits direct comparisons between individuals expressing alternative reproductive phenotypes - females that reproduce alone (solitary reproductives) and social queens - to highlight traits in the latter that may be important mediators of eusociality. Compared with solitary reproductives, the cuticular chemistries of queens are more strongly differentiated from those of workers, and furthermore are especially enriched for methyl-branched alkanes. Determining the pheromonal function(s) and information content of the candidate signaling compounds we identify will help illuminate the early evolutionary history of queen pheromones, chemical signals central to the organization of insect eusocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Callum Kingwell
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama.
| | - Katalin Böröczky
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Iris Steitz
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Manfred Ayasse
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - William Wcislo
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama
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23
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Sociality sculpts similar patterns of molecular evolution in two independently evolved lineages of eusocial bees. Commun Biol 2021; 4:253. [PMID: 33637860 PMCID: PMC7977082 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-01770-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
While it is well known that the genome can affect social behavior, recent models posit that social lifestyles can, in turn, influence genome evolution. Here, we perform the most phylogenetically comprehensive comparative analysis of 16 bee genomes to date: incorporating two published and four new carpenter bee genomes (Apidae: Xylocopinae) for a first-ever genomic comparison with a monophyletic clade containing solitary through advanced eusocial taxa. We find that eusocial lineages have undergone more gene family expansions, feature more signatures of positive selection, and have higher counts of taxonomically restricted genes than solitary and weakly social lineages. Transcriptomic data reveal that caste-affiliated genes are deeply-conserved; gene regulatory and functional elements are more closely tied to social phenotype than phylogenetic lineage; and regulatory complexity increases steadily with social complexity. Overall, our study provides robust empirical evidence that social evolution can act as a major and surprisingly consistent driver of macroevolutionary genomic change.
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24
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Baeckens S, Whiting MJ. Investment in chemical signalling glands facilitates the evolution of sociality in lizards. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202438. [PMID: 33593182 PMCID: PMC7935108 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolution of sociality and traits that correlate with, or predict, sociality, have been the focus of considerable recent study. In order to reduce the social conflict that ultimately comes with group living, and foster social tolerance, individuals need reliable information about group members and potential rivals. Chemical signals are one such source of information and are widely used in many animal taxa, including lizards. Here, we take a phylogenetic comparative approach to test the hypothesis that social grouping correlates with investment in chemical signalling. We used the presence of epidermal glands as a proxy of chemical investment and considered social grouping as the occurrence of social groups containing both adults and juveniles. Based on a dataset of 911 lizard species, our models strongly supported correlated evolution between social grouping and chemical signalling glands. The rate of transition towards social grouping from a background of ‘epidermal glands present’ was an order of a magnitude higher than from a background of ‘no epidermal glands’. Our results highlight the potential importance of chemical signalling during the evolution of sociality and the need for more focused studies on the role of chemical communication in facilitating information transfer about individual and group identity, and ameliorating social conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Baeckens
- Functional Morphology Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.,Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Martin J Whiting
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
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25
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Elgar MA, Riehl C. Editorial: Mechanisms of Communication and Recognition in Social Evolution. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.625831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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26
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Bouchebti S, Arganda S. Insect lifestyle and evolution of brain morphology. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2020; 42:90-96. [PMID: 33038535 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2020.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Insect lifestyles are extremely diversified and have important consequences for brain function. Lifestyle determines the resources and information that brains might access and also those that are required to produce adaptive behaviors. Most of the observed adaptations in brain morphology to variation in lifestyle are related to the first stages of sensory information processing (e.g. adaptations to diel habits). However, morphological signatures of lifestyles related to higher order processing of information are more difficult to demonstrate. Co-option of existing neural structures for new behaviors might hinder the detection of morphological changes at a large scale. Current methodological advances will make it possible to investigate finer structural changes (e.g. variation in the connectivity between neurons) and might shed light on whether or not some lifestyles (e.g. eusociality) require morphological adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Bouchebti
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sara Arganda
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
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27
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Holland JG, Bloch G. The Complexity of Social Complexity: A Quantitative Multidimensional Approach for Studies of Social Organization. Am Nat 2020; 196:525-540. [PMID: 33064587 DOI: 10.1086/710957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe rapid increase in "big data" during the postgenomic era makes it crucial to appropriately measure the level of social complexity in comparative studies. We argue that commonly used qualitative classifications lump together species showing a broad range of social complexity and falsely imply that social evolution always progresses along a single linear stepwise trajectory that can be deduced from comparing extant species. To illustrate this point, we compared widely used social complexity measures in "primitively eusocial" bumble bees with "advanced eusocial" stingless bees, honey bees, and attine ants. We find that a single species can have both higher and lower levels of complexity compared with other taxa, depending on the social trait measured. We propose that measuring the complexity of individual social traits switches focus from semantic discussions and offers several directions for progress. First, quantitative social traits can be correlated with molecular, developmental, and physiological processes within and across lineages of social animals. This approach is particularly promising for identifying processes that influence or have been affected by social evolution. Second, key social complexity traits can be combined into multidimensional lineage-specific quantitative indices, enabling fine-scale comparison across species that are currently bundled within the same level of social complexity.
