Kellner, Katrin and Barth, Benjamin and Heinze, Juergen (2010) Colony fusion causes within-colony variation in a parthenogenetic ant. BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY, 64 (5). pp. 737-746. ISSN 0340-5443,
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
The evolutionary stability of cooperation and altruism in colonies of social insects requires that nestmates be to some extent related. An efficient system of discrimination against non-nestmates protects the nest against unrelated conspecifics, which might exploit or parasitize the colony. The co-occurrence of unrelated individuals in mature colonies therefore is a rare event that deserves more attention. Here, we report on the relatively common incidence of colony fusion in the ant Platythyrea punctata. Workers of this ant can produce genetically identical female offspring from unfertilized eggs through thelytokous parthenogenesis. Consequently, the majority of colonies has a "clonal structure" and consists of individuals with identical multilocus genotypes. Nevertheless, field observations indicate that a surprisingly large percentage of colonies contain workers belonging to two or more different genetic lineages. Much of this genetic heterogeneity is incompatible with eventual recombination or mutation events, but instead appears to result from colony fusion or the adoption of unrelated individuals. Indeed, colonies of P. punctata from the Dominican Republic and Barbados readily merged in the laboratory and, after elimination of one of the two reproductive workers, formed stable, genetically heterogeneous colonies. We discuss the possible causes and benefits of colony fusion in natural populations.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | NEST-SITE LIMITATION; LEPTOTHORAX-NYLANDERI; PLATYTHYREA-PUNCTATA; GENETIC DIVERSITY; CLONAL DIPLOIDS; INSECT COLONIES; ARGENTINE ANT; PONERINE ANT; F-STATISTICS; HYMENOPTERA; Agonistic behavior; Colony takeover; Replacement; Thelytoky; Within colony relatedness; Platythyrea punctata |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 590 Zoological sciences |
| Divisions: | Biology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Zoologie > Zoologie/Evolutionsbiologie (Prof. Dr. Jürgen Heinze) |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 03 Aug 2020 07:52 |
| Last Modified: | 03 Aug 2020 07:52 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/24851 |
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