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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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Orr SE, Hedrick NA, Murray KA, Pasupuleti AK, Goodisman MAD. Novel insights into paternity skew in a polyandrous social wasp. INSECT SCIENCE 2024. [PMID: 38415498 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.13343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Females of many species are polyandrous. However, polyandry can give rise to conflict among individuals within families. We examined the level of polyandry and paternity skew in the common eastern yellowjacket wasp, Vespula maculifrons, in order to gain a greater understanding of conflict in social insects. We collected 10 colonies of V. maculifrons and genotyped workers and prereproductive queens at highly variable microsatellite markers to assign each to a patriline. Genotypic data revealed evidence of significant paternity skew among patrilines. In addition, we found that patrilines contributed differentially to caste production (worker vs. queen), suggesting an important role for reproductive conflict not previously discovered. We also investigated if patterns of paternity skew and mate number varied over time. However, we found no evidence of changes in levels of polyandry when compared to historical data dating back almost 40 years. Finally, we measured a suite of morphological traits in individuals from the most common and least common patrilines in each colony to test if males that showed highly skewed reproductive success also produced offspring that differed in phenotype. Our data revealed weak correlation between paternity skew and morphological phenotype of offspring sired by different males, suggesting no evidence of evolutionary tradeoffs at the level investigated. Overall, this study is the first to report significant paternity and caste-associated skew in V. maculifrons, and to investigate the phenotypic consequences of skew in a social wasp. Our results suggest that polyandry can have important consequences on the genetic and social structure of insect societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Orr
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Nicole A Hedrick
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Kayla A Murray
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Abhinav K Pasupuleti
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Michael A D Goodisman
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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3
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Cunningham-Eurich I, Kontou D, Yordanova M, Maeda-Obregon A, Favreau E, Wang J, Hart AG, Sumner S. Using citizen science data to assess the population genetic structure of the common yellowjacket wasp, Vespula vulgaris. INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2023; 32:634-647. [PMID: 37599385 DOI: 10.1111/imb.12862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Monitoring insect genetic diversity and population structure has never been more important to manage the biodiversity crisis. Citizen science has become an increasingly popular tool to gather ecological data affordably across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. To date, most insect-related citizen science initiatives have focused on occurrence and abundance data. Here, we show that poorly preserved insect samples collected by citizen scientists can yield population genetic information, providing new insights into population connectivity, genetic diversity and dispersal behaviour of little-studied insects. We analysed social wasps collected by participants of the Big Wasp Survey, a citizen science project that aims to map the diversity and distributions of vespine wasps in the UK. Although Vespula vulgaris is a notorious invasive species around the world, it remains poorly studied in its native range. We used these data to assess the population genetic structure of the common yellowjacket V. vulgaris at different spatial scales. We found a single, panmictic population across the UK with little evidence of population genetic structuring; the only possible limit to gene flow is the Irish sea, resulting in significant differentiation between the Northern Ireland and mainland UK populations. Our results suggest that queens disperse considerable distances from their natal nests to found new nests, resulting in high rates of gene flow and thus little differentiation across the landscape. Citizen science data has made it feasible to perform this study, and we hope that it will encourage future projects to adopt similar practices in insect population monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iona Cunningham-Eurich
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Danai Kontou
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Monika Yordanova
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | | | - Emeline Favreau
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jinliang Wang
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UK
| | - Adam G Hart
- Department of Natural and Social Science, University of Gloucestershire, UK
| | - Seirian Sumner
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, University College London, London, UK
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4
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Dyson CJ, Crossley HG, Ray CH, Goodisman MAD. Social structure of perennial Vespula squamosa wasp colonies. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8569. [PMID: 35169451 PMCID: PMC8831225 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Revised: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Many social species show variation in their social structure in response to different environmental conditions. For example, colonies of the yellowjacket wasp Vespula squamosa are typically headed by a single reproductive queen and survive for only a single season. However, in warmer climates, V. squamosa colonies sometimes persist for multiple years and can grow to extremely large size. We used genetic markers to understand patterns of reproduction and recruitment within these perennial colonies. We genotyped V. squamosa workers, pre-reproductive queens, and males from perennial colonies in the southeastern United States at 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci and one mitochondrial DNA locus. We found that V. squamosa from perennial nests were produced by multiple reproductives, in contrast to typical annual colonies. Relatedness of nestmates from perennial colonies was significantly lower than relatedness of nestmates from annual colonies. Our analyses of mitochondrial DNA indicated that most V. squamosa perennial colonies represented semiclosed systems whereby all individuals belonged to a single matriline despite the presence of multiple reproductive females. However, new queens recruited into perennial colonies apparently mated with non-nestmate males. Notably, perennial and annual colonies did not show significant genetic differences, supporting the hypothesis that perennial colony formation represents an instance of social plasticity. Overall, our results indicate that perennial V. squamosa colonies show substantial changes to their social biology compared to typical annual colonies and demonstrate variation in social behaviors in highly social species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carl J. Dyson
