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Orr SE, Hedrick NA, Murray KA, Pasupuleti AK, Kovacs JL, Goodisman MAD. Genetic and environmental effects on morphological traits of social phenotypes in wasps. Heredity (Edinb) 2024; 133:126-136. [PMID: 38918612 PMCID: PMC11286790 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-024-00701-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Many species exhibit distinct phenotypic classes, such as sexes in dioecious species or castes in social species. The evolution of these classes is affected by the genetic architecture governing traits shared between phenotypes. However, estimates of the genetic and environmental factors contributing to phenotypic variation in distinct classes have rarely been examined. We studied the genetic architecture underlying morphological traits in phenotypic classes in the social wasp Vespula maculifrons. Our data revealed patriline effects on a few traits, indicating weak genetic influences on caste phenotypic variation. Interestingly, traits exhibited higher heritability in queens than workers. This result suggests that genetic variation has a stronger influence on trait variation in the queen caste than the worker caste, which is unexpected because queens typically experience direct selection. Moreover, estimates of heritability for traits were correlated between the castes, indicating that variability in trait size was governed by similar genetic architecture in the two castes. However, we failed to find evidence for a significant relationship between caste dimorphism and caste correlation, as would be expected if trait evolution was constrained by intralocus genetic conflict. Our analyses also uncovered variation in the allometric relationships for traits. These analyses suggested that worker traits were proportionally smaller than queen traits for most traits examined. Overall, our data provide evidence for a strong environmental and moderate genetic basis of trait variation among castes. Moreover, our results suggest that selection previously operated on caste phenotype in this species, and phenotypic variation is now governed primarily by environmental differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Orr
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, 30318, Georgia
| | - Nicole A Hedrick
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, 30318, Georgia
| | - Kayla A Murray
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, 30318, Georgia
| | - Abhinav K Pasupuleti
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, 30318, Georgia
| | - Jennifer L Kovacs
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, 30318, Georgia
- Agnes Scott College, Department of Biology, 141 East College Avenue, Decatur, 30030, Georgia
| | - Michael A D Goodisman
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, 30318, Georgia.
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2
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Lagos-Oviedo JJ, Pen I, Kreider JJ. Coevolution of larval signalling and worker response can trigger developmental caste determination in social insects. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240538. [PMID: 39013422 PMCID: PMC11251759 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Eusocial insects belong to distinct queen and worker castes, which, in turn, can be divided into several morphologically specialized castes of workers. Caste determination typically occurs by differential nutrition of developing larvae. We present a model for the coevolution of larval signalling and worker task allocation-both modelled by flexible smooth reaction norms-to investigate the evolution of caste determination mechanisms and worker polymorphism. In our model, larvae evolve to signal their nutritional state to workers. The workers evolve to allocate time to foraging for resources versus feeding the brood, conditional on the larval signals and their body size. Worker polymorphism evolves under accelerating foraging returns of increasing body size, which causes selection to favour large foraging and small nursing workers. Worker castes emerge because larvae evolve to amplify their signals after obtaining some food, which causes them to receive more food, while the other larvae remain unfed. This leads to symmetry-breaking among the larvae, which are either well-nourished or malnourished, thus emerging as small or large workers. Our model demonstrates the evolution of nutrition-dependent caste determination and worker polymorphism by a self-reinforcement mechanism that evolves from the interplay of larval signalling and worker response to the signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan J. Lagos-Oviedo
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg 97074, Germany
| | - Ido Pen
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands
| | - Jan J. Kreider
- Theoretical Research in Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands
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3
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Lecocq de Pletincx N, Cerdà X, Kiran K, Karaman C, Taheri A, Aron S. Ecological diversification preceded geographical expansion during the evolutionary radiation of Cataglyphis desert ants. iScience 2024; 27:109852. [PMID: 38779477 PMCID: PMC11109030 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Biological diversity often arises as organisms adapt to new ecological conditions (i.e., ecological opportunities) or colonize suitable areas (i.e., spatial opportunities). Cases of geographical expansion followed by local ecological divergence are well described; they result in clades comprising ecologically heterogeneous subclades. Here, we show that the desert ant genus Cataglyphis likely originated in open grassland habitats in the Middle East ∼18 million years ago and became a taxon of diverse species specializing in prey of different masses. The genus then colonized the Mediterranean Basin around 9 million years ago. The result was the rapid accumulation of species, and the appearance of local assemblages containing species from different lineages that still displayed ancestral foraging specialties. These findings highlight that, in Cataglyphis, ecological diversification preceded geographical expansion, resulting in a clade composed of ecologically homogeneous subclades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Lecocq de Pletincx
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, CP 160/12, av. FD Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Xim Cerdà
- Department of Ethology and Biodiversity Conservation, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Kadri Kiran
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Trakya University, Edirne 22030, Türkiye
| | - Celal Karaman
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Trakya University, Edirne 22030, Türkiye
| | - Ahmed Taheri
- Laboratory of Plant Biotechnology, Ecology and Ecosystem Valorization, Faculty of Sciences of El Jadida, University Chouaïb Doukkali, El Jadida, Morocco
| | - Serge Aron
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, CP 160/12, av. FD Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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4
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Imirzian N, Püffel F, Roces F, Labonte D. Large deformation diffeomorphic mapping of 3D shape variation reveals two distinct mandible and head capsule morphs in Atta vollenweideri leaf-cutter worker ants. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11236. [PMID: 38633523 PMCID: PMC11021802 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Ants are crucial ecosystem engineers, and their ecological success is facilitated by a division of labour among sterile "workers". In some ant lineages, workers have undergone further morphological differentiation, resulting in differences in body size, shape, or both. Distinguishing between changes in size and shape is not trivial. Traditional approaches based on allometry reduce complex 3D shapes into simple linear, areal, or volume metrics; modern approaches using geometric morphometrics typically rely on landmarks, introducing observer bias and a trade-off between effort and accuracy. Here, we use a landmark-free method based on large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping (LDDMM) to assess the co-variation of size and 3D shape in the mandibles and head capsules of Atta vollenweideri leaf-cutter ants, a species exhibiting extreme worker size-variation. Body mass varied by more than two orders of magnitude, but a shape atlas created via LDDMM on μ-CT-derived 3D mesh files revealed only two distinct head capsule and mandibles shapes-one for the minims (body mass < 1 mg) and one for all other workers. We discuss the functional significance of the identified 3D shape variation, and its implications for the evolution of extreme polymorphism in Atta.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Flavio Roces
- Department of Behavioural Physiology and SociobiologyBiocenter, University of WürzburgWürzburgGermany
| | - David Labonte
- Department of BioengineeringImperial College LondonLondonUK
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5
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Orbán-Bakk K, Witek M, Dubiec A, Heinze J, Markó B, Csata E. Infection with a non-lethal fungal parasite is associated with increased immune investment in the ant Myrmica scabrinodis. J Invertebr Pathol 2024; 202:108027. [PMID: 38042446 DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2023.108027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/04/2023]
Abstract
Social insects, such as ants, are preferred host organisms of pathogens and parasites because colonies are densely populated, and the number of potential hosts is high in the same place and time. Within a colony, individuals are exposed differentially to risks according to their function and age. Thus, older individuals forage and are therefore the most exposed to infection, predation, or physical stress, while young workers mostly stay inside the sheltered nest being less exposed. Immune investment is considered to be dependent on an individual's age and pathogen pressure. Long-term exposure to a parasite could affect the immune activity of individuals in an intriguing way that interferes with the age-dependent decline in immunocompetence. However, there are only few cases in which such interferences can be studied. The myrmecopathogenic fungus Rickia wasmannii, which infects entire colonies without killing the workers, is a suitable candidate for such studies. We investigated the general immunocompetence of Myrmica scabrinodis ant workers associated with non-lethal fungal infection by measuring the levels of active phenoloxidase (PO) and total PO (PPO) (reflecting the amount of both active and inactive forms of the enzyme) in two age classes. The level of PO proved to be higher in infected workers than in uninfected ones, while the level of PPO increased with age but was not affected by infection. Overall, these results indicate that a long-term infection could go hand in hand with increased immune activity of ant workers, conferring them higher level of protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kincső Orbán-Bakk
- Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Clinicilor st. 5-7, Romania; Center for Systems Biology, Biodiversity and Bioresources, Sociobiology and Insect Ecology Lab, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Clinicilor st. 5-7, Romania.
| | - Magdalena Witek
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679 Warszawa, Poland.
| | - Anna Dubiec
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679 Warszawa, Poland.
| | - Jürgen Heinze
- Institute for Zoology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, D-93040 Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Bálint Markó
- Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Babeș-Bolyai University, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Clinicilor st. 5-7, Romania; Institute for Research, Development and Innovation in Applied Natural Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University, Fântânele 30, 400294 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
| | - Enikő Csata
- Institute for Zoology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, D-93040 Regensburg, Germany.
