scholarly journals An Organismal Perspective on the Evolution of Insect Societies

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heikki Helanterä
Keyword(s):  
Insect Societies

The Major Transitions in Evolution

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Maynard Smith ◽  
Eors Szathmary
Keyword(s):  
Full Range ◽  
Evolution Of Cooperation ◽  
Major Transitions ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Major Transition ◽  
Life Itself ◽  
History Of ◽  
Emergence Of Cooperation ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

Over the history of life there have been several major changes in the way genetic information is organized and transmitted from one generation to the next. These transitions include the origin of life itself, the first eukaryotic cells, reproduction by sexual means, the appearance of multicellular plants and animals, the emergence of cooperation and of animal societies, and the unique language ability of humans. This ambitious book provides the first unified discussion of the full range of these transitions. The authors highlight the similarities between different transitions--between the union of replicating molecules to form chromosomes and of cells to form multicellular organisms, for example--and show how understanding one transition sheds light on others. They trace a common theme throughout the history of evolution: after a major transition some entities lose the ability to replicate independently, becoming able to reproduce only as part of a larger whole. The authors investigate this pattern and why selection between entities at a lower level does not disrupt selection at more complex levels. Their explanation encompasses a compelling theory of the evolution of cooperation at all levels of complexity. Engagingly written and filled with numerous illustrations, this book can be read with enjoyment by anyone with an undergraduate training in biology. It is ideal for advanced discussion groups on evolution and includes accessible discussions of a wide range of topics, from molecular biology and linguistics to insect societies.

The Other Insect Societies

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
James T. Costa
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Insect Societies

The complexity and hierarchical structure of tasks in insect societies

2001 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 643-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Anderson ◽  
Nigel R. Franks ◽  
Daniel W. McShea
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Insect Societies

Social Insect Societies for the Optimization of Dynamic NP-Hard Problems

2011 ◽  
pp. 43-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Hartmann ◽  
Pedro Pinto ◽  
Thomas Runkler ◽  
João Sousa
Keyword(s):  
Social Insect ◽  
Np Hard ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
Hard Problems ◽  
Np Hard Problems

scholarly journals 3D mapping of disease in ant societies reveals a strategy of a specialized parasite

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel G Loreto ◽  
Simon L Elliot ◽  
Mayara LR Freitas ◽  
Thairine M Pereira ◽  
David P Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Disease Spread ◽  
Social Immunity ◽  
Ant Colonies ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Disease Free ◽  
Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis ◽  
Disease Present

Despite the widely held position that the social insects have evolved effective ways to limit infectious disease spread, many pathogens and parasites do attack insect societies. Maintaining a disease-free nest environment is an important evolutionary feature, but since workers have to leave the nest to forage they are routinely exposed to disease. Here we show that despite effective social immunity, in which workers act collectively to reduce disease inside the nest, 100% of studied ant colonies of Camponotus rufipes in a Brazilian Rainforest were infected by the specialized fungal parasite Ophiocordyceps unilateralis s.l. Not only is disease present for all colonies but long-term dynamics over 20 months revealed disease is a permanent feature. Using 3D maps, we showed the parasite optimizes its transmission by controlling workers’ behavior to die on the doorstep of the colony, where susceptible foragers are predictable in time and space. Therefore, despite social immunity, specialized diseases of ants have evolved effective strategies to exploit insect societies.

Endocrine Influences on the Organization of Insect Societies

2009 ◽  
pp. 1027-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Bloch ◽  
H. Shpigler ◽  
D.E. Wheeler ◽  
G.E. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Insect Societies
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