1
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Jeanne RL, Loope KJ, Bouwma AM, Nordheim EV, Smith ML. Five decades of misunderstanding in the social Hymenoptera: a review and meta-analysis of Michener's paradox. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 97:1559-1611. [PMID: 35338566 PMCID: PMC9546470 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
In a much-cited 1964 paper entitled "Reproductive efficiency in relation to colony size in hymenopterous societies," Charles Michener investigated the correlation between a colony's size and its reproductive efficiency - the ability of its adult females to produce reproductives, measured as per-capita output. Based on his analysis of published data from destructively sampled colonies in 18 species, he reported that in most of these species efficiency decreased with increasing colony size. His conclusion that efficiency is higher in smaller groups has since gained widespread acceptance. But it created a seeming paradox: how can natural selection maintain social behaviour when a female apparently enjoys her highest per-capita output by working alone? Here we treat Michener's pattern as a hypothesis and perform the first large-scale test of its prediction across the eusocial Hymenoptera. Because data on actual output of reproductives were not available for most species, Michener used various proxies, such as nest size, numbers of brood, or amounts of stored food. We show that for each of Michener's data sets the reported decline in per-capita productivity can be explained by factors other than decreasing efficiency, calling into question his conclusion that declining efficiency is the cause of the pattern. The most prominent cause of bias is the failure of the proxy to capture all forms of output in which the colony invests during the course of its ontogeny. Other biasing factors include seasonal effects and a variety of methodological flaws in the data sets he used. We then summarize the results of 215 data sets drawn from post-1964 studies of 80 species in 33 genera that better control for these factors. Of these, 163 data sets are included in two meta-analyses that statistically synthesize the available data on the relationship between colony size and efficiency, accounting for variable sample sizes and non-independence among the data sets. The overall effect, and those for most taxonomic subgroups, indicates no loss of efficiency with increasing colony size. Two exceptional taxa, the halictid bees and independent-founding paper wasps, show negative trends consistent with the Michener hypothesis in some species. We conclude that in most species, particularly those with large colony sizes, the hypothesis of decreasing efficiency with increasing colony size is not supported. Finally, we explore potential mechanisms through which the level of efficiency can decrease, be maintained, or even increase, as colonies increase in size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert L Jeanne
- Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, U.S.A
| | - Kevin J Loope
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Cheatham Hall, 310 W. Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24060, U.S.A
| | - Andrew M Bouwma
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Cordley Hall, 3029, 2701 SW Campus Way, Corvallis, OR, 97331, U.S.A
| | - Erik V Nordheim
- Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, WI, 53706, U.S.A
| | - Michael L Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, U.S.A
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2
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Weyna A, Romiguier J, Mullon C. Hybridization enables the fixation of selfish queen genotypes in eusocial colonies. Evol Lett 2021; 5:582-594. [PMID: 34917398 PMCID: PMC8645202 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
A eusocial colony typically consists of two main castes: queens that reproduce and sterile workers that help them. This division of labor, however, is vulnerable to genetic elements that favor the development of their carriers into queens. Several factors, such as intracolonial relatedness, can modulate the spread of such caste‐biasing genotypes. Here we investigate the effects of a notable yet understudied ecological setting: where larvae produced by hybridization develop into sterile workers. Using mathematical modeling, we show that the coevolution of hybridization with caste determination readily triggers an evolutionary arms race between nonhybrid larvae that increasingly develop into queens, and queens that increasingly hybridize to produce workers. Even where hybridization reduces worker function and colony fitness, this race can lead to the loss of developmental plasticity and to genetically hard‐wired caste determination. Overall, our results may help understand the repeated evolution toward remarkable reproductive systems (e.g., social hybridogenesis) observed in several ant species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur Weyna
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (UMR 5554) University of Montpellier, CNRS Montpellier 34000 France
| | - Jonathan Romiguier
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (UMR 5554) University of Montpellier, CNRS Montpellier 34000 France
| | - Charles Mullon
- Department of Ecology and Evolution University of Lausanne Lausanne 1015 Switzerland
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3
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Silva JD. The Extension of Foundress Lifespan and the Evolution of Eusociality in the Hymenoptera. Am Nat 2021; 199:E140-E155. [DOI: 10.1086/718594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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4
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Azevedo-Silva M, Mori GM, Carvalho CS, Côrtes MC, Souza AP, Oliveira PS. Breeding systems and genetic diversity in tropical carpenter ant colonies: different strategies for similar outcomes in Brazilian Cerrado savanna. Zool J Linn Soc 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
