Seal, J. N. (2009) Scaling of body weight and fat content in fungus-gardening ant queens: does this explain why leaf-cutting ants found claustrally? INSECTES SOCIAUX, 56 (2). pp. 135-141. ISSN 0020-1812, 1420-9098
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
Offspring traits are among the most important life history traits, yet we lack an adequate understanding of their role in social insect life history evolution. Colony founding in the fungus-gardening ants (Tribe Attini) is different from most other ant species because the queens forage during the founding phase. Queens of the most derived genus, Atta, are the only attines that exhibit the more typical claustral founding, where the queens seal themselves in a below-ground chamber and produce their first generation of workers with only body fat reserves. Here I report the dry weights, fat content and energetic value of newly mated queens of ten attine species. Published phylogenies were used to make inferences on the evolutionary transitions in this clade. It appears that the evolution of fungus-gardening was associated with the manufacture of smaller, leaner queens as basal taxa are characterized by small bodies that contain relatively less fat than derived taxa. Moreover, there appears to be an allometric function between fat, energetic content and dry weight, which means that for fatter and claustral queens to develop, they also must become larger.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | TRACHYMYRMEX-SEPTENTRIONALIS HYMENOPTERA; GROWING ANTS; REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGIES; COLONY SIZE; SEX-RATIO; FORMICIDAE; NUMBER; SOCIOMETRY; EVOLUTION; ATTINI; Atta; Trachymyrmex; Claustral founding; Fat content; Life history evolution |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 570 Life sciences |
| Divisions: | Biology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Biochemie, Genetik und Mikrobiologie > Lehrstuhl für Biochemie I |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Sep 2020 05:02 |
| Last Modified: | 14 Sep 2020 05:02 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/28750 |
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