- School of Biological SciencesGeorgia Institute of TechnologyAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
| | - Henry G. Crossley
- School of Biological SciencesGeorgia Institute of TechnologyAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
| | - Charles H. Ray
- Department of Entomology and Plant PathologyAuburn UniversityAuburnAlabamaUSA
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Dyson CJ, Piscano OL, Durham RM, Thompson VJ, Johnson CH, Goodisman MAD. Temporal Analysis of Effective Population Size and Mating System in a Social Wasp. J Hered 2021; 112:626-634. [PMID: 34558622 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esab057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Highly social species are successful because they cooperate in obligately integrated societies. We examined temporal genetic variation in the eusocial wasp Vespula maculifrons to gain a greater understanding of evolution in highly social taxa. First, we wished to test if effective population sizes of eusocial species were relatively low due to the reproductive division of labor that characterizes eusocial taxa. We thus estimated the effective population size of V. maculifrons by examining temporal changes in population allele frequencies. We sampled the genetic composition of a V. maculifrons population at 3 separate timepoints spanning a 13-year period. We found that effective population size ranged in the hundreds of individuals, which is similar to estimates in other, non-eusocial taxa. Second, we estimated levels of polyandry in V. maculifrons in different years to determine if queen mating system varied over time. We found no significant change in the number or skew of males mated to queens. In addition, mating skew was not significant within V. maculifrons colonies. Therefore, our data suggest that queen mate number may be subject to stabilizing selection in this taxon. Overall, our study provides novel insight into the selective processes operating in eusocial species by analyzing temporal genetic changes within populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carl J Dyson
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Olivia L Piscano
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Rebecca M Durham
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Veronica J Thompson
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Catherine H Johnson
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
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Seppä P, Bonelli M, Dupont S, Hakala SM, Bagnères AG, Lorenzi MC. Strong Gene Flow Undermines Local Adaptations in a Host Parasite System. INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11090585. [PMID: 32882832 PMCID: PMC7564341 DOI: 10.3390/insects11090585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary The co-evolution of hosts and parasites depends on their ability to adapt to each other’s defense and counter-defense mechanisms. The strength of selection on those mechanisms may vary among populations, resulting in a geographical mosaic of co-evolution. The boreo-montane paper wasp Polistes biglumis and its parasite Polistes atrimandibularis exemplify this type of co-evolutionary system. Here, we used genetic markers to examine the genetic population structures of these wasps in the western Alps. We found that both host and parasite populations displayed similar levels of genetic variation. In the host species, populations located near to each other were genetically similar; in both the host and the parasite species populations farther apart were significantly different. Thus, apparent dispersal barriers (i.e., high mountains) did not seem to restrict gene flow across populations as expected. Furthermore, there were no major differences in gene flow between the two species, perhaps because P. atrimandibularis parasitizes both alpine and lowland host species and annually migrates between alpine and lowland populations. The presence of strong gene flow in a system where local populations experience variable levels of selection pressure challenges the classical hypothesis that restricted gene flow is required for local adaptations to evolve. Abstract The co-evolutionary pathways followed by hosts and parasites strongly depend on the adaptive potential of antagonists and its underlying genetic architecture. Geographically structured populations of interacting species often experience local differences in the strength of reciprocal selection pressures, which can result in a geographic mosaic of co-evolution. One example of such a system is the boreo-montane social wasp Polistes biglumis and its social parasite Polistes atrimandibularis, which have evolved local defense and counter-defense mechanisms to match their antagonist. In this work, we study spatial genetic structure of P. biglumis and P. atrimandibularis populations at local and regional scales in the Alps, by using nuclear markers (DNA microsatellites, AFLP) and mitochondrial sequences. Both the host and the parasite populations harbored similar amounts of genetic variation. Host populations were not genetically structured at the local scale, but geographic regions were significantly differentiated from each other in both the host and the parasite in all markers. The net dispersal inferred from genetic differentiation was similar in the host and the parasite, which may be due to the annual migration pattern of the parasites between alpine and lowland populations. Thus, the apparent dispersal barriers (i.e., high mountains) do not restrict gene flow as expected and there are no important gene flow differences between the species, which contradict the hypothesis that restricted gene flow is required for local adaptations to evolve.
