1
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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] [Grants] [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, CNRSMontpellier34000France
| | - Jonathan Romiguier
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (UMR 5554)University of Montpellier, CNRSMontpellier34000France
| | - Charles Mullon
- Department of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of LausanneLausanne1015Switzerland
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2
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Kuijper B, Johnstone RA. The evolution of early-life effects on social behaviour-why should social adversity carry over to the future? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180111. [PMID: 30966877 PMCID: PMC6460086 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Numerous studies have shown that social adversity in early life can have long-lasting consequences for social behaviour in adulthood, consequences that may in turn be propagated to future generations. Given these intergenerational effects, it is puzzling why natural selection might favour such sensitivity to an individual's early social environment. To address this question, we model the evolution of social sensitivity in the development of helping behaviours, showing that natural selection indeed favours individuals whose tendency to help others is dependent on early-life social experience. In organisms with non-overlapping generations, we find that natural selection can favour positive social feedbacks, in which individuals who received more help in early life are also more likely to help others in adulthood, while individuals who received no early-life help develop low tendencies to help others later in life. This positive social sensitivity is favoured because of an intergenerational relatedness feedback: patches with many helpers tend to be more productive, leading to higher relatedness within the local group, which in turn favours higher levels of help in the next generation. In organisms with overlapping generations, this positive feedback is less likely to occur, and those who received more help may instead be less likely to help others (negative social feedback). We conclude that early-life social influences can lead to strong between-individual differences in helping behaviour, which can take different forms dependent on the life history in question. This article is part of the theme issue 'Developing differences: early-life effects and evolutionary medicine'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bram Kuijper
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter Cornwall Campus, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Rufus A. Johnstone
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
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3
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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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4
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Ito H, Tanimoto J. Scaling the phase-planes of social dilemma strengths shows game-class changes in the five rules governing the evolution of cooperation. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:181085. [PMID: 30473853 PMCID: PMC6227953 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.181085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2018] [Accepted: 09/17/2018] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Game theory has been extensively applied to help explain how cooperative behaviour is promoted in human and animal societies. How do humans and animals establish reciprocity when confronting a social dilemma? In 2006, Nowak theoretically proved that numerous mechanisms and models for evolving cooperative behaviour reported over the last few decades can be distilled into five reciprocity mechanisms (rules). Additionally, universal scaling parameters were proposed to measure two different types of dilemmas, namely, the gamble-intending dilemma (GID) and risk-averting dilemma (RAD). In this work, by drawing a RAD-GID phase-plane diagram for pair-wise games, we prove that these five rules are indeed quite different for the resolution (relaxation) of the two dilemmas. These diagrams also demonstrate whether and when game-class change (resolution of a dilemma) occurs, thus implying how defectors can be eliminated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiromu Ito
- Department of General Systems Studies, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
- Department of International Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology, University of Basel, 4051 Basel, Switzerland
- Author for correspondence: Hiromu Ito e-mail:
| | - Jun Tanimoto
- Department of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan
- Department of Advanced Environmental Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan
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5
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Cooper GA, Levin SR, Wild G, West SA. Modeling relatedness and demography in social evolution. Evol Lett 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/evl3.69] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Guy A. Cooper
- Department of Zoology; University of Oxford; Oxford OX1 3PS United Kingdom
| | - Samuel R. Levin
- Department of Zoology; University of Oxford; Oxford OX1 3PS United Kingdom
| | - Geoff Wild
- Department of Applied Mathematics; University of Western Ontario; London Ontario N6A 3K7 Canada
| | - Stuart A. West
- Department of Zoology; University of Oxford; Oxford OX1 3PS United Kingdom
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6
