Fertility signaling in queens of a North American ant
Fertility signaling in queens of a North American ant
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北美蚂蚁蚁后的生育信号
DOI：
10.1007/s002650050548
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发表时间：
1999
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
J. Heinze
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
D. Ortius;J. Heinze
在大多数的高等真社会性昆虫中，巢友之间的生殖分配被认为是通过引物信息素或其他化学线索来调节的，这些信息素可能会影响共同蜂王和工蚁的行为，从而使它们最大化自己的包容性适应性。在这里，我们表明，在多女王殖民地的新北蚂蚁，Leptothoraxsp。A，物理优势与化学线索相结合，这是蜂王卵巢发育的信号，用于控制竞争蜂王的繁殖并影响工蜂行为。在年度殖民周期的两个战斗期间获得的排名分析显示，一个女王的个人侵略性和她的生育能力之间有很强的联系。在秋季收养新交配的蚁后时，与冬眠后的战斗期相比，定居产卵的α-蚁后更有可能首先发起攻击并保持其高位。我们认为这主要是由于α-蜂王在秋季的卵巢比幼蜂王发达得多，而冬眠后所有蜂王的卵巢都同样不活跃。在冬眠结束后的第一个星期内的相互作用和内在的，个体差异的侵略性似乎是至关重要的优势排名后实现。当蚁后仍然处于长时间的冬眠状态时，蚁后被允许生育，当所有蚁后团聚时，蚁后立即在社会上占主导地位，尽管没有发生攻击。在另一个实验中，通过在同一个巢的不同部分进行空间分离来防止蜂王对抗，并且所有的蜂王都开始产卵。工蜂更倾向于与实际繁殖力高的蜂后呆在一起，而不是与那些在分离前社会地位高的蜂后呆在一起。这和进一步的证据表明，卵巢状态是沟通的，最有可能是通过共同的皇后和工人感知的化学线索，影响他们的攻击行为的方向，并允许他们区分皇后。
In most species of advanced eusocial insects, the partitioning of reproduction between nestmates is thought to be regulated by means of primer pheromones or other chemical cues, which presumably influence the behavior of co-queens and workers such that they maximize their own inclusive fitness. Here we show that in multi-queen colonies of the Nearctic ant,Leptothoraxsp. A, physical dominance in concert with chemical cues, which signal the ovarian development of a queen, are used to control reproduction of competing queens and to influence worker behavior. The analysis of ranks obtained during two fighting periods in the annual colony cycle revealed a strong link between individual aggressiveness of a queen and her fertility. During the adoption of newly mated queens in autumn, the resident, egg-laying α-queen was more likely to start aggression first and keep her high rank position compared to the fighting period after hibernation. We suggest that this is proximately caused by the α-queen having much stronger developed ovaries in autumn than the young queens, whereas after hibernation, the ovaries of all queens are similarly inactive. Interactions during the first weeks after the end of hibernation and intrinsic, individual differences in aggressiveness appear to be crucial for the dominance rank achieved later. Queens which were allowed to become fertile when their nestmate queens still were kept under prolonged hibernation, were immediately socially dominant over the latter when all queens were reunited, though no aggression occurred. In another experiment, queen antagonism was prevented by spatial separation in different parts of the same nest and all queens began to lay eggs. Workers stayed preferentially with queens with high actual fecundity rather than with those which had had high social status before separation. This and further evidence suggest that ovarian status is communicated, most likely by a chemical cue perceived by co-queens and workers, affects the direction of their aggressive behavior, and allows them to discriminate among queens.