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Affiliation(s)
- Perttu Seppä
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, 00014 Helsinki, Finland;
- Correspondence:
| | - Mariaelena Bonelli
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Torino, Italy; (M.B.); (M.C.L.)
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte, UMR 7261, CNRS—Université de Tours, Avenue Monge, Parc Grandmont, 37200 Tours, France; (S.D.); (A.-G.B.)
| | - Simon Dupont
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte, UMR 7261, CNRS—Université de Tours, Avenue Monge, Parc Grandmont, 37200 Tours, France; (S.D.); (A.-G.B.)
| | - Sanja Maria Hakala
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, 00014 Helsinki, Finland;
| | - Anne-Geneviève Bagnères
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte, UMR 7261, CNRS—Université de Tours, Avenue Monge, Parc Grandmont, 37200 Tours, France; (S.D.); (A.-G.B.)
- Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS UMR5175, Université Montpellier, Université Paul Valery Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD, 34293 Montpellier, France
| | - Maria Cristina Lorenzi
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Torino, Italy; (M.B.); (M.C.L.)
- Laboratory of Experimental and Comparative Ethology (LEEC), University of Sorbonne Paris Nord, 93430 Villetaneuse, France
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7
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Lack of genetic structuring, low effective population sizes and major bottlenecks characterise common and German wasps in New Zealand. Biol Invasions 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-019-02039-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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8
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Johansson H, Seppä P, Helanterä H, Trontti K, Sundström L. Weak population structure in the ant Formica fusca. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5024. [PMID: 29942691 PMCID: PMC6014328 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2018] [Accepted: 05/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Dispersal is a fundamental trait of a species’ biology. High dispersal results in weakly structured or even panmictic populations over large areas, whereas weak dispersal enables population differentiation and strong spatial structuring. We report on the genetic population structure in the polygyne ant Formica fusca and the relative contribution of the dispersing males and females to this. We sampled 12 localities across a ∼35 km2 study area in Finland and generated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotype data and microsatellite data. First, we assessed queen dispersal by estimating population differentiation from mtDNA haplotype data. Second, we analysed nuclear DNA microsatellite data to determine overall population genetic substructure in the study area with principal components analysis, Bayesian clustering, hierarchical F statistics and testing for evidence of isolation-by-distance. Third, we directly compared genetic differentiation estimates from maternally inherited mtDNA and bi-parentally inherited DNA microsatellites to test for sex-bias in dispersal. Our results showed no significant spatial structure or isolation by distance in neither mtDNA nor DNA microsatellite data, suggesting high dispersal of both sexes across the study area. However, mitochondrial differentiation was weaker (Fst-mt = 0.0047) than nuclear differentiation (Fst-nuc = 0.027), which translates into a sixfold larger female migration rate compared to that of males. We conclude that the weak population substructure reflects high dispersal in both sexes, and it is consistent with F. fusca as a pioneer species exploiting unstable habitats in successional boreal forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena Johansson
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Perttu Seppä
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Tvärminne Research Station, University of Helsinki, Hangö, Finland
| | - Heikki Helanterä
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Tvärminne Research Station, University of Helsinki, Hangö, Finland
| | - Kalevi Trontti
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Liselotte Sundström
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Tvärminne Research Station, University of Helsinki, Hangö, Finland
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9
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Chau LM, Groh AM, Anderson EC, Alcala MO, Mendelson JR, Slade SB, Kerns K, Sarro S, Lusardi C, Goodisman MAD. Genetic diversity and sex ratio of naked mole rat, Heterocephalus glaber, zoo populations. Zoo Biol 2018; 37:171-182. [PMID: 29740857 DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2017] [Revised: 04/20/2018] [Accepted: 04/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
