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OUP accepted manuscript. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blac025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
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Fontcuberta A, De Gasperin O, Avril A, Dind S, Chapuisat M. Disentangling the mechanisms linking dispersal and sociality in supergene-mediated ant social forms. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210118. [PMID: 33906407 PMCID: PMC8080013 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The coevolution between dispersal and sociality can lead to linked polymorphisms in both traits, which may favour the emergence of supergenes. Supergenes have recently been found to control social organization in several ant lineages. Whether and how these 'social supergenes' also control traits related to dispersal is yet unknown. Our goal here was to get a comprehensive view of the dispersal mechanisms associated with supergene-controlled alternative social forms in the ant Formica selysi. We measured the production and emission of young females and males by single-queen (monogyne) and multiple-queen (polygyne) colonies, the composition of mating aggregations, and the frequency of crosses within and between social forms in the wild. We found that males and females from alternative social forms did not display strong differences in their propensity to leave the nest and disperse, nor in their mating behaviour. Instead, the social forms differed substantially in sex allocation. Monogyne colonies produced 90% of the females flying to swarms, whereas 57% of the males in swarms originated from polygyne colonies. Most crosses were assortative with respect to social form. However, 20% of the monogyne females did mate with polygyne males, which is surprising as this cross has never been found in mature monogyne colonies. We suggest that the polygyny-determining haplotype free rides on monogyne females, who establish independent colonies that later become polygyne. By identifying the steps in dispersal where the social forms differ, this study sheds light on the behavioural and colony-level traits linking dispersal and sociality through supergenes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amaranta Fontcuberta
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ornela De Gasperin
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Amaury Avril
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sagane Dind
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Michel Chapuisat
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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Zahnd S, Fontcuberta A, Koken M, Cardinaux A, Chapuisat M. Fine-scale habitat heterogeneity favours the coexistence of supergene-controlled social forms in Formica selysi. BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:24. [PMID: 33583395 PMCID: PMC7883426 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-020-01742-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/25/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Social insects vary widely in social organization, yet the genetical and ecological factors influencing this variation remain poorly known. In particular, whether spatially varying selection influences the maintenance of social polymorphisms in ants has been rarely investigated. To fill this gap, we examined whether fine-scale habitat heterogeneity contributes to the co-existence of alternative forms of social organization within populations. Single-queen colonies (monogyne social form) are generally associated with better colonization abilities, whereas multiple-queen colonies (polygyne social form) are predicted to be better competitors and monopolize saturated habitats. We hypothesize that each social form colonizes and thrives in distinct local habitats, as a result of their alternative dispersal and colony founding strategies. Here, we test this hypothesis in the Alpine silver ant, in which a supergene controls polymorphic social organization. RESULTS Monogyne and polygyne colonies predominate in distinct habitats of the same population. The analysis of 59 sampling plots distributed across six habitats revealed that single-queen colonies mostly occupy unconnected habitats that were most likely reached by flight. This includes young habitats isolated by water and old habitats isolated by vegetation. In contrast, multiple-queen colonies were abundant in young, continuous and saturated habitats. Hence, alternative social forms colonize and monopolize distinct niches at a very local scale. CONCLUSIONS Alternative social forms colonized and monopolized different local habitats, in accordance with differences in colonization and competition abilities. The monogyne social form displays a colonizer phenotype, by efficiently occupying empty habitats, while the polygyne social form exhibits a competitor phenotype, thriving in saturated habitats. The combination of the two phenotypes, coupled with fine-scale habitat heterogeneity, may allow the coexistence of alternative social forms within populations. Overall, these results suggest that spatially varying selection may be one of the mechanisms contributing to the maintenance of genetic polymorphisms in social organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sacha Zahnd
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Amaranta Fontcuberta
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Mesut Koken
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Aline Cardinaux
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Michel Chapuisat
