Synergistic evolution of halictine nest architecture and social behavior

1969 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 925-930 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Knerer
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Strong Correlation ◽  
Diverse Group ◽  
Nest Architecture ◽  
Brood Care ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Evolutionary Pathways ◽  
Ground Nesting

Halictinae are a large and taxonomically diverse group of ground-nesting bees. Solitary and social members coexist in all faunal zones, and several distinct evolutionary pathways to higher social levels can be discerned among extant species. The genus Evylaeus embraces the most advanced halictine societies known. These are made up of a queen and numerous small, unmated and nonreproductive workers. A strong correlation exists between architectural complexity and the level of socialization attained in those forms, since only a structural preadaptation permits a development of large colonies possessing a division of labor and intensive brood care.

Taxonomic review of two fossil crocodylians from the Cenozoic of South America and its implications for the crocodylian fauna of the continent

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4656 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-486
Author(s):  
GIOVANNE M. CIDADE ◽  
DANIEL FORTIER ◽  
ASCANIO DANIEL RINCÓN ◽  
ANNIE SCHMALTZ HSIOU
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
Junior Synonym ◽  
Diverse Group ◽  
Taxonomic Review ◽  
Nomen Dubium ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
The World

The crocodylomorph fauna of the Cenozoic of South America is one of the richest and most diverse in the world. The most diverse group within that fauna is Alligatoroidea, with nearly all of its species belonging to the Caimaninae clade. Many of the fossil alligatoroid species from the Cenozoic of South America were proposed based on very incomplete remains, and as a result their validity requires revision. Two such species are Balanerodus logimus Langston, 1965, from the middle Miocene of Colombia and Peru, and Caiman venezuelensis Fortier & Rincón, 2012, from the Pliocene-Pleistocene of Venezuela. This study has performed a thorough review of the taxonomic status of these two alligatoroid species, concluding that B. logimus is a nomen dubium and that Ca. venezuelensis is a junior synonym of the extant species Ca. crocodilus. This review offers a significantly more accurate scenario for alligatoroid diversity in the Cenozoic of South America in different epochs such as the Miocene and Pleistocene. Additionally, the record of Ca. crocodilus from the Pleistocene of Venezuela is the first fossil record that can be assigned to this species. 

scholarly journals Time course analysis of the brain transcriptome during transitions between brood care and reproduction in the clonal raider ant

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romain Libbrecht ◽  
Peter R. Oxley ◽  
Daniel J. C. Kronauer
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Resistance To Change ◽  
Delayed Response ◽  
Multiple Time ◽  
Brood Care ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
Multiple Time Points ◽  
Care Behavior

AbstractDivision of labor between reproductive queens and non-reproductive workers that perform brood care is the hallmark of insect societies. However, the molecular basis of this fundamental dichotomy remains poorly understood, in part because the caste of an individual cannot typically be experimentally manipulated at the adult stage. Here we take advantage of the unique biology of the clonal raider ant, Ooceraea biroi, where reproduction and brood care behavior can be experimentally manipulated in adults. To study the molecular regulation of reproduction and brood care, we induced transitions between both states, and monitored brain gene expression at multiple time points. We found that introducing larvae that inhibit reproduction and induce brood care behavior caused much faster changes in adult gene expression than removing larvae. The delayed response to the removal of the larval signal prevents untimely activation of reproduction in O. biroi colonies. This resistance to change when removing a signal also prevents premature modifications in many other biological processes. Furthermore, we found that the general patterns of gene expression differ depending on whether ants transition from reproduction to brood care or vice versa, indicating that gene expression changes between phases are cyclic rather than pendular. Our analyses also identify genes with large and early expression changes in one or both transitions. These genes likely play upstream roles in regulating reproduction and behavior, and thus constitute strong candidates for future molecular studies of the evolution and regulation of reproductive division of labor in insect societies.

scholarly journals An oxytocin/vasopressin-related neuropeptide modulates social foraging behavior in the clonal raider ant

PLoS Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. e3001305
Author(s):  
Ingrid Fetter-Pruneda ◽  
Taylor Hart ◽  
Yuko Ulrich ◽  
Asaf Gal ◽  
Peter R. Oxley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Behavioral Response ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Social Cues ◽  
Social Foraging ◽  
Propensity To Leave ◽  
Response Thresholds ◽  
Do So

Oxytocin/vasopressin-related neuropeptides are highly conserved and play major roles in regulating social behavior across vertebrates. However, whether their insect orthologue, inotocin, regulates the behavior of social groups remains unknown. Here, we show that in the clonal raider ant Ooceraea biroi, individuals that perform tasks outside the nest have higher levels of inotocin in their brains than individuals of the same age that remain inside the nest. We also show that older ants, which spend more time outside the nest, have higher inotocin levels than younger ants. Inotocin thus correlates with the propensity to perform tasks outside the nest. Additionally, increasing inotocin pharmacologically increases the tendency of ants to leave the nest. However, this effect is contingent on age and social context. Pharmacologically treated older ants have a higher propensity to leave the nest only in the presence of larvae, whereas younger ants seem to do so only in the presence of pupae. Our results suggest that inotocin signaling plays an important role in modulating behaviors that correlate with age, such as social foraging, possibly by modulating behavioral response thresholds to specific social cues. Inotocin signaling thereby likely contributes to behavioral individuality and division of labor in ant societies.