AbstractEusocial insects tend to present low genetic diversity (GD) within colonies, which can increase with the co-occurrence of multiple queens (polygyny) or with multiple mating by a single queen (polyandry). Therefore, it is important to elucidate how these strategies influence GD, which in turn mediate population ecology and how organisms respond to their environment. We studied two carpenter ant species from the Brazilian savanna, Camponotus renggeri and C. rufipes. Using microsatellites, we evaluated the number of breeders, the genetic relatedness and the contribution of polygyny and polyandry to GD within colonies. Both species exhibited facultative polygyny. In C. renggeri, low related queens formed colonies jointly and present low mating frequency. In this species, colony GD increased with the number of queens. Contrastingly, closely related queens of C. rufipes formed polygynous colonies, exhibiting high mating frequency. In C. rufipes, both queens and males contributed to colony GD. Despite the differences, the two species have similar GD at the colony scale. Under low mating frequency, our data support that polygyny has evolutionary importance for increasing GD in ant colonies, a mechanism mainly conferred to polyandry. Although the impact of GD in variable ecological and adaptive contexts remains uncertain, this study highlights how distinct reproductive strategies may generate similar patterns of GD in ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianne Azevedo-Silva
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas SP, Brazil
| | - Gustavo M Mori
- Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, São Vicente SP, Brazil
| | | | - Marina C Côrtes
- Departamento de Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro SP, Brazil
| | - Anete P Souza
- Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Centro de Biologia Molecular e Engenharia Genética, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas SP, Brazil
| | - Paulo S Oliveira
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas SP, Brazil
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5
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Field J, Toyoizumi H. The evolution of eusociality: no risk-return tradeoff but the ecology matters. Ecol Lett 2019; 23:518-526. [PMID: 31884729 PMCID: PMC7027560 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The origin of eusociality in the Hymenoptera is a question of major interest. Theory has tended to focus on genetic relatedness, but ecology can be just as important a determinant of whether eusociality evolves. Using the model of Fu et al. (2015), we show how ecological assumptions critically affect the conclusions drawn. Fu et al. inferred that eusociality rarely evolves because it faces a fundamental ‘risk‐return tradeoff’. The intuitive logic was that worker production represents an opportunity cost because it delays realising a reproductive payoff. However, making empirically justified assumptions that (1) workers take over egg‐laying following queen death and (2) productivity increases gradually with each additional worker, we find that the risk‐return tradeoff disappears. We then survey Hymenoptera with more specialised morphological castes, and show how the interaction between two common features of eusociality – saturating birth rates and group size‐dependent helping decisions – can determine whether eusociality outperforms other strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy Field
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, TR10 9EZ, UK
| | - Hiroshi Toyoizumi
- Graduate School of Accounting and Department of Applied Mathematics, Waseda University, Nishi-waseda 1-6-1, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 169-8050, Japan
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6
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Miller JS, Reeve HK. Feedback loops in the major evolutionary transition to eusociality: the status and potential of theoretical approaches. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 34:85-90. [PMID: 31247424 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2019.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 04/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
In this review, we adopt a step-wise framework for the evolution a major evolutionary transition in light of eusocial insects. By focusing on the sequence of (1) group formation, (2) alignment of genetic interests, and finally (3) group integration to higher-level functioning, we highlight that these steps occasionally interact with each other through feedback. We summarize models that capture such feedback and identify cases where there is room for the development of between-step relationships. We suggest that life history traits may serve as a conduit for analyzing feedback between suites of correlated traits. Our review reveals that there are many relationships both within and between the above steps that await formal modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie S Miller
- Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, 612 Charles E. Young Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| | - Hudson Kern Reeve
- Neurobiology & Behavior, Cornell University, 215 Tower Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
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7
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Avila P, Fromhage L, Lehmann L. Sex-allocation conflict and sexual selection throughout the lifespan of eusocial colonies. Evolution 2019; 73:1116-1132. [PMID: 31004345 PMCID: PMC6593813 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2018] [Accepted: 03/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Models of sex‐allocation conflict are central to evolutionary biology but have mostly assumed static decisions, where resource allocation strategies are constant over colony lifespan. Here, we develop a model to study how the evolution of dynamic resource allocation strategies is affected by the queen‐worker conflict in annual eusocial insects. We demonstrate that the time of dispersal of sexuals affects the sex‐allocation ratio through sexual selection on males. Furthermore, our model provides three predictions that depart from established results of classic static allocation models. First, we find that the queen wins the sex‐allocation conflict, while the workers determine the maximum colony size and colony productivity. Second, male‐biased sex allocation and protandry evolve if sexuals disperse directly after eclosion. Third, when workers are more related to new queens, then the proportional investment into queens is expected to be lower, which results from the interacting effect of sexual selection (selecting for protandry) and sex‐allocation conflict (selecting for earlier switch to producing sexuals). Overall, we find that colony ontogeny crucially affects the outcome of sex‐allocation conflict because of the evolution of distinct colony growth phases, which decouples how queens and workers affect allocation decisions and can result in asymmetric control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piret Avila
