QUEEN NUMBER AS AN ADAPTABLE TRAIT - EVIDENCE FROM WILD POPULATIONS OF 2 RED ANT SPECIES (GENUS MYRMICA)
QUEEN NUMBER AS AN ADAPTABLE TRAIT - EVIDENCE FROM WILD POPULATIONS OF 2 RED ANT SPECIES (GENUS MYRMICA)
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DOI：
10.2307/4888
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发表时间：
1990-06-01
影响因子：
4.8
通讯作者：
PETAL, J
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
ELMES, GW;PETAL, J
给出了两种桃金娘蚁群中蚁后数量的数据：秋天从英国多塞特郡的四个种群中采集了桃金娘蚁的样本，其中一个样本采集了18年；整个夏季，在波兰华沙附近的一个种群中连续采集了雅可氏桃金娘（Myrmica limanica spp. jacobsoni）的样本。对这些数据的分析表明，蜂群中蜂王的平均数量随蜂群大小（工蜂数量）而变化。在统计上剔除因取样不同大小的蜂群而产生的差异后，发现蜂王的平均数量在年份、月份和地点之间存在显著差异。(i)这两个物种在所研究的种群中有显著的年差异。就红毛茛而言，这可以用气候变化来解释，最好的模型是夏末气温的二次函数。当平均温度为16度时，黄斑蝶的蜂群最小，蜂王最少。C;这与多塞特郡夏末的长期平均气温相吻合。（ii）利曼尼察斑蝶的数据显示，同一年内不同月份的蜂王数量可能不同。事实上，在夏季，蜂王数量普遍下降，这表明每年夏季多达60%的蜂王死亡，并在秋季和次年春季被新的蜂王取代。（iii）在任何一年，在多塞特郡附近的四个地点之间，黄斑蝶蜂王的数量都有显著的一致变化。每个站点具有相同的年变化模式，这一结果可以用气候对这些近处的一般影响来解释。生活在不同地点的黄斑蝶蜂群中，蜂王的平均数量的差异可能是由于个体巢点的小气候变化模式造成的，但没有数据可以对此进行验证。资料和分析讨论了有关金缕梅的一般生态学。结论是，至少在这个属中，一夫多妻制是一种适应性性状，正如理论建模研究预测的那样。
Data are given for the number of queens in colonies of two species of Myrmica ants: samples of Myrmica rubra were taken in autumn from four populations from Dorset, U.K., one of which was sampled for 18 years; samples of Myrmica limanica spp. jacobsoni were taken continuously throughout the summer for 6 years, from a population living near Warsaw, Poland. Analysis of these data showed that the average number of queens in colonies varied with colony size (worker number). When the variation due to sampling different sized colonies was removed statistically, it was shown that the average number of queens varied significantly between years, between months in the same year, and between sites in the same year. (i) Both species had significant annual differences in the populations studied. In the case of M. rubra this could be explained by climatic variations and the best model was a quadratic function of late-summer temperatures. M. rubra colonies appeared to be at their smallest, with fewest queens, when the temperature averaged 16.degree. C; this coincided with the long-term average late-summer temperature in Dorset. (ii) The data for M. limanica showed that the number of queens can vary between different months in the same year. In fact there was a general decline during the summer, which suggested that up to 60% of all queens die each summer and are replaced by new queens in the autumn and following spring, (iii) In any year, M. rubra queen numbers varied significantly and in a consistent manner, between the four nearby sites in Dorset. Each site had the same pattern of annual variation, a result which can be explained by the general influence of climate on these proximate sites. Differences in the average number of queens in the M. rubra colonies, living on the different sites, are probably due to the pattern of variation of microclimate at individual nest spots, but no data was available to test this. The data and analyses are discussed in relation to the general ecology of Myrmica. It is concluded that, in this genus at least, polygyny is an adaptable trait as predicted from theoretical modeling studies.