The naked mole rat, Heterocephalus glaber, is a highly unusual mammal that displays a complex social system similar to that found in eusocial insects. Colonies of H. glaber are commonly maintained in zoo collections because they represent fascinating educational exhibits for the public. However, little is known about the genetic structure or sex ratio of captive populations of H. glaber. In this study, we developed a set of microsatellite markers to examine genetic variation in three captive zoo populations of H. glaber. We also studied sex ratio of these captive populations. Our goal was to determine levels of genetic variation within, and genetic differences between, captive populations of H. glaber. Overall, we found modest levels of genetic variation in zoo populations. We also uncovered little evidence for inbreeding within the captive populations. However, zoo populations did differ genetically, which may reflect the isolation of captive naked mole rat colonies. Finally, we found no evidence of biased sex ratios within colonies. Overall, our study documents levels of genetic variation and sex ratios in a captive eusocial mammalian population. Our results may provide insight into how to manage captive populations of H. glaber.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linh M Chau
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Amy M Groh
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Emily C Anderson
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Micaela O Alcala
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Joseph R Mendelson
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia.,Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia
| | | | - Kenton Kerns
- Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Steve Sarro
- Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia
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10
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Loope KJ, Lopez-Osorio F, Dvořák L. Convergent Reversion to Single Mating in a Wasp Social Parasite. Am Nat 2017; 189:E138-E151. [PMID: 28514634 DOI: 10.1086/691405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
While eusociality arose in species with single-mating females, multiple mating by queens has evolved repeatedly across the social ants, bees, and wasps. Understanding the benefits and costs of multiple mating of queens is important because polyandry results in reduced relatedness between siblings, reducing kin-selected benefits of helping while also selecting for secondary social traits that reduce intracolony conflict. The leading hypothesis for the benefits of polyandry in social insects emphasizes advantages of a genetically diverse workforce. Workerless social parasite species (inquilines) provide a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis, since they are derived from social ancestors but do not produce workers of their own. Such parasites are thus predicted to evolve single mating because they would experience the costs of multiple mating but not the benefits if such benefits accrue through the production of a genetically diverse group of workers. Here we show that the workerless social parasite Dolichovespula arctica, a derived parasite of wasps, has reverted to obligate single mating from a facultatively polyandrous ancestor, mirroring a similar reversion from obligate polyandry to approximate monandry in a social parasite of fungus-farming ants. This finding and a comparison with two other cases where inquilinism did not induce reversal to monandry support the hypothesis that facultative polyandry can be costly and may be maintained by benefits of a genetically diverse workforce.
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11
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12
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Chau LM, Hanna C, Jenkins LT, Kutner RE, Burns EA, Kremen C, Goodisman MAD. Population genetic structure of the predatory, social wasp Vespula pensylvanica in its native and invasive range. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:5573-87. [PMID: 27069607 PMCID: PMC4813109 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2015] [Revised: 08/27/2015] [Accepted: 08/28/2015] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Invasive species cause extensive damage to their introduced ranges. Ocean archipelagos are particularly vulnerable to invasive taxa. In this study, we used polymorphic microsatellite markers to investigate the genetic structure of the social wasp Vespula pensylvanica in its native range of North America and its introduced range in the archipelago of Hawaii. Our goal was to gain a better understanding of the invasion dynamics of social species and the processes affecting biological invasions. We found that V. pensylvanica showed no significant genetic isolation by distance and little genetic structure over a span of 2000 km in its native range. This result suggests that V. pensylvanica can successfully disperse across large distances either through natural- or human-mediated mechanisms. In contrast to the genetic patterns observed in the native range, we found substantial genetic structure in the invasive V. pensylvanica range in Hawaii. The strong patterns of genetic differentiation within and between the Hawaiian Islands may reflect the effects of geographic barriers and invasion history on gene flow. We also found some evidence for gene flow between the different islands of Hawaii which was likely mediated through human activity. Overall, this study provides insight on how geographic barriers, invasion history, and human activity can shape population genetic structure of invasive species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linh M Chau
- School of Biology Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta Georgia 30332
| | - Cause Hanna
- Environmental Science and Resource Management California State University Camarillo California 93012
| | - Laurel T Jenkins
- School of Biology Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta Georgia 30332
| | - Rachel E Kutner
- School of Biology Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta Georgia 30332
| | - Elizabeth A Burns
