Complex colony structure in social insects. II. Reproduction, queen-worker conflict, and levels of selection

Differences in colony structure between two populations of the forest ant, Myrmica punctiventris, have had dramatic consequences on allocation to growth and reproduction. A population in Vermont, in which colonies have a single, once-mated queen, shows no evidence of inbreeding or population subdivi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evolution 1996-02, Vol.50 (1), p.298-307
Main Authors: Banschbach, V.S. (Davidson College, Davidson, NC.), Herbers, J.M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animal nesting
Animal reproduction
Ants
BIOLOGICAL COMPETITION
COMPETENCIA BIOLOGICA
COMPETITION BIOLOGIQUE
COMPORTAMIENTO SOCIAL
COMPORTEMENT SOCIAL
Contextual analysis
Evolution
FECUNDITY
Female animals
FERTILIDAD
FERTILITE
FERTILITY
Formicidae
Hymenoptera
Insect colonies
Insect genetics
Insect nests
Insect reproduction
Insects
INTRASPECIFIC COMPETITION
levels‐of‐selection
Male animals
MYRMICA
myrmica punctiventris
Queen insects
queen‐worker conflict
REPRODUCCION SEXUAL
REPRODUCTION SEXUEE
reproductive allocation
SELECCION
SELECTION
SEXUAL REPRODUCTION
SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Social insects
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Summary:Differences in colony structure between two populations of the forest ant, Myrmica punctiventris, have had dramatic consequences on allocation to growth and reproduction. A population in Vermont, in which colonies have a single, once-mated queen, shows no evidence of inbreeding or population subdivision and has allocated 25% of sexual reproduction to males in two consecutive years. In contrast, for a population in New York that is facultatively polygynous, we have evidence of microgeographic genetic structure and inbreeding, and the populationwide allocation ratio was extremely male-biased. Additionally, the Vermont population allocated much more energy to sexual reproduction than did the New York population. Detailed analysis of data from the Vermont population, within which colonies undergo a seasonal cycle of expansion to multiple nesting sites (polydomy), gave strong evidence of queenworker conflict over male allocation and indicated that workers are winning that conflict. Finally, we used contextual analysis to find that fertility selection operates almost exclusively at the level of the individual nest rather than at the higher level of the multinest colony.
ISSN:0014-3820
1558-5646
DOI:10.1111/j.1558-5646.1996.tb04493.x