How ecology shapes caste evolution: linking resource use, morphology, performance and fitness in a superorganism
How ecology shapes caste evolution: linking resource use, morphology, performance and fitness in a superorganism
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1420-9101.2009.01710.x
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发表时间：
2009-05-01
影响因子：
2.1
通讯作者：
Powell, S.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Powell, S.
种姓进化是昆虫超有机体适应性多样化的核心过程。然而，生态如何塑造适应性种姓进化仍然知之甚少。最近对头头蚁属的研究提供了新的比较证据，表明生态专业化可能推动适应性种姓专业化。在这里，使用最高水平的生态专业化和最专业的士兵表型的代表，支持了这种适应性假设的三个关键预测。首先，对于自然界中最常使用的特定筑巢资源，士兵的防御性能最高。其次，殖民地只使用可用筑巢资源的专门子集，并优先选择能够最大限度提高士兵表现的特定资源。第三，士兵的表现及其对资源利用的限制被发现对群体繁殖有直接和间接的影响。这些发现表明，头足类中最专业化的士兵表型确实是对可用筑巢资源的狭义子集上的生态专业化的适应。
Caste evolution is a central process in the adaptive diversification of insect superorganisms. Nevertheless, how ecology shapes adaptive caste evolution remains poorly understood. Recent work with the ant genus Cephalotes has provided new comparative evidence that ecological specialization may drive adaptive caste specialization. Here, three key predictions of this adaptive hypothesis are supported, using a representative of the highest level of ecological specialization and the most specialized soldier phenotype. First, soldier defensive performance was maximal for the specific nesting resource used most often in nature. Second, colonies only used a specialized subset of available nesting resources and preferred the specific resource that maximizes soldier performance. Third, soldier performance and its limitations on resource use were found to have both direct and indirect consequences for colony reproduction. These findings suggest that the most specialized soldier phenotype in Cephalotes is indeed an adaptation to ecological specialization on a narrowly defined subset of available nesting resources.