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Frénoy A, Taddei F, Misevic D. Second-order cooperation: Cooperative offspring as a living public good arising from second-order selection on non-cooperative individuals. Evolution 2017; 71:1802-1814. [PMID: 28568812 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2016] [Accepted: 05/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Switching rate between cooperating and non-cooperating genotypes is a crucial social evolution factor, often neglected by game theory-inspired theoretical and experimental frameworks. We show that the evolution of alleles increasing the mutation or phenotypic switching rates toward cooperation is in itself a social dilemma. Although cooperative offspring are often unlikely to reproduce, due to high cost of cooperation, they can be seen both as a living public good and a part of the extended parental phenotype. The competition between individuals that generate cooperators and ones that do not is often more relevant than the competition between cooperators and non-cooperators. The dilemma of second-order cooperation we describe relates directly to eusociality, but can be also interpreted as a division of labor or a soma-germline distinction. The results of our simulations shine a new light on what Darwin had already termed a "special difficulty" of evolutionary theory and describe a novel type of cooperation dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Frénoy
- Institute for Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Switzerland.,INSERM UMR 1001, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté de Médecine, Paris, France
| | - François Taddei
- INSERM UMR 1001, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté de Médecine, Paris, France
| | - Dusan Misevic
- INSERM UMR 1001, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Faculté de Médecine, Paris, France
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7
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Barker JL, Bronstein JL, Friesen ML, Jones EI, Reeve HK, Zink AG, Frederickson ME. Synthesizing perspectives on the evolution of cooperation within and between species. Evolution 2017; 71:814-825. [PMID: 28071790 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2016] [Revised: 12/24/2016] [Accepted: 01/04/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Cooperation is widespread both within and between species, but are intraspecific and interspecific cooperation fundamentally similar or qualitatively different phenomena? This review evaluates this question, necessary for a general understanding of the evolution of cooperation. First, we outline three advantages of cooperation relative to noncooperation (acquisition of otherwise inaccessible goods and services, more efficient acquisition of resources, and buffering against variability), and predict when individuals should cooperate with a conspecific versus a heterospecific partner to obtain these advantages. Second, we highlight five axes along which heterospecific and conspecific partners may differ: relatedness and fitness feedbacks, competition and resource use, resource-generation abilities, relative evolutionary rates, and asymmetric strategy sets and outside options. Along all of these axes, certain asymmetries between partners are more common in, but not exclusive to, cooperation between species, especially complementary resource use and production. We conclude that cooperation within and between species share many fundamental qualities, and that differences between the two systems are explained by the various asymmetries between partners. Consideration of the parallels between intra- and interspecific cooperation facilitates application of well-studied topics in one system to the other, such as direct benefits within species and kin-selected cooperation between species, generating promising directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Barker
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721.,Current Address: Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Judith L Bronstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721
| | - Maren L Friesen
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824
| | - Emily I Jones
- Department of BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 77005
| | - H Kern Reeve
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853
| | - Andrew G Zink
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, 94132
| | - Megan E Frederickson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B2, Canada
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8
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Boulay R, Aron S, Cerdá X, Doums C, Graham P, Hefetz A, Monnin T. Social Life in Arid Environments: The Case Study of Cataglyphis Ants. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2017; 62:305-321. [PMID: 27860520 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-031616-034941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Unlike most desert-dwelling animals, Cataglyphis ants do not attempt to escape the heat; rather, they apply their impressive heat tolerance to avoid competitors and predators. This thermally defined niche has promoted a range of adaptations both at the individual and colony levels. We have also recently discovered that within the genus Cataglyphis there are incredibly diverse social systems, modes of reproduction, and dispersal, prompting the tantalizing question of whether social diversity may also be a consequence of the harsh environment within which we find these charismatic ants. Here we review recent advances regarding the physiological, behavioral, life-history, colony, and ecological characteristics of Cataglyphis and consider perspectives on future research that will build our understanding of organic adaptive responses to desertification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphaël Boulay