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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Hakala SM, Ittonen M, Seppä P, Helanterä H. Limited dispersal and an unexpected aggression pattern in a native supercolonial ant. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:3671-3685. [PMID: 32313626 PMCID: PMC7160175 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Revised: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding how social groups function requires studies on how individuals move across the landscape and interact with each other. Ant supercolonies are extreme cooperative units that may consist of thousands of interconnected nests, and their individuals cooperate over large spatial scales. However, the inner structure of suggested supercolonial (or unicolonial) societies has rarely been extensively studied using both genetic and behavioral analyses. We describe a dense supercolony-like aggregation of more than 1,300 nests of the ant Formica (Coptoformica) pressilabris. We performed aggression assays and found that, while aggression levels were generally low, there was some aggression within the assumed supercolony. The occurrence of aggression increased with distance from the focal nest, in accordance with the genetically viscous population structure we observe by using 10 DNA microsatellite markers. However, the aggressive interactions do not follow any clear pattern that would allow specifying colony borders within the area. The genetic data indicate limited gene flow within and away from the supercolony. Our results show that a Formica supercolony is not necessarily a single unit but can be a more fluid mosaic of aggressive and amicable interactions instead, highlighting the need to study internest interactions in detail when describing supercolonies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanja M. Hakala
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research ProgrammeFaculty of Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
- Tvärminne Zoological StationUniversity of HelsinkiHankoFinland
| | - Mats Ittonen
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research ProgrammeFaculty of Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
- Tvärminne Zoological StationUniversity of HelsinkiHankoFinland
- Department of ZoologyStockholm UniversityStockholmSweden
| | - Perttu Seppä
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research ProgrammeFaculty of Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
- Tvärminne Zoological StationUniversity of HelsinkiHankoFinland
| | - Heikki Helanterä
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research ProgrammeFaculty of Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
- Tvärminne Zoological StationUniversity of HelsinkiHankoFinland
- Ecology and Genetics Research UnitUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
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5
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An Ancient and Eroded Social Supergene Is Widespread across Formica Ants. Curr Biol 2020; 30:304-311.e4. [PMID: 31902719 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.11.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2019] [Revised: 08/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Supergenes, clusters of tightly linked genes, play a key role in the evolution of complex adaptive variation [1, 2]. Although supergenes have been identified in many species, we lack an understanding of their origin, evolution, and persistence [3]. Here, we uncover 20-40 Ma of evolutionary history of a supergene associated with polymorphic social organization in Formica ants [4]. We show that five Formica species exhibit homologous divergent haplotypes spanning 11 Mbp on chromosome 3. Despite the supergene's size, only 142 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) consistently distinguish alternative supergene haplotypes across all five species. These conserved trans-species SNPs are localized in a small number of disjunct clusters distributed across the supergene. This unexpected pattern of divergence indicates that the Formica supergene does not follow standard models of sex chromosome evolution, in which distinct evolutionary strata reflect an expanding region of suppressed recombination [5]. We propose an alternative "eroded strata model" in which clusters of conserved trans-species SNPs represent functionally important areas maintained by selection in the face of rare recombination between ancestral haplotypes. The comparison of whole-genome sequences across 10 additional Formica species reveals that the most conserved region of the supergene contains a transcription factor essential for motor neuron development in Drosophila [6]. The discovery that a very small portion of this large and ancient supergene harbors conserved trans-species SNPs linked to colony social organization suggests that the ancestral haplotypes have been eroded by recombination, with selection preserving differentiation at one or a few genes generating alternative social organization.
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6
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The Interplay between Incipient Species and Social Polymorphism in the Desert Ant Cataglyphis. Sci Rep 2019; 9:9495. [PMID: 31263177 PMCID: PMC6603034 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-45950-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In social insects, due to considerable polyphenism as well as high level of hybridization, the delimitation of species can be challenging. The genus Cataglyphis presents a high level of diversification, making it an excellent model with which to study evolutionary paths. Israel appears to be a “hot spot” for recent speciation in this genus. Although previous studies have described multiple species of Cataglyphis in Israel, a recent genetic study has questioned the existence of some of these historically described species. The present study focuses on an apparent species complex, the C. niger species complex which includes C. niger, C. savigyi, and C. drusus that are distinguishable by their mitochondrial DNA (and therefore named mitotypes) but not by their nuclear DNA. Using a multi-method approach (genetics, chemistry and behavior), we show that these mitotypes also differ in their social structures and are readily distinguishable by their cuticular hydrocarbons profiles. While most populations of the different mitotypes are allopatric, at our study site they are sympatric, but nonetheless maintain the observed differences between them. This raises the evolutionary question: Are these incipient species that have diverged with gene flow, or is this a case of social and chemical polymorphism that is maintained within a single species? Unveiling the interplay between social polyphenism and species segregation is at the core of evolutionary biology.
