Help or disperse? Cooperation in termites influenced by food conditions
Help or disperse? Cooperation in termites influenced by food conditions
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DOI：
10.1007/s00265-004-0757-x
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发表时间：
2004-05-01
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Schmidinger, S
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Korb, J;Schmidinger, S
生态因素对白蚁群体的进化和维持起着至关重要的作用，同时也影响着鸟类和哺乳动物的合作繁殖。然而，一个明确的示范作用的任何特定的生态因素在白蚁一直缺乏。在白蚁Cryptotermes secundus中，个体有两种选择，留在纳塔尔的巢穴中作为助手，或者发展成为有翅膀的性别，分散到新的殖民地。影响白蚁发育过程的一个重要生态因素是食物的可获得性; Secundus在一块木头内筑巢，这是殖民地生存期间唯一的食物来源。随着木材的消耗，殖民地的寿命缩短，从而减少了留在巢穴的潜在健身收益。我们实验研究了合作行为的发生和发展丰富和有限的食物条件下。暴露在食物有限的条件下的工人更有可能发展为分散性行为，并增加了“自私”的食物获取行为。预防，减少频率的proctodeal trophallussis可能会干扰的分布信息素，抑制性发育。最后，在食物有限的，因此寿命短的巢，减少包容性健身效益，似乎可以解释分散性的发展，支持（1）的利益philopatry假说的脊椎动物合作繁殖的发生，和（2）预测的生殖偏斜理论。
Ecological factors have been claimed paramount for the evolution and maintenance of cooperative group living in eusocial termites, as well as in cooperatively breeding birds and mammals. However, a clear demonstration of the role of any specific ecological factor in termites has been lacking. In the termite Cryptotermes secundus, individuals have two options, staying as helpers at the natal nest or developing into winged sexuals that disperse to found new colonies. An important ecological factor expected to influence the course of termite development is food availability; C. secundus nests inside a single piece of wood that serves as the sole source of food for the duration of the colony. As wood is consumed, the longevity of the colony is reduced, thus diminishing the potential fitness gains of staying at the nest. We experimentally investigated the occurrence of cooperative behavior and development under abundant- and limited-food conditions. Workers exposed to food-limited conditions were more likely to develop into dispersing sexuals and increased "selfishly" their food-acquisition behaviors. Proximately, a reduced frequency of proctodeal trophallaxis may have interfered with the distribution of pheromones that inhibit sexual development. Ultimately, decreased inclusive fitness benefits in food-limited, and thus short-lived nests, appear to explain the development of dispersing sexuals, supporting (1) the benefits-of-philopatry hypothesis as developed for the occurrence of cooperative breeding in vertebrates, and (2) predictions of reproductive skew theories.