- Le Studium Loire Valley Institute for Advanced Studies, 45000 Orléans, France;
- Institute of Insect Biology, Tours University, 37200 Tours, France
| | - Serge Aron
- Le Studium Loire Valley Institute for Advanced Studies, 45000 Orléans, France;
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1050, Belgium
| | - Xim Cerdá
- Le Studium Loire Valley Institute for Advanced Studies, 45000 Orléans, France;
- Doñana Biological Station, CSIC, 41092 Seville, Spain
| | - Claudie Doums
- Le Studium Loire Valley Institute for Advanced Studies, 45000 Orléans, France;
- Institute of Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity, CNRS, UPMC, EPHE, MNHN, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Paul Graham
- Le Studium Loire Valley Institute for Advanced Studies, 45000 Orléans, France;
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, United Kingdom
| | - Abraham Hefetz
- Le Studium Loire Valley Institute for Advanced Studies, 45000 Orléans, France;
- Department of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Thibaud Monnin
- Le Studium Loire Valley Institute for Advanced Studies, 45000 Orléans, France;
- UMR 7618, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, 75252 Paris, France
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9
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Schultner E, Saramäki J, Helanterä H. Genetic structure of native ant supercolonies varies in space and time. Mol Ecol 2016; 25:6196-6213. [PMID: 27859791 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2015] [Revised: 09/25/2016] [Accepted: 10/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Ant supercolonies are the largest cooperative units known in nature. They consist of networks of interconnected nests with hundreds of reproductive queens, where individuals move freely between nests, cooperate across nest boundaries and show little aggression towards non-nestmates. The combination of high queen numbers and free mixing of workers, queens and brood between nests results in extremely low nestmate relatedness. In such low-relatedness societies, cooperative worker behaviour appears maladaptive because it may aid random individuals instead of relatives. Here, we provide a comprehensive picture of genetic substructure in supercolonies of the native wood ant Formica aquilonia using traditional population genetic as well as network analysis methods. Specifically, we test for spatial and temporal variation in genetic structure of different classes of individuals within supercolonies and analyse the role of worker movement in determining supercolony genetic networks. We find that relatedness within supercolonies is low but positive when viewed on a population level, which may be due to limited dispersal of individuals and/or ecological factors such as nest site limitation and competition against conspecifics. Genetic structure of supercolonies varied with both sample class and sampling time point, which indicates that mobility of individuals varies according to both caste and season and suggests that generalizing has to be carried out with caution in studies of supercolonial species. Overall, our analysis provides novel evidence that native wood ant supercolonies exhibit fine-scale genetic substructure, which may explain the maintenance of cooperation in these low-relatedness societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Schultner
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 1, Helsinki, 00014, Finland.,Tvärminne Zoological Station, J.A. Palménin tie 260, Hanko, 10900, Finland
| | - Jari Saramäki
- Department of Computer Science, Aalto University, PO Box 15400, Aalto, 00076, Finland
| | - Heikki Helanterä
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 1, Helsinki, 00014, Finland.,Tvärminne Zoological Station, J.A. Palménin tie 260, Hanko, 10900, Finland
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10
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Rodrigues AMM, Kokko H. Models of social evolution: can we do better to predict 'who helps whom to achieve what'? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150088. [PMID: 26729928 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Models of social evolution and the evolution of helping have been classified in numerous ways. Two categorical differences have, however, escaped attention in the field. Models tend not to justify why they use a particular assumption structure about who helps whom: a large number of authors model peer-to-peer cooperation of essentially identical individuals, probably for reasons of mathematical convenience; others are inspired by particular cooperatively breeding species, and tend to assume unidirectional help where subordinates help a dominant breed more efficiently. Choices regarding what the help achieves (i.e. which life-history trait of the helped individual is improved) are similarly made without much comment: fecundity benefits are much more commonly modelled than survival enhancements, despite evidence that these may interact when the helped individual can perform life-history reallocations (load-lightening and related phenomena). We review our current theoretical understanding of effects revealed when explicitly asking 'who helps whom to achieve what', from models of mutual aid in partnerships to the very few models that explicitly contrast the strength of selection to help enhance another individual's fecundity or survival. As a result of idiosyncratic modelling choices in contemporary literature, including the varying degree to which demographic consequences are made explicit, there is surprisingly little agreement on what types of help are predicted to evolve most easily. We outline promising future directions to fill this gap.