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Biophore, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Lutz Fromhage
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, Jyväskylä FI-40014, Finland
| | - Laurent Lehmann
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Biophore, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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8
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuomas K. Pernu
- Dept of Philosophy, King's College London London WC2R 2LS UK
- Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - Heikki Helanterä
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Univ. of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, Univ. of Oulu Finland
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9
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Fronhofer EA, Liebig J, Mitesser O, Poethke HJ. Eusociality outcompetes egalitarian and solitary strategies when resources are limited and reproduction is costly. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:12953-12964. [PMID: 30619596 PMCID: PMC6309011 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2017] [Revised: 09/20/2018] [Accepted: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Explaining the evolution and maintenance of animal groups remains a challenge. Surprisingly, fundamental ecological factors, such as resource variance and competition for limited resources, tend to be ignored in models of cooperation. We use a mathematical model previously developed to quantify the influence of different group sizes on resource use efficiency in egalitarian groups and extend its scope to groups with severe reproductive skew (eusocial groups). Accounting for resource limitation, the model allows calculation of optimal group sizes (highest resource use efficiency) and equilibrium population sizes in egalitarian as well as eusocial groups for a broad spectrum of environmental conditions (variance of resource supply). We show that, in contrast to egalitarian groups, eusocial groups may not only reduce variance in resource supply for survival, thus reducing the risk of starvation, they may also increase variance in resource supply for reproduction. The latter effect allows reproduction even in situations when resources are scarce. These two facets of eusocial groups, resource sharing for survival and resource pooling for reproduction, constitute two beneficial mechanisms of group formation. In a majority of environmental situations, these two benefits of eusociality increase resource use efficiency and lead to supersaturation-a strong increase in carrying capacity. The increase in resource use efficiency provides indirect benefits to group members even for low intra-group relatedness and may represent one potential explanation for the evolution and especially the maintenance of eusociality and cooperative breeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuel A. Fronhofer
- Department of Aquatic EcologyEawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyDübendorfSwitzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichZürichSwitzerland
- ISEMUniversité de MontpellierCNRS, IRD, EPHEMontpellierFrance
- Field Station FabrikschleichachUniversity of WürzburgRauhenebrachGermany
| | - Jürgen Liebig
- School of Life Sciences and Center for Social Dynamics and ComplexityArizona State UniversityTempeArizona
| | - Oliver Mitesser
- Field Station FabrikschleichachUniversity of WürzburgRauhenebrachGermany
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10
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Lindstedt C, Miettinen A, Freitak D, Ketola T, López-Sepulcre A, Mäntylä E, Pakkanen H. Ecological conditions alter cooperative behaviour and its costs in a chemically defended sawfly. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:rspb.2018.0466. [PMID: 30068673 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2018] [Accepted: 07/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolution of cooperation and social behaviour is often studied in isolation from the ecology of organisms. Yet, the selective environment under which individuals evolve is much more complex in nature, consisting of ecological and abiotic interactions in addition to social ones. Here, we measured the life-history costs of cooperative chemical defence in a gregarious social herbivore, Diprion pini pine sawfly larvae, and how these costs vary under different ecological conditions. We ran a rearing experiment where we manipulated diet (resin content) and attack intensity by repeatedly harassing larvae to produce a chemical defence. We show that forcing individuals to allocate more to cooperative defence (high attack intensity) incurred a clear cost by decreasing individual survival and potency of chemical defence. Cooperative behaviour and the magnitude of its costs were further shaped by host plant quality. The number of individuals participating in group defence, immune responses and female growth decreased on a high resin diet under high attack intensity. We also found some benefits of cheating: non-defending males had higher growth rates across treatments. Taken together, these results suggest that ecological interactions can shape the adaptive value of cooperative behaviour and maintain variation in the frequency of cooperation and cheating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carita Lindstedt
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Antti Miettinen
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Dalial Freitak
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.,Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tarmo Ketola
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Andres López-Sepulcre
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.,CNRS UMR 7618, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris (iEES), Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France