- School of Biology Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta Georgia 30332
| | - Claire Kremen
- Environmental Science, Policy and Management University of California Berkeley California 94720
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13
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Lopez-Osorio F, Perrard A, Pickett KM, Carpenter JM, Agnarsson I. Phylogenetic tests reject Emery's rule in the evolution of social parasitism in yellowjackets and hornets (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Vespinae). ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2015; 2:150159. [PMID: 26473041 PMCID: PMC4593675 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.150159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2015] [Accepted: 08/08/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Social parasites exploit the brood-care behaviour and social structure of one or more host species. Within the social Hymenoptera there are different types of social parasitism. In its extreme form, species of obligate social parasites, or inquilines, do not have the worker caste and depend entirely on the workers of a host species to raise their reproductive offspring. The strict form of Emery's rule states that social parasites share immediate common ancestry with their hosts. Moreover, this rule has been linked with a sympatric origin of inquilines from their hosts. Here, we conduct phylogenetic analyses of yellowjackets and hornets based on 12 gene fragments and evaluate competing evolutionary scenarios to test Emery's rule. We find that inquilines, as well as facultative social parasites, are not the closest relatives of their hosts. Therefore, Emery's rule in its strict sense is rejected, suggesting that social parasites have not evolved sympatrically from their hosts in yellowjackets and hornets. However, the relaxed version of the rule is supported, as inquilines and their hosts belong to the same Dolichovespula clade. Furthermore, inquilinism has evolved only once in Dolichovespula.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Lopez-Osorio
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Room 120A Marsh Life Science Building, 109 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
| | - Adrien Perrard
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10023, USA
| | - Kurt M. Pickett
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Room 120A Marsh Life Science Building, 109 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
| | - James M. Carpenter
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10023, USA
| | - Ingi Agnarsson
- Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Room 120A Marsh Life Science Building, 109 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
- Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20004, USA
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14
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Loope KJ, Chien C, Juhl M. Colony size is linked to paternity frequency and paternity skew in yellowjacket wasps and hornets. BMC Evol Biol 2014; 14:277. [PMID: 25547876 PMCID: PMC4298054 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-014-0277-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2014] [Accepted: 12/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The puzzle of the selective benefits of multiple mating and multiple paternity in social insects has been a major focus of research in evolutionary biology. We examine paternity in a clade of social insects, the vespine wasps (the yellowjackets and hornets), which contains species with high multiple paternity as well as species with single paternity. This group is particularly useful for comparative analyses given the wide interspecific variation in paternity traits despite similar sociobiology and ecology of the species in the genera Vespula, Dolichovespula and Vespa. We describe the paternity of 5 species of yellowjackets (Vespula spp.) and we perform a phylogenetically controlled comparative analysis of relatedness, paternity frequency, paternity skew, colony size, and nest site across 22 vespine taxa. RESULTS We found moderate multiple paternity in four small-colony Vespula rufa-group species (effective paternity 1.5 - 2.1), and higher multiple paternity in the large-colony Vespula flavopilosa (effective paternity ~3.1). Our comparative analysis shows that colony size, but not nest site, predicts average intracolony relatedness. Underlying this pattern, we found that greater colony size is associated with both higher paternity frequency and reduced paternity skew. CONCLUSIONS Our results support hypotheses focusing on the enhancement of genetic diversity in species with large colonies, and run counter to the hypothesis that multiple paternity is adaptively maintained due to sperm limitation associated with large colonies. We confirm the patterns observed in taxonomically widespread analyses by comparing closely related species of wasps with similar ecology, behavior and social organization. The vespine wasps may be a useful group for experimental investigation of the benefits of multiple paternity in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J Loope
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Chun Chien