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Affiliation(s)
- António M M Rodrigues
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK Wolfson College, Barton Road, Cambridge CB3 9BB, UK
| | - Hanna Kokko
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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11
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Avila P, Fromhage L. No synergy needed: ecological constraints favor the evolution of eusociality. Am Nat 2015; 186:31-40. [PMID: 26098336 DOI: 10.1086/681637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
In eusocial species, some individuals sacrifice their own reproduction for the benefit of others. It has been argued that the evolution of sterile helpers in eusocial insects requires synergistic efficiency gains through cooperation that are uncommon in cooperatively breeding vertebrates and that this precludes a universal ecological explanation of social systems with alloparental care. In contrast, using a model that incorporates realistic ecological mechanisms of population regulation, we show here that constraints on independent breeding (through nest-site limitation and dispersal mortality) eliminate any need for synergistic efficiency gains: sterile helpers may evolve even if they are relatively inefficient at rearing siblings, reducing their colony's per-capita productivity. Our approach connects research fields by using hypotheses developed for cooperative breeding to explain the evolution of eusociality. The results suggest that these hypotheses may apply more generally than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piret Avila
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, Jyväskylä, FI-40014, Finland
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12
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Alpedrinha J, Gardner A, West SA. Haplodiploidy and the Evolution of Eusociality: Worker Revolution. Am Nat 2014; 184:303-17. [DOI: 10.1086/677283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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13
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Co-evolution between sociality and dispersal: The role of synergistic cooperative benefits. J Theor Biol 2012; 312:44-54. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2012.07.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2011] [Revised: 07/14/2012] [Accepted: 07/17/2012] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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14
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Seppä P, Johansson H, Gyllenstrand N, Pálsson S, Pamilo P. Mosaic structure of native ant supercolonies. Mol Ecol 2012; 21:5880-91. [PMID: 23094799 DOI: 10.1111/mec.12070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2012] [Revised: 08/22/2012] [Accepted: 08/28/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
According to the inclusive fitness theory, some degree of positive relatedness is required for the evolution and maintenance of altruism. However, ant colonies are sometimes large interconnected networks of nests, which are genetically homogenous entities, causing a putative problem for the theory. We studied spatial structure and genetic relatedness in two supercolonies of the ant Formica exsecta, using nuclear and mitochondrial markers. We show that there may be multiple pathways to supercolonial social organization leading to different spatial genetic structures. One supercolony formed a genetically homogenous population dominated by a single mtDNA haplotype, as expected if founded by a small number of colonizers, followed by nest propagation by budding and domination of the habitat patch. The other supercolony had several haplotypes, and the spatial genetic structure was a mosaic of nuclear and mitochondrial clusters. Genetic diversity probably originated from long-range dispersal, and the mosaic population structure is likely a result of stochastic short-range dispersal of individuals. Such a mosaic spatial structure is apparently discordant with the current knowledge about the integrity of ant colonies. Relatedness was low in both populations when estimated among nestmates, but increased significantly when estimated among individuals sharing the same genetic cluster or haplogroup. The latter association indicates the important historical role of queen dispersal in the determination of the spatial genetic structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Seppä
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, EBC, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18 D, SE-75236, Uppsala, Sweden.
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15
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Cronin AL, Molet M, Doums C, Monnin T, Peeters C. Recurrent evolution of dependent colony foundation across eusocial insects. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2012; 58:37-55. [PMID: 22934981 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-120811-153643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The spectacular success of eusocial insects can be attributed to their sophisticated cooperation, yet cooperation is conspicuously absent during colony foundation when queens are alone. Selection against this solitary stage has led to a dramatically different strategy in thousands of eusocial insect species in which colonies are started by groups of nestmates and the benefits of sociality are retained continuously. Dependent colony foundation (DCF) evolved recurrently multiple times across the ants, bees, and wasps, though its prevalence in termites remains unclear. We review adaptations at both the colony level (reproductive investment shifts from sexuals to workers) and the individual level (wingless queens evolve in ants), and other consequences for life history (invasiveness, parasite transmission). Although few studies have focused on DCF, the accumulated data from anecdotal reports, supported by indirect information including morphology, population genetics, and colony demographics, make it clear that this strategy is more diverse and widespread than is usually recognized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam L Cronin
- Laboratoire Écologie & Évolution CNRS UMR 7625, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 75 005 Paris, France.