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Miller SE, Sheehan MJ, Reeve HK. Coevolution of cognitive abilities and identity signals in individual recognition systems. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190467. [PMID: 32420843 PMCID: PMC7331018 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interactions are mediated by recognition systems, meaning that the cognitive abilities or phenotypic diversity that facilitate recognition may be common targets of social selection. Recognition occurs when a receiver compares the phenotypes produced by a sender with a template. Coevolution between sender and receiver traits has been empirically reported in multiple species and sensory modalities, though the dynamics and relative exaggeration of traits from senders versus receivers have received little attention. Here, we present a coevolutionary dynamic model that examines the conditions under which senders and receivers should invest effort in facilitating individual recognition. The model predicts coevolution of sender and receiver traits, with the equilibrium investment dependent on the relative costs of signal production versus cognition. In order for recognition to evolve, initial sender and receiver trait values must be above a threshold, suggesting that recognition requires some degree of pre-existing diversity and cognitive abilities. The analysis of selection gradients demonstrates that the strength of selection on sender signals and receiver cognition is strongest when the trait values are furthest from the optima. The model provides new insights into the expected strength and dynamics of selection during the origin and elaboration of individual recognition, an important feature of social cognition in many taxa. This article is part of the theme issue 'Signal detection theory in recognition systems: from evolving models to experimental tests'.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael J. Sheehan
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - H. Kern Reeve
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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29
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Polidori C, Jorge A, Ornosa C. Antennal morphology and sensillar equipment vary with pollen diet specialization in Andrena bees. ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2020; 57:100950. [PMID: 32413703 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2020.100950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Several studies recently reported that specialized (oligolectic) bees, which collect pollen from few host plants, use, besides visual cues, specific volatiles to find their hosts. Generalist (polylectic) bees, on the other hand, likely have to recognize a wider range of volatiles because they forage on many plant species. Bee antennal sensory equipment may thus be under selection to optimize plant host recognition. This selection may have led to variation in sensory equipment morphology with diet specialization (lecty). We tested if lecty correlates with antennal morphology and abundance of the main olfactory/gustatory sensilla (sensilla trichoidea (ST), placoidea (SP), sensilla basiconica (SB)) in the genus Andrena (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae). Across 24 species, and after having controlled for body size, we found polylectic species to have a longer and narrower flagellomer F9 (the one with highest abundance of sensilla), and to have a greater ST density on F9, compared with oligolectic species. Neither SP density nor SB number varied with lecty. A cluster analysis furthermore depicted groups of species that reasonably reflect diet specialization. Our results are in line with the previously observed lower number of glomeruli in the brain of oligolectic, compared with polylectic, bees. A formal correction for phylogeny is necessary to confirm our preliminary conclusion that pollen diet specialization has driven the morphology of the peripheral sensory system in this bee genus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlo Polidori
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales (ICAM), Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Avenida Carlos III, s/n, E-45071, Toledo, Spain.
| | - Alberto Jorge
- Laboratorio de Sistemática Molecular, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), C/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, E-28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Concepción Ornosa
- Departamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, C/ José Antonio Nováis, 12, E-28040, Madrid, Spain.