Geographical and bathymetric distribution of mysids (Crustacea: Mysida) in the seas of the Iberian Peninsula

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4244 (2) ◽  
pp. 151 ◽  
Author(s):  
CARLOS SAN VICENTE
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
High Probability ◽  
Common Origin ◽  
Geographical Region ◽  
Diverse Group ◽  
Bathymetric Distribution ◽  
Bathymetric Range ◽  
Extant Species

The zoogeographic distribution of mysid species occurring in the diverse seas of the Iberian Peninsula and neighbouring areas is analysed. For each species, bathymetric range and localities data are reported. A total of 129 mysid species belonging to 50 genera have been recorded, representing 11% of all known world extant species and the 28% of genera. Littoral mysids are the most diverse group (64 species) followed by the outer-self to upper-bathyal slope with 54 known species. Patterns of bathymetric zonation are characterized by four bathymetric discontinuities at about 100, 500, 1300 and 2700 m. Each geographical region is characterized by the presence of a mixture of exclusive and shared species composition. Mysid distributions suggest that an important grouping of species present in the Iberian fauna share a common origin. Based on the analysis of published records and reported species, it is suggested that there is a high probability of the discovery of new species of Mysida in the water surrounding the Iberian Peninsula. 

Factors determining temporal division of labor in honeybees

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (11) ◽  
pp. 2947-2952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark L. Winston ◽  
Elizabeth Neilson Punnett
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Colony Growth ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Young Workers ◽  
Brood Care ◽  
Related Sequence ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Relationship

Honeybee workers perform tasks in an age-related sequence during their lifetimes, with young workers generally performing hive duties and older workers guarding the entrance. The relationship between the timing of brood care and foraging and the colony characteristics of worker population, age distribution, and brood care were examined in order to determine the influence of colony growth on the ontogeny of worker activities. Foraging age was strongly correlated with colony population but not with age distribution or brood area. The age when workers cared for brood was weakly correlated with colony population and not correlated with age distribution or brood area. The results suggest that the ages when tasks are performed depend in part on colony population and less on age distribution and brood area.

Human and ant social behavior should be compared in a very careful way to draw valid parallels

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Joanna Godzińska
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Present Knowledge ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
Interesting Discussion ◽  
Human Social Behavior ◽  
Reproductive Division Of Labor ◽  
Reproductive Division

AbstractGowdy & Krall provide an interesting discussion of evolutionary origins and consequences of ultrasociality. However, some of their statements concerning various features of ant and human social behavior do not adequately reflect present knowledge about the discussed issues, which include, among others, polyethism, cultural information transfer, within-group conflicts and resistance in ant societies, and reproductive division of labor in humans.Gowdy & Krall (G&K) provide an interesting discussion of evolutionary origins and consequences of ultrasociality, an advanced form of social behavior that evolved independently in both social insects and humans. Their reflections are thought-provoking, but some statements concerning various features of ant and human social behavior do not reflect adequately the present knowledge about the discussed issues.

Scydmaenus linqibini sp. nov., a new fossil Scydmaenini in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scydmaeninae)

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 036-040
Author(s):  
ZIWEI YIN ◽  
DEYAO ZHOU
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Evolutionary Stage ◽  
Diverse Group ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Burmese Amber ◽  
Morphological Disparity ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
History Of ◽  
Fossil Records

The tribe Scydmaenini is the second most diverse group of the ant-like stone beetle subfamily Scydmaeninae, with more than 730 extant species classified in seven extant genera (Newton, 2019). However, confirmed fossil records important for elucidating the evolutionary history of the tribe are extremely rare, represented by only two species previously reported from mid-Cretaceous Myanmar amber (Yin et al., 2018; Yin & Cai, 2019). Provided in this paper is the description of a third fossil species of Scydmaenini, again from Burmese amber, which sheds new light on the palaeodiversity and morphological disparity of this group during its early evolutionary stage.

scholarly journals Evolutionary history of Polyneoptera and its implications for our understanding of early winged insects

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (8) ◽  
pp. 3024-3029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Wipfler ◽  
Harald Letsch ◽  
Paul B. Frandsen ◽  
Paschalia Kapli ◽  
Christoph Mayer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Head Capsule ◽  
Phylogenomic Analysis ◽  
External Appearance ◽  
Attachment Structures ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
History Of

Polyneoptera represents one of the major lineages of winged insects, comprising around 40,000 extant species in 10 traditional orders, including grasshoppers, roaches, and stoneflies. Many important aspects of polyneopteran evolution, such as their phylogenetic relationships, changes in their external appearance, their habitat preferences, and social behavior, are unresolved and are a major enigma in entomology. These ambiguities also have direct consequences for our understanding of the evolution of winged insects in general; for example, with respect to the ancestral habitats of adults and juveniles. We addressed these issues with a large-scale phylogenomic analysis and used the reconstructed phylogenetic relationships to trace the evolution of 112 characters associated with the external appearance and the lifestyle of winged insects. Our inferences suggest that the last common ancestors of Polyneoptera and of the winged insects were terrestrial throughout their lives, implying that wings did not evolve in an aquatic environment. The appearance of the first polyneopteran insect was mainly characterized by ancestral traits such as long segmented abdominal appendages and biting mouthparts held below the head capsule. This ancestor lived in association with the ground, which led to various specializations including hardened forewings and unique tarsal attachment structures. However, within Polyneoptera, several groups switched separately to a life on plants. In contrast to a previous hypothesis, we found that social behavior was not part of the polyneopteran ground plan. In other traits, such as the biting mouthparts, Polyneoptera shows a high degree of evolutionary conservatism unique among the major lineages of winged insects.

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