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16
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Platt TG, Fuqua C, Bever JD. Resource and competitive dynamics shape the benefits of public goods cooperation in a plant pathogen. Evolution 2012; 66:1953-65. [PMID: 22671559 PMCID: PMC3707318 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01571.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Cooperative benefits depend on a variety of ecological factors. Many cooperative bacteria increase the population size of their groups by making a public good available. Increased local population size can alleviate the constraints of kin competition on the evolution of cooperation by enhancing the between-group fitness of cooperators. The cooperative pathogenesis of Agrobacterium tumefaciens causes infected plants to exude opines--resources that provide a nearly exclusive source of nutrient for the pathogen. We experimentally demonstrate that opines provide cooperative A. tumefaciens cells a within-group fitness advantage over saprophytic agrobacteria. Our results are congruent with a resource-consumer competition model, which predicts that cooperative, virulent agrobacteria are at a competitive disadvantage when opines are unavailable, but have an advantage when opines are available at sufficient levels. This model also predicts that freeloading agrobacteria that catabolize opines but cannot infect plants competitively displace the cooperative pathogen from all environments. However, we show that these cooperative public goods also promote increased local population size. A model built from the Price Equation shows that this effect on group size can contribute to the persistence of cooperative pathogenesis despite inherent kin competition for the benefits of pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas G. Platt
- 1001 East 3 Street, Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
| | - Clay Fuqua
- 1001 East 3 Street, Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
| | - James D. Bever
- 1001 East 3 Street, Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
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17
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Gardner A, Alpedrinha J, West SA. Haplodiploidy and the Evolution of Eusociality: Split Sex Ratios. Am Nat 2012; 179:240-56. [DOI: 10.1086/663683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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18
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Johnstone RA, Cant MA, Field J. Sex-biased dispersal, haplodiploidy and the evolution of helping in social insects. Proc Biol Sci 2011; 279:787-93. [PMID: 21795270 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.1257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In his famous haplodiploidy hypothesis, W. D. Hamilton proposed that high sister-sister relatedness facilitates the evolution of kin-selected reproductive altruism among Hymenopteran females. Subsequent analyses, however, suggested that haplodiploidy cannot promote altruism unless altruists capitalize on relatedness asymmetries by helping to raise offspring whose sex ratio is more female-biased than the population at large. Here, we show that haplodiploidy is in fact more favourable than is diploidy to the evolution of reproductive altruism on the part of females, provided only that dispersal is male-biased (no sex-ratio bias or active kin discrimination is required). The effect is strong, and applies to the evolution both of sterile female helpers and of helping among breeding females. Moreover, a review of existing data suggests that female philopatry and non-local mating are widespread among nest-building Hymenoptera. We thus conclude that Hamilton was correct in his claim that 'family relationships in the Hymenoptera are potentially very favourable to the evolution of reproductive altruism'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rufus A Johnstone
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
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19
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Lehmann L, Rousset F. How life history and demography promote or inhibit the evolution of helping behaviours. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2010; 365:2599-617. [PMID: 20679105 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In natural populations, dispersal tends to be limited so that individuals are in local competition with their neighbours. As a consequence, most behaviours tend to have a social component, e.g. they can be selfish, spiteful, cooperative or altruistic as usually considered in social evolutionary theory. How social behaviours translate into fitness costs and benefits depends considerably on life-history features, as well as on local demographic and ecological conditions. Over the last four decades, evolutionists have been able to explore many of the consequences of these factors for the evolution of social behaviours. In this paper, we first recall the main theoretical concepts required to understand social evolution. We then discuss how life history, demography and ecology promote or inhibit the evolution of helping behaviours, but the arguments developed for helping can be extended to essentially any social trait. The analysis suggests that, on a theoretical level, it is possible to contrast three critical benefit-to-cost ratios beyond which costly helping is selected for (three quantitative rules for the evolution of altruism). But comparison between theoretical results and empirical data has always been difficult in the literature, partly because of the perennial question of the scale at which relatedness should be measured under localized dispersal. We then provide three answers to this question.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Lehmann
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
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20