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Zhao Z, McBride CS. Evolution of olfactory circuits in insects. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2020; 206:353-367. [PMID: 31984441 PMCID: PMC7192870 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-020-01399-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Revised: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in the evolution of neural circuits. Comparison of animals from different families, orders, and phyla reveals fascinating variation in brain morphology, circuit structure, and neural cell types. However, it can be difficult to connect the complex changes that occur across long evolutionary distances to behavior. Luckily, these changes accumulate through processes that should also be observable in recent time, making more tractable comparisons of closely related species relevant and complementary. Here, we review several decades of research on the evolution of insect olfactory circuits across short evolutionary time scales. We describe two well-studied systems, Drosophila sechellia flies and Heliothis moths, in detailed case studies. We then move through key types of circuit evolution, cataloging examples from other insects and looking for general patterns. The literature is dominated by changes in sensory neuron number and tuning at the periphery-often enhancing neural response to odorants with new ecological or social relevance. However, changes in the way olfactory information is processed by central circuits is clearly important in a few cases, and we suspect the development of genetic tools in non-model species will reveal a broad role for central circuit evolution. Moving forward, such tools should also be used to rigorously test causal links between brain evolution and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhilei Zhao
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA.
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA.
| | - Carolyn S McBride
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA.
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA.
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Pahlke S, Jaumann S, Seid MA, Smith AR. Brain differences between social castes precede group formation in a primitively eusocial bee. Naturwissenschaften 2019; 106:49. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-019-1644-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2019] [Revised: 07/20/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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Arsenault SV, Glastad KM, Hunt BG. Leveraging technological innovations to investigate evolutionary transitions to eusociality. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 34:27-32. [PMID: 31247414 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2019.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2018] [Revised: 02/19/2019] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The study of the major transition to eusociality presents several challenges to researchers, largely resulting from the importance of complex behavioral phenotypes and the shift from individual to group level selection. These challenges are being met with corresponding technological improvements. Advances in resource development for non-model taxa, behavioral tracking, nucleic acid sequencing, and reverse genetics are facilitating studies of hypotheses that were previously intractable. These innovations are resulting in the development of new model systems tailored to the exploration of specific behavioral phenotypes and the querying of underlying molecular mechanisms that drive eusocial behaviors. Here, we present a brief overview of how methodological innovations are advancing our understanding of the evolution of eusociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel V Arsenault
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States
| | - Karl M Glastad
- Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
| | - Brendan G Hunt
- Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, United States.
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Linksvayer TA, Johnson BR. Re-thinking the social ladder approach for elucidating the evolution and molecular basis of insect societies. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 34:123-129. [PMID: 31401545 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2019.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2019] [Revised: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/03/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of large insect societies is a major evolutionary transition that occurred in the long-extinct ancestors of termites, ants, corbiculate bees, and vespid wasps. Researchers have long used 'social ladder thinking': assuming progressive stepwise phenotypic evolution and asserting that extant species with simple societies (e.g. some halictid bees) represent the ancestors of species with complex societies, and thus provide insight into general early steps of eusocial evolution. We discuss how this is inconsistent with data and modern evolutionary 'tree thinking'. Phylogenetic comparative methods with broad sampling provide the best means to make rigorous inferences about ancestral traits and evolutionary transitions that occurred within each lineage, and to determine whether consistent phenotypic and genomic changes occurred across independent lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Brian R Johnson
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California Davis, United States
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Chiara V, Ramon Portugal F, Jeanson R. Social intolerance is a consequence, not a cause, of dispersal in spiders. PLoS Biol 2019; 17:e3000319. [PMID: 31265448 PMCID: PMC6605646 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