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7
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Antonov IA, Bukin YS. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the ant genus Formica L. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Palearctic region. RUSS J GENET+ 2016. [DOI: 10.1134/s1022795416080020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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8
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9
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Vitikainen EIK, Haag-Liautard C, Sundström L. Natal Dispersal, Mating Patterns, and Inbreeding in the Ant Formica exsecta. Am Nat 2015; 186:716-27. [DOI: 10.1086/683799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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10
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Boulay R, Arnan X, Cerdá X, Retana J. The ecological benefits of larger colony size may promote polygyny in ants. J Evol Biol 2014; 27:2856-63. [PMID: 25302869 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2014] [Revised: 09/15/2014] [Accepted: 09/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
How polygyny evolved in social insect societies is a long-standing question. This phenomenon, which is functionally similar to communal breeding in vertebrates, occurs when several queens come together in the same nest to lay eggs that are raised by workers. As a consequence, polygyny drastically reduces genetic relatedness among nestmates. It has been suggested that the short-term benefits procured by group living may outweigh the costs of sharing the same nesting site and thus contribute to organisms rearing unrelated individuals. However, tests of this hypothesis are still limited. To examine the evolutionary emergence of polygyny, we reviewed the literature to build a data set containing life-history traits for 149 Palearctic ant species and combined this data set with a reconstructed phylogeny. We show that monogyny is the ancestral state and that polygyny has evolved secondarily and independently throughout the phylogenetic tree. The occurrence of polygyny is significantly correlated with larger colony size, dependent colony founding and ecological dominance. Although polydomy (when a colony simultaneously uses several connected nests) tends to occur more frequently in polygynous species, this trend is not significant when phylogenetic history is accounted for. Overall, our results indicate that polygyny may have evolved in ants in spite of the reduction in nestmate relatedness because large colony size provides immediate ecological advantages, such as the more efficient use of temporal food resources. We suggest that the competitive context of ant communities may have provided the conditions necessary for the evolution of polygyny in some clades.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Boulay
- Departamento de Zoología, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain; IRBI, UMR CNRS 7261, Université François Rabelais de Tours, Tours, France
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Convergent development of ecological, genetic, and morphological traits in native supercolonies of the red ant Myrmica rubra. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1795-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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12
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Purcell J, Chapuisat M. BIDIRECTIONAL SHIFTS IN COLONY QUEEN NUMBER IN A SOCIALLY POLYMORPHIC ANT POPULATION. Evolution 2012; 67:1169-80. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.12010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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13
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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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14
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Goropashnaya AV, Fedorov VB, Seifert B, Pamilo P. Phylogenetic relationships of Palaearctic Formica species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) based on mitochondrial cytochrome B sequences. PLoS One 2012; 7:e41697. [PMID: 22911845 PMCID: PMC3402446 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2012] [Accepted: 06/25/2012] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Ants of genus Formica demonstrate variation in social organization and represent model species for ecological, behavioral, evolutionary studies and testing theoretical implications of the kin selection theory. Subgeneric division of the Formica ants based on morphology has been questioned and remained unclear after an allozyme study on genetic differentiation between 13 species representing all subgenera was conducted. In the present study, the phylogenetic relationships within the genus were examined using mitochondrial DNA sequences of the cytochrome b and a part of the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6. All 23 Formica species sampled in the Palaearctic clustered according to the subgeneric affiliation except F. uralensis that formed a separate phylogenetic group. Unlike Coptoformica and Formica s. str., the subgenus Serviformica did not form a tight cluster but more likely consisted of a few small clades. The genetic distances between the subgenera were around 10%, implying approximate divergence time of 5 Myr if we used the conventional insect divergence rate of 2% per Myr. Within-subgenus divergence estimates were 6.69% in Serviformica, 3.61% in Coptoformica, 1.18% in Formica s. str., which supported our previous results on relatively rapid speciation in the latter subgenus. The phylogeny inferred from DNA sequences provides a necessary framework against which the evolution of social traits can be compared. We discuss implications of inferred phylogeny for the evolution of social traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna V Goropashnaya
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, EBC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
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15
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Johnson CA, Sundström L. Cuticular Chemistry of Two Social Forms in a Facultatively Polygyne Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae:Formica truncorum). ANN ZOOL FENN 2012. [DOI: 10.5735/086.049.0101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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16
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17
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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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18
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Soro A, Field J, Bridge C, Cardinal SC, Paxton RJ. Genetic differentiation across the social transition in a socially polymorphic sweat bee, Halictus rubicundus. Mol Ecol 2010; 19:3351-63. [PMID: 20666996 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2010.04753.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Eusociality is widely considered a major evolutionary transition. The socially polymorphic sweat bee Halictus rubicundus, solitary in cooler regions of its Holarctic range and eusocial in warmer parts, is an excellent model organism to address this transition, and specifically the question of whether sociality is associated with a strong barrier to gene flow between phenotypically divergent populations. Mitochondrial DNA (COI) from specimens collected across the British Isles, where both solitary and social phenotypes are represented, displayed limited variation, but placed all specimens in the same European lineage; haplotype network analysis failed to differentiate solitary and social lineages. Microsatellite genetic variability was high and enabled us to quantify genetic differentiation among populations and social phenotypes across Great Britain and Ireland. Results from conceptually different analyses consistently showed greater genetic differentiation between geographically distant populations, independently of their social phenotype, suggesting that the two social forms are not reproductively isolated. A landscape genetic approach revealed significant isolation by distance (Mantel test r = 0.622, P < 0.001). The Irish Sea acts as physical barrier to gene flow (partial Mantel test r = 0.453, P < 0.01), indicating that geography, rather than expression of solitary or social behaviour (partial Mantel test r = -0.238, P = 0.053), had a significant effect on the genetic structure of H. rubicundus across the British Isles. Although we cannot reject the hypothesis of a genetic underpinning to differences in solitary and eusocial phenotypes, our data clearly demonstrate a lack of reproductive isolation between the two social forms.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Soro
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, UK.