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Kronauer DJC, Schöning C, d'Ettorre P, Boomsma JJ. Colony fusion and worker reproduction after queen loss in army ants. Proc Biol Sci 2009; 277:755-63. [PMID: 19889701 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Theory predicts that altruism is only evolutionarily stable if it is preferentially directed towards relatives, so that any such behaviour towards seemingly unrelated individuals requires scrutiny. Queenless army ant colonies, which have anecdotally been reported to fuse with queenright foreign colonies, are such an enigmatic case. Here we combine experimental queen removal with population genetics and cuticular chemistry analyses to show that colonies of the African army ant Dorylus molestus frequently merge with neighbouring colonies after queen loss. Merging colonies often have no direct co-ancestry, but are on average probably distantly related because of overall population viscosity. The alternative of male production by orphaned workers appears to be so inefficient that residual inclusive fitness of orphaned workers might be maximized by indiscriminately merging with neighbouring colonies to increase their reproductive success. We show that worker chemical recognition profiles remain similar after queen loss, but rapidly change into a mixed colony Gestalt odour after fusion, consistent with indiscriminate acceptance of alien workers that are no longer aggressive. We hypothesize that colony fusion after queen loss might be more widespread, especially in spatially structured populations of social insects where worker reproduction is not profitable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J C Kronauer
- Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
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21
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Kümmerli R, Griffin AS, West SA, Buckling A, Harrison F. Viscous medium promotes cooperation in the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Proc Biol Sci 2009; 276:3531-8. [PMID: 19605393 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 151] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
There has been extensive theoretical debate over whether population viscosity (limited dispersal) can favour cooperation. While limited dispersal increases the probability of interactions occurring between relatives, which can favour cooperation, it can also lead to an increase in competition between relatives and this can reduce or completely negate selection for cooperation. Despite much theoretical attention, there is a lack of empirical research investigating these issues. We cultured Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria in medium with different degrees of viscosity and examined the fitness consequences for a cooperative trait-the production of iron-scavenging siderophore molecules. We found that increasing viscosity of the growth medium (i) significantly limited bacterial dispersal and the diffusion of siderophore molecules and (ii) increased the fitness of individuals that produced siderophores relative to mutants that did not. We propose that viscosity favours siderophore-producing individuals in this system, because the benefits of siderophore production are more likely to accrue to relatives (i.e. greater indirect benefits), and, at the same time, bacteria are more likely to gain direct fitness benefits by taking up siderophore molecules produced by themselves (i.e. the trait becomes less cooperative). Our results suggest that viscosity of the microbial growth environment is a crucial factor determining the dynamics of wild-type bacteria and siderophore-deficient mutants in natural habitats, such as the viscous mucus in cystic fibrosis lung.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rolf Kümmerli
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK
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22
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Abstract
Vast supercolonies of interconnected nests formed by unicolonial ant species are the largest cooperative groups of animals known. Research published recently in BMC Evolutionary Biology reveals that a supercolony can be more genetically structured than previously thought, comprising several extended families. Surprisingly, the families coexist peacefully, even though they seem to recognize each other as non-kin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heikki Helanterä
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
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23
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Abstract
How competitive interactions and population structure promote or inhibit cooperation in animal groups remains a key challenge in social evolution. In eusocial aphids, there is no single explanation for what predisposes some lineages of aphids to sociality, and not others. Because the assumption has been that most aphid species occur in essentially clonal groups, the roles of intra- and interspecific competition and population structure in aphid sociality have been given little consideration. Here, I used microsatellites to evaluate the patterns of variation in the clonal group structure of both social and nonsocial aphid species. Multiclonal groups are consistent features across sites and host plants, and all species-social or not-can be found in groups composed of large fractions of multiple clones, and even multiple species. Between-group dispersal in gall-forming aphids is ubiquitous, implying that factors acting ultimately to increase between-clone interactions and decrease within-group relatedness were present in aphids prior to the origins of sociality. By demonstrating that between-group dispersal is common in aphids, and thus interactions between clones are also common, these results suggest that understanding the ecological dynamics of dispersal and competition may offer unique insights into the evolutionary puzzle of sociality in aphids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Abbot
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA.