From invertebrates to vertebrates, a wealth of species display transient sociality during their life cycle. Investigating the causes of dispersal in temporary associations is important to better understand population dynamics. It is also essential to identify possible mechanisms involved in the evolutionary transition from transient to stable sociality, which has been documented repeatedly across taxa and typically requires the suppression of dispersal. In many animals, the onset of dispersal during ontogeny coincides with a sharp decline in social tolerance, but the causal relationship still remains poorly understood. Spiders offer relevant models to explore this question, because the adults of the vast majority of species (>48,000) are solitary and aggressive, but juveniles of most (if not all) species are gregarious and display amicable behaviors. We deployed a combination of behavioral, chemical, and modelling approaches in spiderlings of a solitary species to investigate the mechanisms controlling the developmental switch leading to the decline of social cohesion and the loss of tolerance. We show that maturation causes an increase in mobility that is sufficient to elicit dispersal without requiring any change in social behaviors. Our results further demonstrate that social isolation following dispersal triggers aggressiveness in altering the processing of conspecifics’ cues. We thus provide strong evidence that aggression is a consequence, not a cause, of dispersal in spiderlings. Overall, this study highlights the need of extended social interactions to preserve tolerance, which opens new perspectives for understanding the routes to permanent sociality. Behavioral experiments with the spider Agelena labyrinthica, coupled to computational modelling, show that an increase in mobility with age drives dispersal in gregarious spiderlings of a solitary species and that the subsequent social isolation triggers aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Violette Chiara
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Felipe Ramon Portugal
- Innovations thérapeutiques et résistances, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, INRA, Toulouse, France
| | - Raphael Jeanson
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France
- * E-mail:
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Peckre L, Kappeler PM, Fichtel C. Clarifying and expanding the social complexity hypothesis for communicative complexity. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2605-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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36
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Brain evolution in social insects: advocating for the comparative approach. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2019; 205:13-32. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-019-01315-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2018] [Revised: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 01/11/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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38
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Elgar MA, Zhang D, Wang Q, Wittwer B, Thi Pham H, Johnson TL, Freelance CB, Coquilleau M. Insect Antennal Morphology: The Evolution of Diverse Solutions to Odorant Perception. THE YALE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 2018; 91:457-469. [PMID: 30588211 PMCID: PMC6302626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Chemical communication involves the production, transmission, and perception of odors. Most adult insects rely on chemical signals and cues to locate food resources, oviposition sites or reproductive partners and, consequently, numerous odors provide a vital source of information. Insects detect these odors with receptors mostly located on the antennae, and the diverse shapes and sizes of these antennae (and sensilla) are both astonishing and puzzling: what selective pressures are responsible for these different solutions to the same problem - to perceive signals and cues? This review describes the selection pressures derived from chemical communication that are responsible for shaping the diversity of insect antennal morphology. In particular, we highlight new technologies and techniques that offer exciting opportunities for addressing this surprisingly neglected and yet crucial component of chemical communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A. Elgar
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,To whom all correspondence should be addressed: Mark A. Elgar, School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia; FAX: +61 3 8344 7909;
| | - Dong Zhang
- School of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Qike Wang
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Hieu Thi Pham
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Tamara L. Johnson
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Boff S, Friedel A, Mussury RM, Lenis PR, Raizer J. Changes in social behavior are induced by pesticide ingestion in a Neotropical stingless bee. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2018; 164:548-553. [PMID: 30149353 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2018.08.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Revised: 08/13/2018] [Accepted: 08/17/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Throughout evolutionary history bees have developed complex communication systems. For social bees, communication is important for both the individual and the development of the colony. Successful communication helps bees to recognize relatives, defend the colony, and promote recruitment to optimize foraging of floral resources. Bees' contribution to pollination is of broad environmental and economic importance. However, studies have reported that anthropogenic actions, such as the use of pesticides, negatively affect bee survival and behavior. We tested the effect of a commercially available pesticide mix containing two pesticide classes, a neonicotinoid and a pyrethroid, on the social behavior of the stingless bee, Melipona quadrifasciata (Lepeletier, 1863). After determining a sublethal dose of the pesticides, we tested the effect of an acute dose on antennation and trophallaxis behaviors of worker bees. Our results showed a drastic reduction in the communication and social interactions of bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Boff
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Avenida Dourados-Itahum, km 12, Dourados 79804-970, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Bioprospecting and General Biology, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil; The University of Milan, Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, via Celoria 2, 20133Milan, Italy.