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6
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Turza F, Miler K. Small workers are more persistent when providing and requiring help in a monomorphic ant. Sci Rep 2023; 13:21580. [PMID: 38062073 PMCID: PMC10703799 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49012-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/02/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The common sand-dwelling Formica cinerea ants possess monomorphic workers, yet with considerable and easily identified size variation. Considering the importance of body size in polymorphic ants and other animals, we test whether size-dependent differences in behaviour occur in this species. We focus on the behaviour of large and small foragers in the context of rescue occurring between nestmates when one of them is entrapped and requires help. We show that workers of different sizes are characterized by a similar frequency of rescue activity and time delay to the first act of rescue. However, small workers rescue for longer than large workers. These results indicate that, although there is no size-related rescue specialization in F. cinerea foragers, small rescuers behave differently than large ones in terms of rescue persistence. Additionally, we show that small workers are more active when trapped. We suggest that variation in behavioural persistence of differently-sized workers may increase the efficiency of rescue actions. This study is the first to find a connection between body size and rescue behaviour in ants and the first to quantify and analyze the behaviour of individuals in need of rescue. These findings add substantially to our understanding of social insects and, more generally, highlight the need to study among-individual behavioural variation in social animals, including those in which body size is judged minute and irrelevant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filip Turza
- Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Prof. S. Łojasiewicza 11, 30-348, Kraków, Poland.
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387, Kraków, Poland.
| | - Krzysztof Miler
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17, 31-016, Kraków, Poland.
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7
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Klunk CL, Argenta MA, Rosumek FB, Schmelzle S, van de Kamp T, Hammel JU, Pie MR, Heethoff M. Simulated biomechanical performance of morphologically disparate ant mandibles under bite loading. Sci Rep 2023; 13:16833. [PMID: 37803099 PMCID: PMC10558566 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43944-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Insects evolved various modifications to their mouthparts, allowing for a broad exploration of feeding modes. In ants, workers perform non-reproductive tasks like excavation, food processing, and juvenile care, relying heavily on their mandibles. Given the importance of biting for ant workers and the significant mandible morphological diversity across species, it is essential to understand how mandible shape influences its mechanical responses to bite loading. We employed Finite Element Analysis to simulate biting scenarios on mandible volumetric models from 25 ant species classified in different feeding habits. We hypothesize that mandibles of predatory ants, especially trap-jaw ants, would perform better than mandibles of omnivorous species due to their necessity to subdue living prey. We defined simulations to allow only variation in mandible morphology between specimens. Our results demonstrated interspecific differences in mandible mechanical responses to biting loading. However, we found no evident differences in biting performance between the predatory and the remaining ants, and trap-jaw mandibles did not show lower stress levels than other mandibles under bite loading. These results suggest that ant feeding habit is not a robust predictor of mandible biting performance, a possible consequence of mandibles being employed as versatile tools to perform several tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- C L Klunk
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Centro Politécnico, Av. Cel. Francisco H. dos Santos, 100 - Jardim das Américas, Curitiba, PR, 81531-980, Brazil.
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany.
| | - M A Argenta
- Department of Civil Construction, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - F B Rosumek
- Department of Ecology and Zoology, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil
| | - S Schmelzle
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - T van de Kamp
- Institute for Photon Science and Synchrotron Radiation (IPS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
- Laboratory for Applications of Synchrotron Radiation (LAS), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - J U Hammel
- Institute of Materials Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Geesthacht, Germany
| | - M R Pie
- Biology Department, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, Lancashire, UK
| | - M Heethoff
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany.
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8
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Zafar J, Wu H, Xu Y, Lin L, Kang Z, Zhang J, Zhang R, Lu Y, Jin F, Xu X. Transcriptomic Analysis of Metarhizium anisopliae-Induced Immune-Related Long Non-Coding RNAs in Polymorphic Worker Castes of Solenopsis invicta. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:13983. [PMID: 37762284 PMCID: PMC10531276 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241813983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 09/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) represent a class of RNA molecules that do not encode proteins. Generally studied for their regulatory potential in model insects, relatively little is known about their immunoregulatory functions in different castes of eusocial insects, including Solenopsis invicta, a notoriously invasive insect pest. In the current study, we used Metarhizium anisopliae, an entomopathogenic fungus, to infect the polymorphic worker castes (Major and Minor Workers) and subjected them to RNA sequencing at different intervals (6, 24, and 48 h post-infection (hpi)). Comprehensive bioinformatic analysis identified 5719 (1869 known and 3850 novel) lncRNAs in all libraries. Genomic characteristics analysis showed that S. invicta lncRNAs exhibited structural similarities with lncRNAs from other eusocial insects, including lower exon numbers, shorter intron and exon lengths, and a lower expression profile. A comparison of lncRNAs in major and minor worker ants revealed that several lncRNAs were exclusively expressed in one worker caste and remained absent in the other. LncRNAs such as MSTRG.12029.1, XR_005575440.1 (6 h), MSTRG.16728.1, XR_005575440.1 (24 h), MSTRG.20263.41, and MSTRG.11994.5 (48 h) were only present in major worker ants, while lncRNAs such as MSTRG.8896.1, XR_005574239.1 (6 h), MSTRG.20289.8, XR_005575051.1 (24 h), MSTRG.20289.8, and MSTRG.6682.1 (48 h) were only detected in minor workers. Additionally, we performed real-time quantitative PCR and experimentally validated these findings. Functional annotation of cis-acting lncRNAs in major worker ants showed that lncRNAs targeted genes such as serine protease, trypsin, melanization protease-1, spaetzle-3, etc. In contrast, apoptosis and autophagy-related genes were identified as targets of lncRNAs in minor ants. Lastly, we identified several lncRNAs as precursors of microRNAs (miRNAs), such as miR-8, miR-14, miR-210, miR-6038, etc., indicating a regulatory relationship between lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs in antifungal immunity. These findings will serve as a genetic resource for lncRNAs in polymorphic eusocial ants and provide a theoretical basis for exploring the function of lncRNAs from a unique and novel perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Fengliang Jin
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, “Belt and Road” Technology Industry and Innovation Institute for Green and Biological Control of Agricultural Pests, College of Plant Protection, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; (J.Z.); (H.W.); (Y.X.); (L.L.); (Z.K.); (J.Z.); (R.Z.); (Y.L.)
| | - Xiaoxia Xu
- National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, “Belt and Road” Technology Industry and Innovation Institute for Green and Biological Control of Agricultural Pests, College of Plant Protection, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; (J.Z.); (H.W.); (Y.X.); (L.L.); (Z.K.); (J.Z.); (R.Z.); (Y.L.)
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9
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Barkdull M, Moreau CS. Worker Reproduction and Caste Polymorphism Impact Genome Evolution and Social Genes Across the Ants. Genome Biol Evol 2023; 15:evad095. [PMID: 37243539 PMCID: PMC10287540 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Eusocial insects are characterized by several traits, including reproductive division of labor and caste polymorphisms, which likely modulate genome evolution. Concomitantly, evolution may act on specific genes and pathways underlying these novel, sociality-associated phenotypes. Reproductive division of labor should increase the magnitude of genetic drift and reduce the efficacy of selection by reducing effective population size. Caste polymorphism has been associated with relaxed selection and may facilitate directional selection on caste-specific genes. Here, we use comparative analyses of 22 ant genomes to test how reproductive division of labor and worker polymorphism influence positive selection and selection intensity across the genome. Our results demonstrate that worker reproductive capacity is associated with a reduction in the degree of relaxed selection but is not associated with any significant change to positive selection. We find decreases in positive selection in species with polymorphic workers, but no increase in the degree of relaxed selection. Finally, we explore evolutionary patterns in specific candidate genes associated with our focal traits in eusocial insects. Two oocyte patterning genes previously implicated in worker sterility evolve under intensified selection in species with reproductive workers. Behavioral caste genes generally experience relaxed selection associated with worker polymorphism, whereas vestigial and spalt, both associated with soldier development in Pheidole ants, experience intensified selection in worker polymorphic species. These findings expand our understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying elaborations of sociality. The impacts of reproductive division of labor and caste polymorphisms on specific genes illuminate those genes' roles in generating complex eusocial phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Barkdull
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University
| | - Corrie S Moreau
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University
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10
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Drager KI, Rivera MD, Gibson JC, Ruzi SA, Hanisch PE, Achury R, Suarez AV. Testing the predictive value of functional traits in diverse ant communities. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10000. [PMID: 37091559 PMCID: PMC10115899 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Associating morphological features with ecological traits is essential for understanding the connection between organisms and their roles in the environment. If applied successfully, functional trait approaches link form and function in an organism. However, functional trait data not associated with natural history information provide an incomplete picture of an organism's role in the ecosystem. Using data on the relative trophic position of 592 ant (Formicidae) samples comprising 393 species from 11 subfamilies and 19 widely distributed communities, we tested the extent to which commonly used functional proxies (i.e., morphometric traits) predict diet/trophic position as estimated from stable isotopes (δ15N). We chose ants as a group due to their ubiquity and abundance, as well as the wealth of available data on species traits and trophic levels. We measured 12 traits that have previously been identified as functionally significant, and corrected trait values for size and evolutionary history by using phylogenetically corrected trait residuals. Estimated trophic positions varied from 0.9 to 4.8 or roughly 4 trophic levels. Morphological data spanned nearly the entire size range seen in ants from the smallest (e.g., Strumigenys mitis total length 1.1 mm) to the largest species (e.g., Dinoponera australis total length 28.3 mm). We found overall body size, relative eye position, and scape length to be informative for predicting diet/trophic position in these communities, albeit with relatively weak predictive values. Specifically, trophic position was negatively correlated with body size and positively correlated with sensory traits (higher eye position and scape length). Our results suggest that functional trait-based approaches can be informative but should be used with caution unless clear links between form and function have been established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim I. Drager