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24
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Helanterä H, Strassmann JE, Carrillo J, Queller DC. Unicolonial ants: where do they come from, what are they and where are they going? Trends Ecol Evol 2009; 24:341-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2009.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2008] [Revised: 01/05/2009] [Accepted: 01/05/2009] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Holzer B, Keller L, Chapuisat M. Genetic clusters and sex-biased gene flow in a unicolonial Formica ant. BMC Evol Biol 2009; 9:69. [PMID: 19335877 PMCID: PMC2670286 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-9-69] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2008] [Accepted: 03/31/2009] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Animal societies are diverse, ranging from small family-based groups to extraordinarily large social networks in which many unrelated individuals interact. At the extreme of this continuum, some ant species form unicolonial populations in which workers and queens can move among multiple interconnected nests without eliciting aggression. Although unicoloniality has been mostly studied in invasive ants, it also occurs in some native non-invasive species. Unicoloniality is commonly associated with very high queen number, which may result in levels of relatedness among nestmates being so low as to raise the question of the maintenance of altruism by kin selection in such systems. However, the actual relatedness among cooperating individuals critically depends on effective dispersal and the ensuing pattern of genetic structuring. In order to better understand the evolution of unicoloniality in native non-invasive ants, we investigated the fine-scale population genetic structure and gene flow in three unicolonial populations of the wood ant F. paralugubris. Results The analysis of geo-referenced microsatellite genotypes and mitochondrial haplotypes revealed the presence of cryptic clusters of genetically-differentiated nests in the three populations of F. paralugubris. Because of this spatial genetic heterogeneity, members of the same clusters were moderately but significantly related. The comparison of nuclear (microsatellite) and mitochondrial differentiation indicated that effective gene flow was male-biased in all populations. Conclusion The three unicolonial populations exhibited male-biased and mostly local gene flow. The high number of queens per nest, exchanges among neighbouring nests and restricted long-distance gene flow resulted in large clusters of genetically similar nests. The positive relatedness among clustermates suggests that kin selection may still contribute to the maintenance of altruism in unicolonial populations if competition occurs among clusters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Holzer
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Biophore, UNIL-Sorge, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
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26
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Vogel V, Pedersen JS, d'Ettorre P, Lehmann L, Keller L. Dynamics and genetic structure of Argentine ant supercolonies in their native range. Evolution 2009; 63:1627-39. [PMID: 19154388 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00628.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Some introduced ant populations have an extraordinary social organization, called unicoloniality, whereby individuals mix freely within large supercolonies. We investigated whether this mode of social organization also exists in native populations of the Argentine ant Linepithema humile. Behavioral analyses revealed the presence of 11 supercolonies (width 1 to 515 m) over a 3-km transect. As in the introduced range, there was always strong aggression between but never within supercolonies. The genetic data were in perfect agreement with the behavioral tests, all nests being assigned to identical supercolonies with the different methods. There was strong genetic differentiation between supercolonies but no genetic differentiation among nests within supercolonies. We never found more than a single mitochondrial haplotype per supercolony, further supporting the view that supercolonies are closed breeding units. Genetic and chemical distances between supercolonies were positively correlated, but there were no other significant associations between geographic, genetic, chemical, and behavioral distances. A comparison of supercolonies sampled in 1999 and 2005 revealed a very high turnover, with about one-third of the supercolonies being replaced yearly. This dynamic is likely to involve strong competition between supercolonies and thus act as a potent selective force maintaining unicoloniality over evolutionary time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valérie Vogel
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Biophore, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
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27
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Abstract
In a spatially structured population, limited dispersal gives rise to local relatedness, potentially favoring indiscriminate helping behavior. However, it also leads to local competition, which reduces the benefits of helping local kin. This tension has become the focus for a growing body of theoretical work. Existing models, however, have focused chiefly on the net impact of limited dispersal on cooperative or competitive effort in a homogeneous population. Here, I extend existing models of kin selection in a group-structured population to allow for asymmetries in expected fecundity and reproductive success among group members. I explore the consequent impact of limited dispersal on the evolution of helping and harming behavior, and on the degree of reproductive inequality or skew. I show that when individuals in a group differ in their expected fecundity, limited dispersal gives rise to kin selection for harming behavior on the part of more fecund individuals, and for helping behavior on the part of less fecund individuals. As a result, philopatry tends to exaggerate differences in reproductive success, and so promotes greater reproductive skew.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rufus A Johnstone
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom.
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