| | - Elina Mäntylä
- Applied Zoology/Animal Ecology, Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hannu Pakkanen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
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11
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Dew RM, Shell WA, Rehan SM. Changes in maternal investment with climate moderate social behaviour in a facultatively social bee. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2488-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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12
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Olejarz J, Veller C, Nowak MA. The evolution of queen control over worker reproduction in the social Hymenoptera. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:8427-8441. [PMID: 29075460 PMCID: PMC5648666 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2017] [Revised: 07/12/2017] [Accepted: 07/20/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
A trademark of eusocial insect species is reproductive division of labor, in which workers forego their own reproduction while the queen produces almost all offspring. The presence of the queen is key for maintaining social harmony, but the specific role of the queen in the evolution of eusociality remains unclear. A long‐discussed scenario is that a queen either behaviorally or chemically sterilizes her workers. However, the demographic and ecological conditions that enable such manipulation are still debated. We study a simple model of evolutionary dynamics based on haplodiploid genetics. Our model is set in the commonly observed case where workers have lost the ability to lay female (diploid) eggs by mating, but retain the ability to lay male (haploid) eggs. We consider a mutation that acts in a queen, causing her to control the reproductive behavior of her workers. Our mathematical analysis yields precise conditions for the evolutionary emergence and stability of queen‐induced worker sterility. These conditions do not depend on the queen's mating frequency. We find that queen control is always established if it increases colony reproductive efficiency, but can evolve even if it decreases colony efficiency. We further derive the conditions under which queen control is evolutionarily stable against invasion by mutant workers who have recovered the ability to lay male eggs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Olejarz
- Program for Evolutionary Dynamics Harvard University Cambridge MA USA
| | - Carl Veller
- Program for Evolutionary Dynamics Harvard University Cambridge MA USA.,Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University Cambridge MA USA
| | - Martin A Nowak
- Program for Evolutionary Dynamics Harvard University Cambridge MA USA.,Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University Cambridge MA USA.,Department of Mathematics Harvard University Cambridge MA USA
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13
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Dew RM, Tierney SM, Schwarz MP. Lack of ovarian skew in an allodapine bee and the evolution of casteless social behaviour. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2017.1313784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca M. Dew
- School of Biology, The Flinders University of South Australia, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Simon M. Tierney
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Michael P. Schwarz
- School of Biology, The Flinders University of South Australia, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA, Australia
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14
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Shen SF, Emlen ST, Koenig WD, Rubenstein DR. The ecology of cooperative breeding behaviour. Ecol Lett 2017; 20:708-720. [PMID: 28480586 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2017] [Revised: 03/10/2017] [Accepted: 03/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Ecology is a fundamental driving force for the evolutionary transition from solitary living to breeding cooperatively in groups. However, the fact that both benign and harsh, as well as stable and fluctuating, environments can favour the evolution of cooperative breeding behaviour constitutes a paradox of environmental quality and sociality. Here, we propose a new model - the dual benefits framework - for resolving this paradox. Our framework distinguishes between two categories of grouping benefits - resource defence benefits that derive from group-defended critical resources and collective action benefits that result from social cooperation among group members - and uses insider-outsider conflict theory to simultaneously consider the interests of current group members (insiders) and potential joiners (outsiders) in determining optimal group size. We argue that the different grouping benefits realised from resource defence and collective action profoundly affect insider-outsider conflict resolution, resulting in predictable differences in the per capita productivity, stable group size, kin structure and stability of the social group. We also suggest that different types of environmental variation (spatial vs. temporal) select for societies that form because of the different grouping benefits, thus helping to resolve the paradox of why cooperative breeding evolves in such different types of environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng-Feng Shen
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Stephen T Emlen
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Walter D Koenig
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.,Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA
| | - Dustin R Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA.,Center for Integrative Animal Behavior, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
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15
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Lehmann L, Mullon C, Akçay E, Van Cleve J. Invasion fitness, inclusive fitness, and reproductive numbers in heterogeneous populations. Evolution 2016; 70:1689-702. [PMID: 27282317 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2016] [Accepted: 05/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