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and BehaviorUniversity of Illinois505 S. Goodwin Ave. 515 Morrill HallUrbanaIllinois61801USA
| | - Michael D. Rivera
- Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation BiologyUniversity of Illinois505 S. Goodwin Ave. 515 Morrill HallUrbanaIllinois61801USA
| | - Joshua C. Gibson
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of Illinois505 S. Goodwin Ave. 320 Morrill HallUrbanaIllinois61801USA
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and TechnologyUniversity of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign405 N. Mathews AveUrbanaIllinois61801USA
| | - Selina A. Ruzi
- Department of Applied EcologyNorth Carolina State University115 David Clark Labs, 100 Eugene Brooks AvenueRaleighNorth Carolina27695USA
| | - Priscila E. Hanisch
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical BiologyBiocenterUniversity of WürzburgAm Hubland 97074WürzburgGermany
- Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” MACN‐CONICETBuenos AiresArgentina
| | - Rafael Achury
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of Illinois505 S. Goodwin Ave. 320 Morrill HallUrbanaIllinois61801USA
- Terrestrial Ecology Research GroupTechnical University of MunichHans‐Carl‐von‐Carlowitz‐Platz 2Freising85354Germany
| | - Andrew V. Suarez
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and BehaviorUniversity of Illinois505 S. Goodwin Ave. 515 Morrill HallUrbanaIllinois61801USA
- Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation BiologyUniversity of Illinois505 S. Goodwin Ave. 515 Morrill HallUrbanaIllinois61801USA
- Department of EntomologyUniversity of Illinois505 S. Goodwin Ave. 320 Morrill HallUrbanaIllinois61801USA
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11
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Zhang B, Yang RR, Jiang XC, Xu XX, Wang B, Wang GR. Genome-Wide Analysis of the Odorant Receptor Gene Family in Solenopsis invicta, Ooceraea biroi, and Monomorium pharaonis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24076624. [PMID: 37047591 PMCID: PMC10095046 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24076624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Olfactory systems in eusocial insects play a vital role in the discrimination of various chemical cues. Odorant receptors (ORs) are critical for odorant detection, and this family has undergone extensive expansion in ants. In this study, we re-annotated the OR genes from the most destructive invasive ant species Solenopsis invicta and 2 other Formicidae species, Ooceraea biroi and Monomorium pharaonis, with the aim of systematically comparing and analyzing the evolution and the functions of the ORs in ant species, identifying 356, 298, and 306 potential functional ORs, respectively. The evolutionary analysis of these ORs showed that ants had undergone chromosomal rearrangements and that tandem duplication may be the main contributor to the expansion of the OR gene family in S. invicta. Our further analysis revealed that 9-exon ORs had biased chromosome localization patterns in all three ant species and that a 9-exon OR cluster (SinvOR4–8) in S. invicta was under strong positive selection (Ka/Ks = 1.32). Moreover, we identified 5 S. invicta OR genes, namely SinvOR89, SinvOR102, SinvOR352, SinvOR327, and SinvOR135, with high sequence similarity (>70%) to the orthologs in O. biroi and M. pharaonis. An RT-PCR analysis was used to verify the antennal expression levels of these ORs, which showed caste-specific expression. The subsequent analysis of the antennal expression profiles of the ORs of the S. invicta workers from the polygyne and monogyne social forms indicated that SinvOR35 and SinvOR252 were expressed at much higher levels in the monogyne workers than in the polygyne workers and that SinvOR21 was expressed at higher levels in polygyne workers. Our study has contributed to the identification and analysis of the OR gene family in ants and expanded the understanding of the evolution and functions of the ORs in Formicidae species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518120, China
- College of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
| | - Rong-Rong Yang
- Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Creation and Application of Guangdong Province, College of Plant Protection, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Xing-Chuan Jiang
- College of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
| | - Xiao-Xia Xu
- Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Creation and Application of Guangdong Province, College of Plant Protection, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
| | - Bing Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Gui-Rong Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518120, China
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12
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Tross J, Wolf H, Pfeffer SE. Influence of caste and subcaste characteristics in ant locomotion (Camponotus fellah). J Exp Biol 2022; 225:275528. [PMID: 35615922 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Worker polymorphism in ants has evolved repeatedly, with considerable differences in the morphometry of worker subcastes. Such body size differences and especially caste- and subcaste-specific characteristics might significantly influence locomotion. Therefore, we performed a comprehensive locomotion analysis along gradients in both body size and walking speed of Camponotus fellah worker subcastes, and of males, which have rarely been studied to date due to short life spans associated with mating flights. We provide a detailed description of the morphometry and size differences of C. fellah castes and subcastes and analyse locomotion in the different polymorphic groups in terms of absolute and relative walking speeds (mesosoma lengths per second). Our results reveal that body size and shape affect locomotion behaviour to different extents in the worker subcastes (minor workers, medias, major workers) and in males. Nevertheless, C. fellah ants use the same overall locomotion strategy, with males and major workers reaching considerably lower walking speeds than minors and medias. Body size thus mainly affects walking speed. Minor workers reach the highest relative velocities by high relative stride lengths in combination with large vertical and lateral COM oscillations and clearly higher stride frequencies of up to 25 Hz. Locomotion of males was characterised by clearly lower walking speeds, wider footprint positions, significant phase shifts and a notable dragging of the shorter hind legs. However, general walking parameters of males differed less from those of the female workers than expected due to division of labour in the colony.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Tross
- Institute of Neurobiology, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Harald Wolf
- Institute of Neurobiology, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
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13
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Coto ZN, Traniello JFA. Social Brain Energetics: Ergonomic Efficiency, Neurometabolic Scaling, and Metabolic Polyphenism in Ants. Integr Comp Biol 2022; 62:icac048. [PMID: 35617153 PMCID: PMC9825342 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icac048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Metabolism, a metric of the energy cost of behavior, plays a significant role in social evolution. Body size and metabolic scaling are coupled, and a socioecological pattern of increased body size is associated with dietary change and the formation of larger and more complex groups. These consequences of the adaptive radiation of animal societies beg questions concerning energy expenses, a substantial portion of which may involve the metabolic rates of brains that process social information. Brain size scales with body size, but little is understood about brain metabolic scaling. Social insects such as ants show wide variation in worker body size and morphology that correlates with brain size, structure, and worker task performance, which is dependent on sensory inputs and information-processing ability to generate behavior. Elevated production and maintenance costs in workers may impose energetic constraints on body size and brain size that are reflected in patterns of metabolic scaling. Models of brain evolution do not clearly predict patterns of brain metabolic scaling, nor do they specify its relationship to task performance and worker ergonomic efficiency, two key elements of social evolution in ants. Brain metabolic rate is rarely recorded and therefore the conditions under which brain metabolism influences the evolution of brain size are unclear. We propose that studies of morphological evolution, colony social organization, and worker ergonomic efficiency should be integrated with analyses of species-specific patterns of brain metabolic scaling to advance our understanding of brain evolution in ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zach N Coto
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - James F A Traniello
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
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14
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Casadei‐Ferreira A, Feitosa RM, Pie MR. Size and shape in the evolution of the worker head in
Pheidole
ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J Zool (1987) 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- A. Casadei‐Ferreira
- Departamento de Zoologia Setor de Ciências Biológicas Centro Politécnico Universidade Federal do Paraná Curitiba Paraná Brazil
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University Onna Okinawa Japan
| | - R. M. Feitosa
- Departamento de Zoologia Setor de Ciências Biológicas Centro Politécnico Universidade Federal do Paraná Curitiba Paraná Brazil
| | - M. R. Pie
- Departamento de Zoologia Setor de Ciências Biológicas Centro Politécnico Universidade Federal do Paraná Curitiba Paraná Brazil
- Biology Department Edge Hill University Ormskirk Lancashire UK
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15
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Soldánová M, Kundid P, Scholz T, Kristoffersen R, Knudsen R. Somatic Dimorphism in Cercariae of a Bird Schistosome. Pathogens 2022; 11:pathogens11030290. [PMID: 35335614 PMCID: PMC8953619 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11030290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 02/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic polymorphism is a commonly observed phenomenon in nature, but extremely rare in free-living stages of parasites. We describe a unique case of somatic polymorphism in conspecific cercariae of the bird schistosome Trichobilharzia sp. “peregra”, in which two morphs, conspicuously different in their size, were released from a single Radix balthica snail. A detailed morphometric analysis that included multiple morphological parameters taken from 105 live and formalin-fixed cercariae isolated from several naturally infected snails provided reliable evidence for a division of all cercariae into two size groups that contained either large or small individuals. Large morph (total body length of 1368 and 1339 μm for live and formalin-fixed samples, respectively) differed significantly nearly in all morphological characteristics compared to small cercariae (total body length of 976 and 898 μm for live and formalin samples, respectively), regardless of the fixation method. Furthermore, we observed that small individuals represent the normal/commonly occurring phenotype in snail populations. The probable causes and consequences of generating an alternative, much larger phenotype in the parasite infrapopulation are discussed in the context of transmission ecology as possible benefits and disadvantages facilitating or preventing the successful completion of the life cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miroslava Soldánová
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic; (P.K.); (T.S.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Petra Kundid
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic; (P.K.); (T.S.)
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Scholz
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic; (P.K.); (T.S.)
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Roar Kristoffersen
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, N9037 Tromsø, Norway; (R.K.); (R.K.)
| | - Rune Knudsen
- Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, N9037 Tromsø, Norway; (R.K.); (R.K.)