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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Phylogenetic relationships of yellowjackets inferred from nine loci (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Vespinae, Vespula and Dolichovespula). Mol Phylogenet Evol 2014; 73:190-201. [PMID: 24462637 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2013] [Revised: 12/20/2013] [Accepted: 01/10/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Eusociality has arisen repeatedly and independently in the history of insects, often leading to evolutionary success and ecological dominance. Eusocial wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula, or yellowjackets, have developed advanced social traits in a relatively small number of species. The origin of traits such as effective paternity and colony size has been interpreted with reference to an established phylogenetic hypothesis that is based on phenotypic data, while the application of molecular evidence to phylogenetic analysis within yellowjackets has been limited. Here, we investigate the evolutionary history of yellowjackets on the basis of mitochondrial and nuclear markers (nuclear: 28S, EF1α, Pol II, and wg; mitochondrial: 12S, 16S, COI, COII, and Cytb). We use these data to test the monophyly of yellowjackets and species groups, and resolve species-level relationships within each genus using parsimony and Bayesian inference. Our results indicate that a yellowjacket clade is either weakly supported (parsimony) or rejected (Bayesian inference). However, the monophyly of each yellowjacket genus as well as species groups are strongly supported and concordant between methods. Our results agree with previous studies regarding the monophyly of the Vespula vulgaris group and the sister relationship between the V. rufa and V. squamosa groups. This suggests convergence of large colony size and high effective paternity in the vulgaris group and V. squamosa, or a single origin of both traits in the most recent common ancestor of all Vespula species and their evolutionary reversal in the rufa group.
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Hanna C, Cook ED, Thompson AR, Dare LE, Palaski AL, Foote D, Goodisman MAD. Colony social structure in native and invasive populations of the social wasp Vespula pensylvanica. Biol Invasions 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-013-0517-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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17
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Genetic population structure of the paper wasp Polistes olivaceus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Bangladesh. POPUL ECOL 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s10144-011-0290-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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18
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Pennings PS, Achenbach A, Foitzik S. Similar evolutionary potentials in an obligate ant parasite and its two host species. J Evol Biol 2011; 24:871-86. [PMID: 21324025 PMCID: PMC3085125 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02223.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The spatial structure of host-parasite coevolution is shaped by population structure and genetic diversity of the interacting species. We analysed these population genetic parameters in three related ant species: the parasitic slavemaking ant Protomognathus americanus and its two host species Temnothorax longispinosus and T. curvispinosus. We sampled throughout their range, genotyped ants on six to eight microsatellite loci and an MtDNA sequence and found high levels of genetic variation and strong population structure in all three species. Interestingly, the most abundant species and primary host, T. longispinosus, is characterized by less structure, but lower local genetic diversity. Generally, differences between the species were small, and we conclude that they have similar evolutionary potentials. The coevolutionary interaction between this social parasite and its hosts may therefore be less influenced by divergent evolutionary potentials, but rather by varying selection pressures. We employed different methods to quantify and compare genetic diversity and structure between species and genetic markers. We found that Jost D is well suited for these comparisons, as long as mutation rates between markers and species are similar. If this is not the case, for example, when using MtDNA and microsatellites to study sex-specific dispersal, model-based inference should be used instead of descriptive statistics (such as D or G(ST) ). Using coalescent-based methods, we indeed found that males disperse much more than females, but this sex bias in dispersal differed between species. The findings of the different approaches with regard to genetic diversity and structure were in good accordance with each other.
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Affiliation(s)
- P S Pennings
- Department Biology II, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.
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KOVACS JENNIFERL, HOFFMAN ERICA, MARRINER SARAHM, GOODISMAN MICHAELAD. Detecting selection on morphological traits in social insect castes: the case of the social wasp Vespula maculifrons. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2010.01495.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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JOHNSON ELIZABETHL, CUNNINGHAM TYLERW, MARRINER SARAHM, KOVACS JENNIFERL, HUNT BRENDANG, BHAKTA DIMPALB, GOODISMAN MICHAELAD. Resource allocation in a social wasp: effects of breeding system and life cycle on reproductive decisions. Mol Ecol 2009; 18:2908-20. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2009.04240.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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