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Ostwald MM, Fox TP, Hillery WS, Shaffer Z, Harrison JF, Fewell JH. Group-living carpenter bees conserve heat and body mass better than solitary individuals in winter. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Ostwald MM, Haney BR, Fewell JH. Ecological Drivers of Non-kin Cooperation in the Hymenoptera. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.768392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the prominence of kin selection as a framework for understanding the evolution of sociality, many animal groups are comprised of unrelated individuals. These non-kin systems provide valuable models that can illuminate drivers of social evolution beyond indirect fitness benefits. Within the Hymenoptera, whose highly related eusocial groups have long been cornerstones of kin selection theory, groups may form even when indirect fitness benefits for helpers are low or absent. These non-kin groups are widespread and abundant, yet have received relatively little attention. We review the diversity and organization of non-kin sociality across the Hymenoptera, particularly among the communal bees and polygynous ants and wasps. Further, we discuss common drivers of sociality across these groups, with a particular focus on ecological factors. Ecological contexts that favor non-kin sociality include those dominated by resource scarcity or competition, climatic stressors, predation and parasitism, and/or physiological constraints associated with reproduction and resource exploitation. Finally, we situate Hymenopteran non-kin sociality within a broader biological context by extending insights from these systems across diverse taxa, especially the social vertebrates. Non-kin social groups thus provide unique demonstrations of the importance of ecological factors in mediating the evolutionary transition from solitary to group living.
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Ostwald MM, Dahan RA, Shaffer Z, Fewell JH. Fluid Nest Membership Drives Variable Relatedness in Groups of a Facultatively Social Bee. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.767380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Kin selection theory has dominated our understanding of the evolution of group living. However, many animal groups form among non-relatives, which gain no indirect fitness benefits from cooperating with nestmates. In this study, we characterized the relatedness and inter-nest migration behavior of the facultatively social carpenter bee, Xylocopa sonorina. Nesting constraints due to costly nest construction in this species give rise to intense intraspecific competition over access to existing nests. We used mark-recapture techniques to characterize patterns of dispersal and nest relocation within a nesting aggregation of spatially clustered nests. Two-thirds of bees relocated at least once during the reproductive season, likely to seek reproductive opportunities in another nest. This fluid nest membership creates opportunities for association among non-relatives. To assess the effects of this dynamic nesting behavior on group relatedness, we used microsatellite analysis to estimate relative relatedness within and between nests in the aggregation. We found that relatedness was variable across sampling years, but that in many cases nestmates were no more related to one another than they were to non-nestmate bees in the population. Together, these results suggest that group composition in X. sonorina may result from strategies to maximize direct fitness. This study supports the hypothesis that factors beyond kinship, such as ecological constraints, are likely to drive group formation in this species.
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Mikát M, Waldhauserová J, Fraňková T, Čermáková K, Brož V, Zeman Š, Dokulilová M, Straka J. Only mothers feed mature offspring in European Ceratina bees. INSECT SCIENCE 2021; 28:1468-1481. [PMID: 32725763 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2020] [Revised: 06/18/2020] [Accepted: 07/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Parental care directed to adult offspring is uncommon in animals. Such parental care has been documented in Xylocopinae bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Moreover, some Ceratina bees (Xylocopinae) are known to feed mature siblings, and feeding of mature siblings is achieved by dwarf eldest daughters when mothers died. These daughters are intentionally malnourished by mothers and usually originate from the first brood cell. Here, we examined the pattern of care provided to young adults in three small European carpenter bees: Ceratina (Ceratina) cucurbitina, C. (Euceratina) chalybea, and C. (E.) nigrolabiata. Observations of nest departures and arrivals were performed to study foraging behavior. We detected intensive foraging behavior of mothers in all three studied species. However, we did not observe regular foraging behavior of daughters in any species. The experimental removal of mothers in C. cucurbitina led to the emigration of young adults and did not initiate foraging activity in daughters. We conclude that the feeding of siblings does not occur in these species unlike in the American species C. calcarata. We detected female-biased sex ratios in the first brood cell in C. cucurbitina and C. chalybea. Female offspring in the first brood cell was smaller than other female offspring only in C. cucurbitina. Our results show that a female-biased sex ratio and the small size of daughters in the first brood cell do not provide sufficient evidence for demonstrating the existence of an altruistic daughter and also that the pattern of maternal investment is not exclusively shaped by social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Mikát
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Tereza Fraňková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Čermáková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Vojtěch Brož
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Šimon Zeman
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Marcela Dokulilová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Straka
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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Ostwald MM, Fox TP, Harrison JF, Fewell JH. Social consequences of energetically costly nest construction in a facultatively social bee. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210033. [PMID: 33906404 PMCID: PMC8080015 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Social groups form when the costs of breeding independently exceed fitness costs imposed by group living. The costs of independent breeding can often be energetic, especially for animals performing expensive behaviours, such as nest construction. To test the hypothesis that nesting costs can drive sociality by disincentivizing independent nest founding, we measured the energetics of nest construction and inheritance in a facultatively social carpenter bee (Xylocopa sonorina Smith), which bores tunnel nests in wood. We measured metabolic rates of bees excavating wood and used computerized tomography images of nesting logs to measure excavation volumes. From these data, we demonstrate costly energetic investments in nest excavation of a minimum 4.3 kJ per offspring provisioned, an expense equivalent to nearly 7 h of flight. This high, potentially prohibitive cost of nest founding may explain why females compete for existing nests rather than constructing new ones, often leading to the formation of social groups. Further, we found that nest inheritors varied considerably in their investment in nest renovation, with costs ranging more than 12-fold (from 7.08 to 89.1 kJ energy), probably reflecting differences in inherited nest quality. On average, renovation costs were lower than estimated new nest construction costs, with some nests providing major savings. These results suggest that females may join social groups to avoid steep energetic costs, but that the benefits of this strategy are not experienced equally.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Trevor P. Fox
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Jon F. Harrison
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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Socias-Martínez L, Kappeler PM. Catalyzing Transitions to Sociality: Ecology Builds on Parental Care. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
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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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Richards M, Course C. Ergonomic skew and reproductive queuing based on social and seasonal variation in foraging activity of eastern carpenter bees (Xylocopa virginica). CAN J ZOOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2014-0330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Reproductive division of labour in social carpenter bees differs from that in classically eusocial insects because reproductive output and ergonomic inputs are positively correlated—dominant females monopolize both foraging and reproduction. We quantified ergonomic skew in the facultatively social bee Xylocopa virginica (L., 1771) (eastern carpenter bee) based on detailed observations of foraging activity by individually marked females in 2009. Unusually for a univoltine bee, this species exhibits a spring foraging phase during which females feed pollen to other adults, probably as part of behavioural interactions to establish dominance hierarchies. During brood-provisioning, foraging in social nests was dominated by one female at a time, with replacement by a succession of foragers as dominants disappeared and were succeeded by a subordinate. The principal foragers (individuals that did the largest share of foraging in each colony) did 85%–100% of all pollen trips, so contributions to pollen-provisioning by female nest mates were highly uneven. Individual foraging rate was unaffected by group size and total colony foraging effort was a function of the number of foragers per group. Transient females that moved to new nests were as successful in achieving dominant forager status as females resident in their natal nests. This evidence indicates that colony social organisation is based on reproductive queues, whereby the first-ranked bee is the dominant forager and subordinates queue for opportunities to replace her.
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Affiliation(s)
- M.H. Richards
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Avenue, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Avenue, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - C. Course
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Avenue, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, 500 Glenridge Avenue, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada
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