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16
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Nascimento G, Câmara T, Arnan X. Critical thermal limits in ants and their implications under climate change. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 97:1287-1305. [PMID: 35174946 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2021] [Revised: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Critical thermal limits (CTLs) constrain the performance of organisms, shaping their abundance, current distributions, and future distributions. Consequently, CTLs may also determine the quality of ecosystem services as well as organismal and ecosystem vulnerability to climate change. As some of the most ubiquitous animals in terrestrial ecosystems, ants are important members of ecological communities. In recent years, an increasing body of research has explored ant physiological thermal limits. However, these CTL data tend to centre on a few species and biogeographical regions. To encourage an expansion of perspectives, we herein review the factors that determine ant CTLs and examine their effects on present and future species distributions and ecosystem processes. Special emphasis is placed on the implications of CTLs for safeguarding ant diversity and ant-mediated ecosystem services in the future. First, we compile, quantify, and categorise studies on ant CTLs based on study taxon, biogeographical region, methodology, and study question. Second, we use this comprehensive database to analyse the abiotic and biotic factors shaping ant CTLs. Our results highlight how CTLs may affect future distribution patterns and ecological performance in ants. Additionally, we identify the greatest remaining gaps in knowledge and create a research roadmap to promote rapid advances in this field of study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geraldo Nascimento
- Universidade de Pernambuco - Campus Garanhuns, Rua Capitão Pedro Rodrigues, 105 - São José, Garanhuns, 55294-902, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia Ambiental, Universidade de Pernambuco - Campus Petrolina, BR 203, KM 2 - Vila Eduardo, Petrolina, 56328-900, Brazil
| | - Talita Câmara
- Universidade de Pernambuco - Campus Garanhuns, Rua Capitão Pedro Rodrigues, 105 - São José, Garanhuns, 55294-902, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia Ambiental, Universidade de Pernambuco - Campus Petrolina, BR 203, KM 2 - Vila Eduardo, Petrolina, 56328-900, Brazil
| | - Xavier Arnan
- Universidade de Pernambuco - Campus Garanhuns, Rua Capitão Pedro Rodrigues, 105 - São José, Garanhuns, 55294-902, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia Ambiental, Universidade de Pernambuco - Campus Petrolina, BR 203, KM 2 - Vila Eduardo, Petrolina, 56328-900, Brazil.,CREAF, Campus de Bellaterra (UAB) Edifici C, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Spain
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17
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La Richelière F, Muñoz G, Guénard B, Dunn RR, Economo EP, Powell S, Sanders NJ, Weiser MD, Abouheif E, Lessard JP. Warm and arid regions of the world are hotspots of superorganism complexity. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20211899. [PMID: 35135345 PMCID: PMC8832517 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Biologists have long been fascinated by the processes that give rise to phenotypic complexity of organisms, yet whether there exist geographical hotspots of phenotypic complexity remains poorly explored. Phenotypic complexity can be readily observed in ant colonies, which are superorganisms with morphologically differentiated queen and worker castes analogous to the germline and soma of multicellular organisms. Several ant species have evolved 'worker polymorphism', where workers in a single colony show quantifiable differences in size and head-to-body scaling. Here, we use 256 754 occurrence points from 8990 ant species to investigate the geography of worker polymorphism. We show that arid regions of the world are the hotspots of superorganism complexity. Tropical savannahs and deserts, which are typically species-poor relative to tropical or even temperate forests, harbour the highest densities of polymorphic ants. We discuss the possible adaptive advantages that worker polymorphism provides in arid environments. Our work may provide a window into the environmental conditions that promote the emergence of highly complex phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédérique La Richelière
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Canada, H4B 1R6,Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Canada, H3A 1B1
| | - Gabriel Muñoz
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Canada, H4B 1R6
| | - Benoit Guénard
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China
| | - Robert R. Dunn
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, 3510 Thomas Hall, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Evan P. Economo
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
| | - Scott Powell
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Nathan J. Sanders
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 1105 North University Ave Biological Sciences Building, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1085, USA
| | - Michael D. Weiser
- Geographical Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, 730 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| | - Ehab Abouheif
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Canada, H3A 1B1
| | - Jean-Philippe Lessard
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Canada, H4B 1R6
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18
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Abbot P. Defense in Social Insects: Diversity, Division of Labor, and Evolution. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2022; 67:407-436. [PMID: 34995089 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-082521-072638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
All social insects defend their colony from predators, parasites, and pathogens. In Oster and Wilson's classic work, they posed one of the key paradoxes about defense in social insects: Given the universal necessity of defense, why then is there so much diversity in mechanisms? Ecological factors undoubtedly are important: Predation and usurpation have imposed strong selection on eusocial insects, and active defense by colonies is a ubiquitous feature of all social insects. The description of diverse insect groups with castes of sterile workers whose main duty is defense has broadened the purview of social evolution in insects, in particular with respect to caste and behavior. Defense is one of the central axes along which we can begin to organize and understand sociality in insects. With the establishment of social insect models such as the honey bee, new discoveries are emerging regarding the endocrine, neural, and gene regulatory mechanisms underlying defense in social insects. The mechanisms underlying morphological and behavioral defense traits may be shared across diverse groups, providing opportunities for identifying both conserved and novel mechanisms at work. Emerging themes highlight the context dependency of and interaction between factors that regulate defense in social insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Abbot
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA;
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19
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Koch S, Tahara R, Vasquez-Correa A, Abouheif E. Nano-CT imaging of larvae in the ant Pheidole hyatti reveals coordinated growth of a rudimentary organ necessary for soldier development. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2021; 336:540-553. [PMID: 34549874 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.23097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The growth of imaginal discs in holometabolous insects is coordinated with larval growth to ensure the symmetrical and proportional development of the adult appendages. In ants, the differential growth of these discs generates distinct castes-the winged male and queen castes and the wingless worker caste. In the hyperdiverse ant genus Pheidole, the worker caste is composed of two morphologically distinct subcastes: small-headed minor workers and larger, big-headed, soldiers. Although these worker subcastes are completely wingless, soldier larvae develop rudimentary forewing discs that function in generating the disproportionate head-to-body scaling and size of soldiers. It remains unclear, however, how rudimentary forewing discs in soldier larvae are coordinated with other imaginal discs. Here we show, using quantitative nano-CT imaging and three-dimensional analyses, that the increase in the volume of the soldier rudimentary forewing discs is coordinated with larval size as well as with the increase in the volume of the leg and eye-antennal (head) discs. However, relative to larval size, we found that when the rudimentary forewing discs appear during the last larval instar, they are relatively smaller but increase in volume faster than that of the head (eye-antennal) and leg discs. These findings show that the rudimentary wing disc in soldier larvae has evolved novel patterns of inter-organ coordination as compared with other insects to generate the big-headed soldier caste in Pheidole. More generally, our study raises the possibility that novel patterns of inter-organ coordination are a general feature of rudimentary organs that acquire novel regulatory functions during development and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Koch
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Rui Tahara
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | | | - Ehab Abouheif
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
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20
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Honorio R, Jacquier L, Doums C, Molet M. Disentangling the roles of social and individual effects on cadmium tolerance in the ant Temnothorax nylanderi. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blab116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Urbanization brings new pressures for individuals. Among them, trace elements, such as cadmium, are important stressors. A recent study highlights a weaker negative effect of cadmium on city colonies relative to their forest counterparts in the ant Temnothorax nylanderi. Here, we aim to test whether the better tolerance of city colonies in this species results from a better ability of workers to rear larvae despite stressful conditions and/or a better ability of larvae to develop properly despite stressful conditions. We performed a cross-fostering experiment of workers and larvae from city and forest colonies, in common garden conditions in the laboratory. Colonies were fed using cadmium-enriched or cadmium-free food for 2 months, and we measured four life-history traits. As expected, cadmium had a negative impact on all traits. Unexpectedly, we did not observe a better tolerance of city colonies to cadmium, contrary to our previous study, which prevented us from disentangling the respective contributions of workers and larvae to cadmium tolerance. Interestingly, forest colonies seemed to be of better quality in our laboratory conditions. Finally, colony size increased adult survival, but only in the absence of cadmium, suggesting that social buffering could collapse with strong external disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romain Honorio
- Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Est Créteil, Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences-Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Lauren Jacquier
- Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Est Créteil, Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences-Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Claudie Doums
- Institut de Systématique Évolution Biodiversité, ISYEB, F-75005 Paris, Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, EPHE-PSL, Université des Antilles, France
- EPHE, PSL University, F-75014 Paris, France
| | - Mathieu Molet
- Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Est Créteil, Université Paris Diderot, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences-Paris, iEES-Paris, F-75005 Paris, France
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21