How should fitness be measured to determine which phenotype or "strategy" is uninvadable when evolution occurs in a group-structured population subject to local demographic and environmental heterogeneity? Several fitness measures, such as basic reproductive number, lifetime dispersal success of a local lineage, or inclusive fitness have been proposed to address this question, but the relationships between them and their generality remains unclear. Here, we ascertain uninvadability (all mutant strategies always go extinct) in terms of the asymptotic per capita number of mutant copies produced by a mutant lineage arising as a single copy in a resident population ("invasion fitness"). We show that from invasion fitness uninvadability is equivalently characterized by at least three conceptually distinct fitness measures: (i) lineage fitness, giving the average individual fitness of a randomly sampled mutant lineage member; (ii) inclusive fitness, giving a reproductive value weighted average of the direct fitness costs and relatedness weighted indirect fitness benefits accruing to a randomly sampled mutant lineage member; and (iii) basic reproductive number (and variations thereof) giving lifetime success of a lineage in a single group, and which is an invasion fitness proxy. Our analysis connects approaches that have been deemed different, generalizes the exact version of inclusive fitness to class-structured populations, and provides a biological interpretation of natural selection on a mutant allele under arbitrary strength of selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Lehmann
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Charles Mullon
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Erol Akçay
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania
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16
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Elgar MA. Integrating insights across diverse taxa: challenges for understanding social evolution. Front Ecol Evol 2015. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2015.00124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
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17
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Olejarz JW, Allen B, Veller C, Nowak MA. The evolution of non-reproductive workers in insect colonies with haplodiploid genetics. eLife 2015; 4:e08918. [PMID: 26485033 PMCID: PMC4755779 DOI: 10.7554/elife.08918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2015] [Accepted: 10/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Eusociality is a distinct form of biological organization. A key characteristic of advanced eusociality is the presence of non-reproductive workers. Why evolution should produce organisms that sacrifice their own reproductive potential in order to aid others is an important question in evolutionary biology. Here, we provide a detailed analysis of the selective forces that determine the emergence and stability of non-reproductive workers. We study the effects, in situations where the queen of the colony has mated once or several times, of recessive and dominant sterility alleles acting in her offspring. Contrary to widespread belief based on heuristic arguments of genetic relatedness, non-reproductive workers can easily evolve in polyandrous species. The crucial quantity is the functional relationship between a colony’s reproductive rate and the fraction of non-reproductive workers present in that colony. We derive precise conditions for natural selection to favor the evolution of non-reproductive workers. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.08918.001 Certain wasps, bees and ants live in highly organized social groups in which one member of a colony (the queen) produces all or almost all of the offspring. This form of social organization – called eusociality – raises an important question for evolutionary biology: why do individuals that forego the chance to reproduce and instead raise the offspring of others evolve? One factor linked to the evolution of eusociality in insects is a system that determines the gender of offspring known as haplodiploidy. In this system, female offspring develop from fertilized eggs, while male offspring develop from unfertilized eggs. The queen mates with male insects and so she can produce both male and female offspring. On the other hand, the workers – which are also female – do not mate and therefore can only produce male offspring. So, should these workers produce their own male eggs, or should all male offspring come from the queen? The answer to this question could depend on whether the queen has mated with a single male (monandry) or with multiple males (polyandry) because this affects how closely related the other insects in the colony are to each other. It is a widespread belief that monandry is important for the evolution of non-reproductive workers. Here, Olejarz et al. develop a mathematical model that explores the conditions under which natural selection favors the evolution of non-reproductive workers. Contrary to the widespread belief, it turns out that non-reproductive workers can easily evolve in polyandrous species. The crucial quantity is the relationship between the overall reproductive rate of the colony and the fraction of non-reproductive workers present in that colony. Olejarz et al. challenge the view that single mating is crucial for the evolution of non-reproductive workers. The study demonstrates the need for precise mathematical models of population dynamics and natural selection instead of informal arguments that are only based on considerations of genetic relatedness. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.08918.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason W Olejarz
- Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States
| | - Benjamin Allen
- Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States.,Center for Mathematical Sciences and Applications, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States.,Department of Mathematics, Emmanuel College, Boston, United States
| | - Carl Veller
- Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States.,Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States
| | - Martin A Nowak
- Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States.,Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States.,Department of Mathematics, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States
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