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19
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Reber A, Meunier J, Chapuisat M. Flexible colony-founding strategies in a socially polymorphic ant. Anim Behav 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.11.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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20
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Affiliation(s)
- J Meunier
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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21
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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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22
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Helanterä H. How to test an inclusive fitness hypothesis - worker reproduction and policing as an example. OIKOS 2007. [DOI: 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2007.16091.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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23
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Bargum K, Helanterä H, Sundström L. Genetic population structure, queen supersedure and social polymorphism in a social Hymenoptera. J Evol Biol 2007; 20:1351-60. [PMID: 17584230 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01345.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In social insects, the emergence of multiple queening is linked to changes in a suite of traits such as the reproductive life span of queens, mating patterns and population structure. We investigated queen turnover, colony longevity, spatial distribution patterns and genetic differentiation in a population of the socially polymorphic ant Formica fusca. Genetic differentiation between the social forms was absent, and mating patterns were similar in the two forms. The spatial distribution of single- and multi-queen colonies indicated an absence of colony reproduction by budding in both colony types. However, the rate of queen supersedure was high in multi-queen colonies and absent in single-queen ones. The social structure of colonies remained stable across years, but colony mortality did not differ between the two social forms. These results imply that differences between social types may appear and persist also in sympatry, and that these differences may occur in some traits, but not others, despite the presence of homogenizing gene flow.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Bargum
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
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24
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SCHLICK-STEINER BIRGITC, STEINER FLORIANM, SANETRA MATTHIAS, SEIFERT BERNHARD, CHRISTIAN ERHARD, STAUFFER CHRISTIAN. Lineage specific evolution of an alternative social strategy in Tetramorium ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2007. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2007.00798.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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25
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Steiner FM, Schlick-Steiner BC, Konrad H, Moder K, Christian E, Seifert B, Crozier RH, Stauffer C, Buschinger A. No sympatric speciation here: multiple data sources show that the ant Myrmica microrubra is not a separate species but an alternate reproductive morph of Myrmica rubra. J Evol Biol 2006; 19:777-87. [PMID: 16674574 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2005.01053.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
No aspect of speciation is as controversial as the view that new species can evolve sympatrically, among populations in close physical contact. Social parasitism has been suggested to yield necessary disruptive selection for sympatric speciation. Recently, mitochondrial DNA phylogeography has shown that the ant Myrmica microrubra is closely related to its host, Myrmica rubra, leading to the suggestion that sympatric speciation has occurred. We investigated the relationships between the two ant forms using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences, microsatellite genotyping and morphometrics. Molecular phylogenetic and population structure analyses showed that M. microrubra does not evolve separately to its host but rather shares a gene pool with it. Probability analysis showed that mitochondrial DNA data previously adduced in favour of sympatric speciation do not in fact do so. Morphometrically, M. microrubra is most readily interpreted as a miniature queen form of M. rubra, not a separate species. Myrmica microrubra is not an example of speciation. The large (typical M. rubra) and small (M. microrubra) queen forms are alternative reproductive strategies of the same species. Myrmica microrubraSeifert 1993 is consequently synonymized here with M. rubra Linnaeus, 1758.
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Affiliation(s)
- F M Steiner
- Department of Integrative Biology, Institute of Zoology, Boku, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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