| | - Anna Friedel
- Institute for Biology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Hoher Weg 8, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Rosilda Mara Mussury
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Avenida Dourados-Itahum, km 12, Dourados 79804-970, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Bioprospecting and General Biology, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Entomology and Biodiversity Conservation, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
| | - Patricia Roseti Lenis
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Avenida Dourados-Itahum, km 12, Dourados 79804-970, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Entomology and Biodiversity Conservation, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
| | - Josué Raizer
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Avenida Dourados-Itahum, km 12, Dourados 79804-970, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Entomology and Biodiversity Conservation, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
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40
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Nehring V, Steiger S. Sociality and communicative complexity: insights from the other insect societies. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2018; 28:19-25. [PMID: 30551763 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2018] [Revised: 04/02/2018] [Accepted: 04/03/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Recognition and communication are essential processes when it comes to interaction of organisms with their biotic environment. As especially social interactions are coordinated by communication, it has been predicted that social evolution drives communicative complexity. However, studies comparing olfactory signals or receptor repertoires of solitary and eusocial insects found only mixed evidence for the social complexity hypothesis. We present some possible explanations and especially argue that our current knowledge of intermediate levels of sociality is insufficient to fully test the hypothesis, for which a more balanced comparative dataset would be required. We illustrate with chosen examples how complex communication within the other insect societies can be: Many messages are not unique to eusocial insects. Studying the other insect societies will provide us with a more detailed picture of the link between social and communicative complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Volker Nehring
- Department for Evolutionary Biology and Animal Ecology, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Sandra Steiger
- Institute of Insect Biotechnology, University of Gießen, 35392 Gießen, Germany.
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41
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Evolution of Caste-Specific Chemical Profiles in Halictid Bees. J Chem Ecol 2018; 44:827-837. [PMID: 30014321 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-018-0991-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Revised: 06/26/2018] [Accepted: 07/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Chemical communication is crucial for the maintenance of colony organization in eusocial insects and chemical signals are known to mediate important aspects of their social life, including the regulation of reproduction. Sociality is therefore hypothesized to be accompanied by an increase in the complexity of chemical communication. However, little is known about the evolution of odor signals at the transition from solitary living to eusociality. Halictid bees are especially suitable models to study this question as they exhibit considerable variability in social behavior. Here we investigated whether the dissimilarities in cuticle chemical signals in females of different castes and life stages reflect the level of social complexity across halictid bee species. Our hypothesis was that species with a higher social behavior ergo obligate eusocial species possess a more distinct chemical profile between castes or female life stages. We analyzed cuticular chemical profiles of foundresses, breeding females and workers of ancestrally solitary species, facultative and obligate eusocial halictid species. We also tested whether social complexity was associated with a higher investment in chemical signals. Our results revealed higher chemical dissimilarity between castes in obligate than in facultative eusocial species, especially regarding macrocyclic lactones, which were the single common compound class overproduced in queens compared with workers. Chemical dissimilarities were independent of differences in ovarian status in obligate eusocial species but were dependent on ovarian status in facultative eusocial species, which we discuss in an evolutionary framework.