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Püffel F, Pouget A, Liu X, Zuber M, van de Kamp T, Roces F, Labonte D. Morphological determinants of bite force capacity in insects: a biomechanical analysis of polymorphic leaf-cutter ants. J R Soc Interface 2021; 18:20210424. [PMID: 34493090 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2021.0424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The extraordinary success of social insects is partially based on division of labour, i.e. individuals exclusively or preferentially perform specific tasks. Task preference may correlate with morphological adaptations so implying task specialization, but the extent of such specialization can be difficult to determine. Here, we demonstrate how the physical foundation of some tasks can be leveraged to quantitatively link morphology and performance. We study the allometry of bite force capacity in Atta vollenweideri leaf-cutter ants, polymorphic insects in which the mechanical processing of plant material is a key aspect of the behavioural portfolio. Through a morphometric analysis of tomographic scans, we show that the bite force capacity of the heaviest colony workers is twice as large as predicted by isometry. This disproportionate 'boost' is predominantly achieved through increased investment in muscle volume; geometrical parameters such as mechanical advantage, fibre length or pennation angle are likely constrained by the need to maintain a constant mandibular opening range. We analyse this preference for an increase in size-specific muscle volume and the adaptations in internal and external head anatomy required to accommodate it with simple geometric and physical models, so providing a quantitative understanding of the functional anatomy of the musculoskeletal bite apparatus in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederik Püffel
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Anaya Pouget
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Xinyue Liu
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Marcus Zuber
- Institute for Photon Science and Synchrotron Radiation (IPS), Karlsruhe, Germany.,Laboratory for Applications of Synchrotron Radiation, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Thomas van de Kamp
- Institute for Photon Science and Synchrotron Radiation (IPS), Karlsruhe, Germany.,Laboratory for Applications of Synchrotron Radiation, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Flavio Roces
- Department of Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - David Labonte
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
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22
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Psalti MN, Gohlke D, Libbrecht R. Experimental increase of worker diversity benefits brood production in ants. BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:163. [PMID: 34461829 PMCID: PMC8404329 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01890-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The reproductive division of labor of eusocial insects, whereby one or several queens monopolize reproduction, evolved in a context of high genetic relatedness. However, many extant eusocial species have developed strategies that decrease genetic relatedness in their colonies, suggesting some benefits of the increased diversity. Multiple studies support this hypothesis by showing positive correlations between genetic diversity and colony fitness, as well as finding effects of experimental manipulations of diversity on colony performance. However, alternative explanations could account for most of these reports, and the benefits of diversity on performance in eusocial insects still await validation. In this study, we experimentally increased worker diversity in small colonies of the ant Lasius niger while controlling for typical confounding factors. RESULTS We found that experimental colonies composed of workers coming from three different source colonies produced more larvae and showed more variation in size compared to groups of workers coming from a single colony. CONCLUSIONS We propose that the benefits of increased diversity stemmed from an improved division of labor. Our study confirms that worker diversity enhances colony performance, thus providing a possible explanation for the evolution of multiply mated queens and multiple-queen colonies in many species of eusocial insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina N. Psalti
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Dustin Gohlke
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Romain Libbrecht
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
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23
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Lecocq de Pletincx N, Dellicour S, Aron S. The evolution of ant worker polymorphism correlates with multiple social traits. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03049-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Klunk CL, Argenta MA, Casadei-Ferreira A, Economo EP, Pie MR. Mandibular morphology, task specialization and bite mechanics in Pheidole ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J R Soc Interface 2021; 18:20210318. [PMID: 34102082 PMCID: PMC8187013 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2021.0318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ants show remarkable ecological and evolutionary success due to their social life history and division of labour among colony members. In some lineages, the worker force became subdivided into morphologically distinct individuals (i.e. minor versus major workers), allowing for the differential performance of particular roles in the colony. However, the functional and ecological significance of these morphological differences are not well understood. Here, we applied finite element analysis (FEA) to explore the biomechanical differences between major and minor ant worker mandibles. Analyses were carried out on mandibles of two Pheidole species, a dimorphic ant genus. We tested whether major mandibles evolved to minimize stress when compared to minors using combinations of the apical tooth and masticatory margin bites under strike and pressure conditions. Majors performed better in pressure conditions yet, contrary to our expectations, minors performed better in strike bite scenarios. Moreover, we demonstrated that even small morphological differences in ant mandibles might lead to substantial differences in biomechanical responses to bite loading. These results also underscore the potential of FEA to uncover biomechanical consequences of morphological differences within and between ant workers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristian L. Klunk
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba-PR, Brazil
| | - Marco A. Argenta
- Department of Civil Construction, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba-PR, Brazil
| | - Alexandre Casadei-Ferreira
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna, Japan
| | - Evan P. Economo
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna, Japan
| | - Marcio R. Pie
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba-PR, Brazil
- Department of Zoology, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba-PR, Brazil
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Reznikova Z. Ants’ Personality and Its Dependence on Foraging Styles: Research Perspectives. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.661066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The paper is devoted to analyzing consistent individual differences in behavior, also known as “personalities,” in the context of a vital ant task—the detection and transportation of food. I am trying to elucidate the extent to which collective cognition is individual-based and whether a single individual’s actions can suffice to direct the entire colony or colony units. The review analyzes personalities in various insects with different life cycles and provides new insights into the role of individuals in directing group actions in ants. Although it is widely accepted that, in eusocial insects, colony personality emerges from the workers’ personalities, there are only a few examples of investigations of personality at the individual level. The central question of the review is how the distribution of behavioral types and cognitive responsibilities within ant colonies depends on a species’ foraging style. In the context of how workers’ behavioral traits display during foraging, a crucial question is what makes an ant a scout that discovers a new food source and mobilizes its nestmates. In mass recruiting, tandem-running, and even in group-recruiting species displaying leadership, the division of labor between scouts and recruits appears to be ephemeral. There is only little, if any, evidence of ants’ careers and behavioral consistency as leaders. Personal traits characterize groups of individuals at the colony level but not performers of functional roles during foraging. The leader-scouting seems to be the only known system that is based on a consistent personal difference between scouting and foraging individuals.
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Ecosystem engineering in the arboreal realm: heterogeneity of wood-boring beetle cavities and their use by cavity-nesting ants. Oecologia 2021; 196:427-439. [PMID: 33970331 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-04934-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Wood-boring beetle larvae act as ecosystem engineers by creating stem cavities that are used secondarily as nests by many arboreal ant species. Understanding the heterogeneity and distribution of available cavities and their use by ants is therefore key to understanding arboreal ant community assembly and diversity. Our goals were to quantify the abundance and diversity of beetle-produced cavity resources in a tropical canopy, reveal how ants use these resources, and determine which characteristics of the cavity resource contribute to ant use. We dissected branches from six common tree species in the Brazilian Cerrado savanna, measuring cavity characteristics and identifying the occupants. We sampled 2310 individual cavities, 576 of which were used as nests by 25 arboreal ant species. We found significant differences among tree species in the proportion of stem length bored by beetles, the number of cavities per stem length, average entrance-hole size, and the distribution of cavity volumes. The likelihood that a cavity was occupied was greater for cavities with larger entrance-hole sizes and larger volumes. In particular, there was a strong positive correlation between mean head diameters of ant species and the mean entrance-hole diameter of the cavities occupied by those ant species. Wood-boring beetles contribute to the structuring of the Cerrado ant community by differentially attacking the available tree species. In so doing, the beetles provide a wide range of entrance-hole sizes which ant species partition based on their body size, and large volume cavities that ants appear to prefer.
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Worker Size Diversity Has No Effect on Overwintering Success under Natural Conditions in the Ant Temnothorax nylanderi. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12050379. [PMID: 33922143 PMCID: PMC8143561 DOI: 10.3390/insects12050379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Winter is a harsh season for organisms living in temperate zones. Winter is often associated with starvation and cold temperatures, and these pressures can strongly affect organism survival. Living in groups can help these animals to cope with winter pressures. Social groups contain individuals which can vary in different ways: physiology, behavior, morphology, etc. In social insects such as ants, worker size leads to different responses to starvation and cold temperature in the laboratory. In this study, we investigated whether worker size affects colony and individual survival under natural conditions. We manipulated both worker size diversity and mean worker size within colonies of the ant Temnothorax nylanderi, reintroduced them in the field, and measured colony survival after overwintering. We found similar colony and individual (both adults and young) survival during winter between treatment colonies with reduced size diversity and/or manipulated mean worker size compared to control colonies with unmanipulated worker size. This result highlights that worker size diversity has no influence on colony performance in this species and more broadly questions the interest of worker size in social insect species with moderate worker size diversity. We discuss the potential sources of worker size diversity, including social context and selfish behavior. Abstract Winter is a difficult period for animals that live in temperate zones. It can inflict high mortality or induce weight loss with potential consequences on performance during the growing season. Social groups include individuals of various ages and sizes. This diversity may improve the ability of groups to buffer winter disturbances such as starvation or cold temperature. Studies focusing on the buffering role of social traits such as mean size and diversity of group members under winter conditions are mainly performed in the laboratory and investigate the effect of starvation or cold separately. Here, we experimentally decreased worker size diversity and manipulated worker mean size within colonies in order to study the effect on overwintering survival in the ant Temnothorax nylanderi. Colonies were placed under natural conditions during winter. Colony survival was high during winter and similar in all treatments with no effect of worker size diversity and mean worker size. Higher brood survival was positively correlated with colony size (i.e., the number of workers). Our results show that the higher resistance of larger individuals against cold or starvation stresses observed in the laboratory does not directly translate into higher colony survival in the field. We discuss our results in the light of mechanisms that could explain the possible non-adaptive size diversity in social species.
