Division of labor is associated with age-independent changes in ovarian activity in Pogonomyrmex californicus harvester ants
Division of labor is associated with age-independent changes in ovarian activity in Pogonomyrmex californicus harvester ants
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DOI：
10.1016/j.jinsphys.2013.02.008
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发表时间：
2013-04-01
影响因子：
2.2
通讯作者：
Amdam, Gro V.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Dolezal, Adam G.;Johnson, Joshua;Amdam, Gro V.
在Pogonomyrmex calforNicus收割蚁的生殖性(女王)和非生殖性(工蚁)种姓中都可以形成与年龄无关的劳动分工，个体对巢内活动或外部觅食产生偏见。此外，与偏向巢穴的工蚁(护士)相比，觅食者的蚂蚁卵巢通常会萎缩。然而，目前尚不清楚这些卵巢变化是由于行为变化还是年龄变化，因为觅食者通常是年龄较大的个体。在这里，我们通过比较表现出不同行为偏差的同龄蚂蚁的卵巢活动来阐明这种关系。我们发现，与偏向巢穴的个体相比，觅食的个体卵巢活动显著减少，从而将蚂蚁生殖系统的变化与社会任务表现联系起来，而不是与年龄有关。卵巢生理与群居昆虫行为相关的普遍发现与生殖生理学可能在群居昆虫行为进化中发挥了重要作用的假设相一致。(C)2013爱思唯尔有限公司。保留所有权利。
An age-independent division of labor can develop in both the reproductive (queen) and non-reproductive (worker) castes of Pogonomyrmex californicus harvester ants, and individuals develop biases for in-nest activities or external foraging. Additionally, ant ovaries normally atrophy in foragers compared to nest-biased workers (nurses). However, it is not clear whether these ovarian changes are due to changes in behavior or age, since foragers are typically older individuals. Here, we clarify this relationship in P. californicus queens and workers by comparing ovarian activity in same-aged ants that exhibit divergent behavioral biases. We found that foraging individuals had significantly reduced ovarian activity compared to their nest-biased counterparts, thereby linking changes in the ants' reproductive system to social task performance rather than to age. The general finding that ovarian physiology is associated with social insect behaviors is consistent with the hypothesis that reproductive physiology may have played an important role in the evolution of social insect behavior. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.