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42
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Leighton GM. Cooperative breeding influences the number and type of vocalizations in avian lineages. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.1508. [PMID: 29187625 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2017] [Accepted: 10/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Although communicative complexity is often predicted to correlate with social complexity in animal societies, few studies have employed large-scale comparative analyses to test whether socially complex species have more complex systems of communication. I tested this social complexity hypothesis in birds (Class: Aves) using the large amount of natural history information that describes both vocal repertoire and social system in these species. To do so, I marshalled data from primary and secondary records of avian vocal repertoires (n = 253), and for each of the species in the dataset I recorded the reported repertoire size and associated species information. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, I found that cooperative breeding was a strong and repeatable predictor of vocal repertoire size, while other social variables, e.g. group size and group stability, had little or no influence on repertoire size. Importantly, repertoire sizes expanded concurrently with the evolution of cooperative breeding, suggesting a direct link between these two traits. Cooperatively breeding species devoted significantly more of their repertoire to contact calls and alarm calls. Overall, these results therefore lend support to the hypothesis that social complexity via behavioural coordination leads to increases in vocal complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavin M Leighton
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, 215 Tower Road, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA .,Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
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Iovinella I, Cappa F, Cini A, Petrocelli I, Cervo R, Turillazzi S, Dani FR. Antennal Protein Profile in Honeybees: Caste and Task Matter More Than Age. Front Physiol 2018; 9:748. [PMID: 29973886 PMCID: PMC6019485 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.00748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Accepted: 05/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Reproductive and task partitioning in large colonies of social insects suggest that colony members belonging to different castes or performing different tasks during their life (polyethism) may produce specific semiochemicals and be differently sensitive to the variety of pheromones involved in intraspecific chemical communication. The main peripheral olfactory organs are the antennal chemosensilla, where the early olfactory processes take place. At this stage, members of two different families of soluble chemosensory proteins [odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and chemosensory proteins (CSPs)] show a remarkable affinity for different odorants and act as carriers while a further family, the Niemann-Pick type C2 proteins (NPC2) may have a similar function, although this has not been fully demonstrated. Sensillar lymph also contains Odorant degrading enzymes (ODEs) which are involved in inactivation through degradation of the chemical signals, once the message is conveyed. Despite their importance in chemical communication, little is known about how proteins involved in peripheral olfaction and, more generally antennal proteins, differ in honeybees of different caste, task and age. Here, we investigate for the first time, using a shotgun proteomic approach, the antennal profile of honeybees of different castes (queens and workers) and workers performing different tasks (nurses, guards, and foragers) by controlling for the potential confounding effect of age. Regarding olfactory proteins, major differences were observed between queens and workers, some of which were found to be more abundant in queens (OBP3, OBP18, and NPC2-1) and others to be more abundant in workers (OBP15, OBP21, CSP1, and CSP3); while between workers performing different tasks, OBP14 was more abundant in nurses with respect to guards and foragers. Apart from proteins involved in olfaction, we have found that the antennal proteomes are mainly characterized by castes and tasks, while age has no effect on antennal protein profile. Among the main differences, the strong decrease in vitellogenins found in guards and foragers is not associated with age.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Federico Cappa
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy
| | - Alessandro Cini
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy.,Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Iacopo Petrocelli
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy
| | - Rita Cervo
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy
| | - Stefano Turillazzi
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy
| | - Francesca R Dani
- Department of Biology, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy.,Mass Spectrometry Centre, Centro di Servizi di Spettrometria di Massa, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy
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44
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Wittwer B, Elgar MA. Cryptic castes, social context and colony defence in a social bee, Tetragonula carbonaria. Ethology 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark A. Elgar
- School of BioSciences; University of Melbourne; Parkville VIC Australia
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45
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Mayhew PJ. Comparative analysis of behavioural traits in insects. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2018; 27:52-60. [PMID: 30025635 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.02.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2018] [Revised: 02/21/2018] [Accepted: 02/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Comparative studies of insect behaviour based on evolutionary trees are currently blossoming, because of the increasing ease of phylogeny estimation, the availability of new trait data to analyze, and a vast and growing array of statistical techniques for exploring data and testing hypotheses. These studies address not only the selective forces and constraints on insect behaviour, which are the realm of traditional behavioural ecology, but also their ecological and evolutionary consequences. Recent studies have significantly increased our understanding of foraging behaviour, interspecific interactions, locomotion and dispersal, communication and signalling, mate choice and sexual selection, parental care and the evolution of sociality. The curating of trait data remains a significant challenge to maximize the future potential of insect comparative studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J Mayhew
- Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK.
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Sensory and cognitive adaptations to social living in insect societies. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:6424-6426. [PMID: 28600351 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1707141114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
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