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Zorzal G, Camarota F, Dias M, Vidal DM, Lima E, Fregonezi A, Campos RI. The dear enemy effect drives conspecific aggressiveness in an Azteca-Cecropia system. Sci Rep 2021; 11:6158. [PMID: 33731789 PMCID: PMC7970830 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-85070-3] [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: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Territoriality is costly, and the accurate identification of intruders and the decision to perform aggressive responses are key behavioral traits in social animals. We studied aggression among individuals belonging to close and distant nests of the plant-ant Azteca muelleri, which lives in stems of the pioneer tree Cecropia glaziovii. More specifically, we aim to investigate if the DE (dear-enemy effect-less aggression towards neighbors than strangers) or NN (nasty-neighbor effect-less aggression to strangers than neighbors) effects or even none of them apply for this iconic Azteca-Cecropia system. We further checked if ant aggression towards conspecifics is related to cuticular hydrocarbon profiles (CHCs), which provide chemical cues for nestmate recognition. Therefore, we sampled 46 nests of A. muelleri in three Brazilian Atlantic forest fragments and performed behavioral trials within and between sites. Consistently with the DE effect, we found higher aggression levels in 'between sites' versus 'within sites' treatments as well as a positive effect of spatial distance on ant aggressiveness. We found no effect of the overall dissimilarities on CHC blend on ant aggressiveness, but of one CHC class, the methylated alkanes. Overall, we provide key insights on nest-mate recognition in obligatory ant-plant mutualisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Zorzal
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ecologia, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570900, Brazil
| | - Flávio Camarota
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ecologia, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570900, Brazil
| | - Marcondes Dias
- Departamento de Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Diogo M Vidal
- Departamento de Química, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Eraldo Lima
- Departamento de Entomologia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Aline Fregonezi
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ecologia, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570900, Brazil
| | - Ricardo I Campos
- Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ecologia, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, 36570900, Brazil.
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Holland JG, Nakayama S, Porfiri M, Nov O, Bloch G. Body Size and Behavioural Plasticity Interact to Influence the Performance of Free-Foraging Bumble Bee Colonies. INSECTS 2021; 12:236. [PMID: 33802199 PMCID: PMC8001989 DOI: 10.3390/insects12030236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Revised: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Specialisation and plasticity are important for many forms of collective behaviour, but the interplay between these factors is little understood. In insect societies, workers are often developmentally primed to specialise in different tasks, sometimes with morphological or physiological adaptations, facilitating a division of labour. Workers may also plastically switch between tasks or vary their effort. The degree to which developmentally primed specialisation limits plasticity is not clear and has not been systematically tested in ecologically relevant contexts. We addressed this question in 20 free-foraging bumble bee (Bombus terrestris) colonies by continually manipulating colonies to contain either a typically diverse, or a reduced ("homogeneous"), worker body size distribution while keeping the same mean body size, over two trials. Pooling both trials, diverse colonies produced a larger comb mass, an index of colony performance. The link between body size and task was further corroborated by the finding that foragers were larger than nurses even in homogeneous colonies with a very narrow body size range. However, the overall effect of size diversity stemmed mostly from one trial. In the other trial, homogeneous and diverse colonies showed comparable performance. By comparing behavioural profiles based on several thousand observations of individuals, we found evidence that workers in homogeneous colonies in this trial rescued colony performance by plastically increasing behavioural specialisation and/or individual effort, compared to same-sized individuals in diverse colonies. Our results are consistent with a benefit to colonies of large and small specialists under certain conditions, but also suggest that plasticity or effort can compensate for reduced (size-related) specialisation. Thus, we suggest that an intricate interplay between specialisation and plasticity is functionally adaptive in bumble bee colonies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob G. Holland
- Department of Ecology, Evolution & Behaviour, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Shinnosuke Nakayama
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA; (S.N.); (M.P.)
| | - Maurizio Porfiri
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA; (S.N.); (M.P.)
- Center for Urban Science and Progress, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA
| | - Oded Nov
- Department of Technology Management and Innovation, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA;
| | - Guy Bloch
- Department of Ecology, Evolution & Behaviour, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
- The Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
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Priest GV, Camarota F, Vasconcelos HL, Powell S, Marquis RJ. Active modification of cavity nest‐entrances is a common strategy in arboreal ants. Biotropica 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Galen V. Priest
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center University of Missouri‐St. Louis St. Louis MO USA
| | - Flávio Camarota
- Department of Biological Sciences The George Washington University Washington DC USA
- Instituto de Biologia Universidade Federal de Uberlândia Uberlândia Brazil
- Instituto de Biologia Geral Universidade Federal de Viçosa Viçosa Brazil
| | | | - Scott Powell
- Department of Biological Sciences The George Washington University Washington DC USA
| | - Robert J. Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center University of Missouri‐St. Louis St. Louis MO USA
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31
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Laciny A. Among the shapeshifters: parasite-induced morphologies in ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) and their relevance within the EcoEvoDevo framework. EvoDevo 2021; 12:2. [PMID: 33653386 PMCID: PMC7923345 DOI: 10.1186/s13227-021-00173-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
As social insects, ants represent extremely interaction-rich biological systems shaped by tightly integrated social structures and constant mutual exchange with a multitude of internal and external environmental factors. Due to this high level of ecological interconnection, ant colonies can harbour a diverse array of parasites and pathogens, many of which are known to interfere with the delicate processes of ontogeny and caste differentiation and induce phenotypic changes in their hosts. Despite their often striking nature, parasite-induced changes to host development and morphology have hitherto been largely overlooked in the context of ecological evolutionary developmental biology (EcoEvoDevo). Parasitogenic morphologies in ants can, however, serve as “natural experiments” that may shed light on mechanisms and pathways relevant to host development, plasticity or robustness under environmental perturbations, colony-level effects and caste evolution. By assessing case studies of parasites causing morphological changes in their ant hosts, from the eighteenth century to current research, this review article presents a first overview of relevant host and parasite taxa. Hypotheses about the underlying developmental and evolutionary mechanisms, and open questions for further research are discussed. This will contribute towards highlighting the importance of parasites of social insects for both biological theory and empirical research and facilitate future interdisciplinary work at the interface of myrmecology, parasitology, and the EcoEvoDevo framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Laciny
- Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Martinstraße 12, 3400, Klosterneuburg, Austria.
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32
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Schrader L, Winter M, Errbii M, Delabie J, Oettler J, Gadau J. Inhibition of HSP90 causes morphological variation in the invasive ant
Cardiocondyla obscurior. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2021; 336:333-340. [DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.23035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Schrader
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity University of Münster Münster Germany
| | - Miles Winter
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity University of Münster Münster Germany
| | - Mohammed Errbii
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity University of Münster Münster Germany
| | - Jacques Delabie
- Laboratório de Mirmecologia Cocoa Research Center‐CEPLAC & UESC‐DCAA Itabuna Bahia Brazil
| | - Jan Oettler
- Lehrstuhl für Zoologie/Evolutionsbiologie University of Regensburg Regensburg Germany
| | - Jürgen Gadau
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity University of Münster Münster Germany
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Galbán A, Cuezzo F, Torréns J. The Pronotum of Worker of Camponotus borellii Emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): How Can It Affect Performance of the Head, Work Division, and Development of the Worker Caste? NEOTROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2021; 50:78-89. [PMID: 33501632 DOI: 10.1007/s13744-020-00828-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
In polymorphic ants, whose workers display continuous size distribution, each subcaste occupies a phenotypic space, usually with diffuse morphological boundaries. These morphological differences are closely associated to size by allometry although the environment also plays a key role that affects the fitness of the species. In Camponotus borellii Emery, the species selected as a study model, workers exhibit a continuous increase in size; geometric morphometric (GM) was used over four morphological traits: head capsule, clypeus, pronotum, and mesosoma, in order to assess (1) changes in shape, among the worker caste; (2) the influence of allometry on such changes; and (3) pronotum shape in respect to the head so as to infer which factors may influence the polymorphic development of the worker caste. The results indicated that the pronotum is organized into two highly integrated functional modules (neck and shield), corresponding to one developmental module. GM shows a similar pattern to that obtained for linear morphometry, though the worker ratio was different along continuous size distribution due to shape changes in two traits, with are also useful for delimiting modular units: (1) rounded shape of the posterior region of the head in minor workers; (2) shape of the pronotum, especially its anterior region, henceforth, neck, which widens as a consequence of the higher development of its central region, henceforth, shield, in major workers. The relevance of these results is discussed regarding functional morphology (pronotum in relation to the head), work division, and development of the worker caste.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alvaro Galbán
- Instituto Superior de Entomología "Dr. Abraham Willink" (INSUE), Fac. de Cs. Nat. e IML-UNT- CONICET, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina.
- Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (CRILAR), Provincia de La Rioja, UNLAR, SEGEMAR, UNCa, CONICET, Anillaco, La Rioja, Argentina.
| | - Fabiana Cuezzo
- Instituto Superior de Entomología "Dr. Abraham Willink" (INSUE), Fac. de Cs. Nat. e IML-UNT- CONICET, San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Javier Torréns
- Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (CRILAR), Provincia de La Rioja, UNLAR, SEGEMAR, UNCa, CONICET, Anillaco, La Rioja, Argentina
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Hanna L, Abouheif E. The origin of wing polyphenism in ants: An eco-evo-devo perspective. Curr Top Dev Biol 2021; 141:279-336. [PMID: 33602491 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2020.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The evolution of eusociality, where solitary individuals integrate into a single colony, is a major transition in individuality. In ants, the origin of eusociality coincided with the origin of a wing polyphenism approximately 160 million years ago, giving rise to colonies with winged queens and wingless workers. As a consequence, both eusociality and wing polyphenism are nearly universal features of all ants. Here, we synthesize fossil, ecological, developmental, and evolutionary data in an attempt to understand the factors that contributed to the origin of wing polyphenism in ants. We propose multiple models and hypotheses to explain how wing polyphenism is orchestrated at multiple levels, from environmental cues to gene networks. Furthermore, we argue that the origin of wing polyphenism enabled the subsequent evolution of morphological diversity across the ants. We finally conclude by outlining several outstanding questions for future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Hanna
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Ehab Abouheif
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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Fujioka H, Okada Y, Abe MS. Bipartite network analysis of ant-task associations reveals task groups and absence of colonial daily activity. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:201637. [PMID: 33614094 PMCID: PMC7890512 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Social insects are one of the best examples of complex self-organized systems exhibiting task allocation. How task allocation is achieved is the most fascinating question in behavioural ecology and complex systems science. However, it is difficult to comprehensively characterize task allocation patterns due to behavioural complexity, such as the individual variation, context dependency and chronological variation. Thus, it is imperative to quantify individual behaviours and integrate them into colony levels. Here, we applied bipartite network analyses to characterize individual-behaviour relationships. We recorded the behaviours of all individuals with verified age in ant colonies and analysed the individual-behaviour relationship at the individual, module and network levels. Bipartite network analysis successfully detected the module structures, illustrating that certain individuals performed a subset of behaviours (i.e. task groups). We confirmed age polyethism by comparing age between modules. Additionally, to test the daily rhythm of the executed tasks, the data were partitioned between daytime and nighttime, and a bipartite network was re-constructed. This analysis supported that there was no daily rhythm in the tasks performed. These findings suggested that bipartite network analyses could untangle complex task allocation patterns and provide insights into understanding the division of labour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haruna Fujioka
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, 3-3-138 Sugimoto-cho, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka 558-8585, Japan
| | - Yasukazu Okada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minamiosawa, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masato S. Abe
- Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, RIKEN, Nihonbashi 1-chome Mitsui Building, 1-4-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0027, Japan
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36
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Nunes CA, Castro FS, Brant HSC, Powell S, Solar R, Fernandes GW, Neves FS. High Temporal Beta Diversity in an Ant Metacommunity, With Increasing Temporal Functional Replacement Along the Elevational Gradient. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.571439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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37
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Lecocq de Pletincx N, Aron S. Sociogenetic Organization of the Red Honey Ant ( Melophorus bagoti). INSECTS 2020; 11:E755. [PMID: 33158025 PMCID: PMC7693516 DOI: 10.3390/insects11110755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Kin selection and inclusive fitness are thought to be key factors explaining the reproductive altruism displayed by workers in eusocial insect species. However, when a colony's queen has mated with <2 males, workers may increase their fitness by producing their own male offspring. Conversely, when the queen has mated with ≥2 males, workers are expected to increase their inclusive fitness by eschewing the production of their sons and preventing other workers from reproducing as well. Here, we investigated sociogenetic structure and worker reproduction in the red honey ant, Melophorus bagoti. Morphometric analyses revealed that workers belong to one of two distinct subcastes: they are either majors or minors. Using DNA microsatellite markers, we showed that all the colonies had a single, multiple-mated queen and that there was no relationship between worker patriline and worker subcaste. Furthermore, we found that workers were producing males in the presence of the queen, which contrasts with the predictions of inclusive fitness theory. Although our results are based on a small sample, they can serve as the foundation for future research examining worker reproduction in M. bagoti.
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38
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Friedman NR, Lecroq Bennet B, Fischer G, Sarnat EM, Huang J, Knowles LLK, Economo EP. Macroevolutionary integration of phenotypes within and across ant worker castes. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:9371-9383. [PMID: 32953067 PMCID: PMC7487254 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Revised: 06/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic traits are often integrated into evolutionary modules: sets of organismal parts that evolve together. In social insect colonies, the concepts of integration and modularity apply to sets of traits both within and among functionally and phenotypically differentiated castes. On macroevolutionary timescales, patterns of integration and modularity within and across castes can be clues to the selective and ecological factors shaping their evolution and diversification. We develop a set of hypotheses describing contrasting patterns of worker integration and apply this framework in a broad (246 species) comparative analysis of major and minor worker evolution in the hyperdiverse ant genus Pheidole. Using geometric morphometrics in a phylogenetic framework, we inferred fast and tightly integrated evolution of mesosoma shape between major and minor workers, but slower and more independent evolution of head shape between the two worker castes. Thus, Pheidole workers are evolving as a mixture of intracaste and intercaste integration and rate heterogeneity. The decoupling of homologous traits across worker castes may represent an important process facilitating the rise of social complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas R. Friedman
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity UnitOkinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate UniversityOkinawaJapan
| | - Beatrice Lecroq Bennet
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity UnitOkinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate UniversityOkinawaJapan
| | - Georg Fischer
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity UnitOkinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate UniversityOkinawaJapan
| | - Eli M. Sarnat
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity UnitOkinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate UniversityOkinawaJapan
| | - Jen‐Pan Huang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of ZoologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
- Biodiversity Research CenterAcademia SinicaTaipeiTaiwan
| | - L. Lacey Knowles Knowles
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of ZoologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Evan P. Economo
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity UnitOkinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate UniversityOkinawaJapan
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Comparative Cutaneous Water Loss and Desiccation Tolerance of Four Solenopsis spp. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Southeastern United States. INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11070418. [PMID: 32635677 PMCID: PMC7412113 DOI: 10.3390/insects11070418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 06/10/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The high surface area to volume ratio of terrestrial insects makes them highly susceptible to desiccation mainly through the cuticle. Cuticular permeability (CP) is usually the most important factor limiting water loss in terrestrial insects. Water loss rate, percentage of total body water (%TBW) content, CP, and desiccation tolerance were investigated in workers of four Solenopsis species in the southeastern USA. We hypothesized that tropical/subtropical ants (S. invicta and S. geminata) will have lower CP values and tolerate higher levels of desiccation than temperate ants (S. richteri and S. invicta × S. richteri). The %TBW content was similar among species. Solenopsis invicta had a 1.3-fold and 1.1-fold lower CP value than S. invicta × S. richteri and S. richteri, respectively. Solenopsis geminata had a 1.3-fold lower CP value than S. invicta × S. richteri, and a 1.2-fold lower CP value than S. richteri. The LT50 values (lethal time to kill 50% of the population) ranged from 1.5 h (small S. geminata) to 8.5 h (large S. invicta). Desiccation tolerance ranged between 36 and 50 %TBW lost at death and was not related to a species’ location of origin. This study is the first report of water relations of S. invicta × S. richteri. It demonstrates that desiccation stress differentially can affect the survival of different Solenopsis species and implies that environmental stress can affect the distribution of these species in the southeastern USA.
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Cao H, Boudinot BE, Shih C, Ren D, Gao T. Cretaceous ants shed new light on the origins of worker polymorphism. SCIENCE CHINA. LIFE SCIENCES 2020; 63:1085-1088. [PMID: 32170626 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-019-1617-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Huijia Cao
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
| | | | - Chungkun Shih
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20013-7012, USA
| | - Dong Ren
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China.
| | - Taiping Gao
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China.
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41
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Task partitioning in ants lacking discrete morphological worker subcastes. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02845-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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42
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Chiu MC, Wu WJ, Lai LC. Carriers and cutters: size-dependent caste polyethism in the tropical fire ant ( Solenopsis geminata). BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2020; 110:388-396. [PMID: 31735176 DOI: 10.1017/s0007485319000750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Body size is an important life-history trait in eusocial insects which plays a key role in colony fitness. The division of labour, represented by caste polyethism, correlates with divergent morphological traits. Size polymorphism has been noted in the tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata; however, little is known regarding the differences in the size distributions of workers performing foraging tasks. In the present study, task partitioning was observed in the foraging activities of S. geminata. Two subgroups among foraging workers of S. geminata were discovered using the Gaussian mixture model: a large worker group (head width ≥ 0.924 mm) and a small worker group (head width < 0.924 mm). The foraging worker population comprised two distinct groups - 25.64% were large workers and 74.36% were small workers. Larger workers delivered heavier seeds faster than smaller workers, but this difference became less apparent when lighter seeds were being carried. When large prey such as crickets was encountered during foraging, S. geminata partitioned their tasks into cutting and transportation. The large workers were observed to cut cricket prey into fragments with their longer mandibles, and the small workers then transported these fragments back to the nest. These results present evidence of task partitioning among tropical fire ants, with different tasks being performed by ants of different castes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Chung Chiu
- Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Kobe6578501, Japan
| | - Wen-Jer Wu
- Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, 27, Lane 113, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei10617, Taiwan
| | - Li-Chuan Lai
- Department of Ecological Humanities, Providence University, 200, Sec. 7, Taiwan Boulevard, Shalu Dist., Taichung City 43301, Taiwan
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43
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Anderson PSL, Rivera MD, Suarez AV. "Simple" Biomechanical Model for Ants Reveals How Correlated Evolution among Body Segments Minimizes Variation in Center of Mass as Heads Get Larger. Integr Comp Biol 2020; 60:1193-1207. [PMID: 32386301 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icaa027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The field of comparative biomechanics strives to understand the diversity of the biological world through the lens of physics. To accomplish this, researchers apply a variety of modeling approaches to explore the evolution of form and function ranging from basic lever models to intricate computer simulations. While advances in technology have allowed for increasing model complexity, insight can still be gained through the use of low-parameter "simple" models. All models, regardless of complexity, are simplifications of reality and must make assumptions; "simple" models just make more assumptions than complex ones. However, "simple" models have several advantages. They allow individual parameters to be isolated and tested systematically, can be made applicable to a wide range of organisms and make good starting points for comparative studies, allowing for complexity to be added as needed. To illustrate these ideas, we perform a case study on body form and center of mass stability in ants. Ants show a wide diversity of body forms, particularly in terms of the relative size of the head, petiole(s), and gaster (the latter two make-up the segments of the abdomen not fused to thorax in hymenopterans). We use a "simple" model to explore whether balance issues pertaining to the center of mass influence patterns of segment expansion across major ant clades. Results from phylogenetic comparative methods imply that the location of the center of mass in an ant's body is under stabilizing selection, constraining the center of mass to the middle segment (thorax) over the legs. This is potentially maintained by correlated rates of evolution between the head and gaster on either end. While these patterns arise from a model that makes several assumptions/simplifications relating to shape and materials, they still offer intriguing insights into the body plan of ants across ∼68% of their diversity. The results from our case study illustrate how "simple," low-parameter models both highlight fundamental biomechanical trends and aid in crystalizing specific questions and hypotheses for more complex models to address.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip S L Anderson
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.,Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.,Beckman Institute for Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Michael D Rivera
- Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Andrew V Suarez
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.,Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.,Beckman Institute for Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.,Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
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44
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Roeder KA, Prather RM, Paraskevopoulos AW, Roeder DV. The Economics of Optimal Foraging by the Red Imported Fire Ant. ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY 2020; 49:304-311. [PMID: 32144932 DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvaa016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
For social organisms, foraging is often a complicated behavior where tasks are divided among numerous individuals. Here, we ask how one species, the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), collectively manages this behavior. We tested the Diminishing Returns Hypothesis, which posits that for social insects 1) foraging investment levels increase until diminishing gains result in a decelerating slope of return and 2) the level of investment is a function of the size of the collective group. We compared how different metrics of foraging (e.g., number of foragers, mass of foragers, and body size of foragers) are correlated and how these metrics change over time. We then tested the prediction that as fire ant colonies increase in size, both discovery time and the inflection point (i.e., the time point where colonial investment toward resources slows) should decrease while a colony's maximum foraging mass should increase. In congruence with our predictions, we found that fire ants recruited en masse toward baits, allocating 486 workers and 148 mg of biomass, on average, after 60 min: amounts that were not different 30 min prior. There was incredible variation across colonies with discovery time, the inflection point, and the maximum biomass of foragers all being significantly correlated with colony size. We suggest that biomass is a solid indicator of how social taxa invest their workforce toward resources and hypothesize ways that invasive fire ants are able to leverage their enormous workforce to dominate novel ecosystems by comparing their foraging and colony mass with co-occurring native species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl A Roeder
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
| | | | | | - Diane V Roeder
- Department of Agriculture, Biology and Health Sciences, Cameron University, Lawton, OK
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45
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Trait evolution is reversible, repeatable, and decoupled in the soldier caste of turtle ants. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:6608-6615. [PMID: 32152103 PMCID: PMC7104247 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1913750117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The scope of adaptive phenotypic change within a lineage is shaped by how functional traits evolve. Castes are defining functional traits of adaptive phenotypic change in complex insect societies, and caste evolution is expected to be phylogenetically conserved and developmentally constrained at broad phylogenetic scales. Yet how castes evolve at the species level has remained largely unaddressed. Turtle ant soldiers (genus Cephalotes), an iconic example of caste specialization, defend nest entrances by using their elaborately armored heads as living barricades. Across species, soldier morphotype determines entrance specialization and defensive strategy, while head size sets the specific size of defended entrances. Our species-level comparative analyses of morphotype and head size evolution reveal that these key ecomorphological traits are extensively reversible, repeatable, and decoupled within soldiers and between soldier and queen castes. Repeated evolutionary gains and losses of the four morphotypes were reconstructed consistently across multiple analyses. In addition, morphotype did not predict mean head size across the three most common morphotypes, and head size distributions overlapped broadly across all morphotypes. Concordantly, multiple model-fitting approaches suggested that soldier head size evolution is best explained by a process of divergent pulses of change. Finally, while soldier and queen head size were broadly coupled across species, the level of head size disparity between castes was decoupled from both queen head size and soldier morphotype. These findings demonstrate that caste evolution can be highly dynamic at the species level, reshaping our understanding of adaptive morphological change in complex social lineages.
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46
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Wong MKL, Guénard B, Lewis OT. The cryptic impacts of invasion: functional homogenization of tropical ant communities by invasive fire ants. OIKOS 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.06870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mark K. L. Wong
- Dept of Zoology, Univ. of Oxford South Parks Road Oxford OX1 3PS UK
| | - Benoit Guénard
- School of Biological Sciences, The Univ. of Hong Kong Hong Kong SAR PR China
| | - Owen T. Lewis
- Dept of Zoology, Univ. of Oxford South Parks Road Oxford OX1 3PS UK
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47
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Siddiqui JA, Chen Z, Li Q, Deng J, Lin X, Huang X. DNA barcoding of aphid-associated ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in a subtropical area of southern China. Zookeys 2019; 879:117-136. [PMID: 31636501 PMCID: PMC6795625 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.879.29705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2018] [Accepted: 09/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
As one of the most abundant and complex groups of terrestrial insects, ants have associations with many other organismal groups, such as hemipteran insects producing honeydew. With the aim of expanding the knowledge base of ant species associated with aphids, this study analyzed mitochondrial COI barcodes of 301 ant samples for 37 aphid-associated ant species in a subtropical area of southern China. Sequence analyses revealed that the intraspecific and interspecific distances ranged from zero to 7.7%% and 0.2 to 31.7%, respectively. Three barcoding approaches - Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery, Bayesian Poisson Tree Processes and Generalized Mixed Yule-coalescent - were used to help delimit ant species based on COI sequences, and their results corresponded well with most of the morphospecies. All three approaches indicate cryptic diversity may exist within Tetramorium bicarinatum and Technomyrmex albipes, with intraspecific genetic distances of 7.7% and 6.24%, respectively. Our analyses also reported five species for the first time from Fujian Province of China, and the COI sequences of nine species are newly added into the GenBank. This study provides information about species diversity of aphid-associated ants in subtropical China and compiles a DNA barcode reference library for future ant barcoding work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junaid Ali Siddiqui
- State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Zhilin Chen
- Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection of Ministry of Education, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin 541004, China
| | - Qiang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Jun Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Xiaolan Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Xiaolei Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
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48
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Heifetz Y, Wolfner MF. Editorial overview: Networks, phase transitions, sociality, and reproduction: Inter-insect interactions that change molecular physiological state. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 35:vii-ix. [PMID: 31629477 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2019.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yael Heifetz
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel
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49
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Grześ IM, Okrutniak M, Gorzałczany M, Piszczek P. Body size variation of the ant Lasius niger along a metal pollution gradient. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2019; 26:17858-17864. [PMID: 31065978 PMCID: PMC6546855 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-04811-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2018] [Accepted: 03/06/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The phenotypic diversity of ant workers plays a fundamental role in their biology. In this study, we asked if the body size variation of monomorphic workers of the ant Lasius niger (Formicidae) responds adaptively to metal pollution in a post-mining metal-polluted area. Nest samples of workers were collected along a pollution gradient to calculate the within-colony variance in body size (expressed as maximum head width, HW). The results showed that the body size variation of L. niger was unrelated to the pollution index but demonstrated considerable variation between colonies even within the same study site. We suggest that the differences in morphological diversity between the colonies of L. niger could be shaped by colony personality traits, i.e., by colony-specific foraging and/or the feeding efficiency of nursing workers. The study supports previous findings, showing that morphological traits in Lasius ants are weakly related to environmental metal pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irena M Grześ
- Department of Environmental Zoology, Institute of Animal Science, University of Agriculture in Krakow, al. Mickiewicza 24/28, 30-059, Kraków, Poland.
| | - Mateusz Okrutniak
- Department of Environmental Zoology, Institute of Animal Science, University of Agriculture in Krakow, al. Mickiewicza 24/28, 30-059, Kraków, Poland
| | - Monika Gorzałczany
- Department of Environmental Zoology, Institute of Animal Science, University of Agriculture in Krakow, al. Mickiewicza 24/28, 30-059, Kraków, Poland
| | - Piotr Piszczek
- Institute of Botany, Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Kopernika 27, 31-501, Kraków, Poland
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50
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Avila P, Fromhage L, Lehmann L. Sex-allocation conflict and sexual selection throughout the lifespan of eusocial colonies. Evolution 2019; 73:1116-1132. [PMID: 31004345 PMCID: PMC6593813 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2018] [Accepted: 03/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Models of sex-allocation conflict are central to evolutionary biology but have mostly assumed static decisions, where resource allocation strategies are constant over colony lifespan. Here, we develop a model to study how the evolution of dynamic resource allocation strategies is affected by the queen-worker conflict in annual eusocial insects. We demonstrate that the time of dispersal of sexuals affects the sex-allocation ratio through sexual selection on males. Furthermore, our model provides three predictions that depart from established results of classic static allocation models. First, we find that the queen wins the sex-allocation conflict, while the workers determine the maximum colony size and colony productivity. Second, male-biased sex allocation and protandry evolve if sexuals disperse directly after eclosion. Third, when workers are more related to new queens, then the proportional investment into queens is expected to be lower, which results from the interacting effect of sexual selection (selecting for protandry) and sex-allocation conflict (selecting for earlier switch to producing sexuals). Overall, we find that colony ontogeny crucially affects the outcome of sex-allocation conflict because of the evolution of distinct colony growth phases, which decouples how queens and workers affect allocation decisions and can result in asymmetric control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piret Avila
- Department of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of LausanneBiophore1015 LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Lutz Fromhage
- Department of Biological and Environmental ScienceUniversity of JyväskyläP.O. Box 35Jyväskylä FI‐40014Finland
| | - Laurent Lehmann
- Department of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of LausanneBiophore1015 LausanneSwitzerland
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