The Experts below are selected from a list of 20682 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Christoph Gruter - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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repeated evolution of soldier sub castes suggests parasitism drives social complexity in stingless bees
Nature Communications, 2017Co-Authors: Christoph Gruter, Francisca H I D Segers, Cristiano Menezes, Ayrton Volletneto, Tiago Falcon, Lucas Von Zuben, Marcia Maria Gentile Bitondi, Fabio S NascimentoAbstract:The differentiation of workers into morphological castes represents an important evolutionary innovation that is thought to improve division of labor in insect societies. Given the potential benefits of task-related worker differentiation, it is puzzling that physical worker castes, such as soldiers, are extremely rare in social bees and absent in wasps. Following the recent discovery of soldiers in a stingless bee, we studied the occurrence of worker differentiation in 28 stingless bee species from Brazil and found that several species have specialized soldiers for colony defence. Our results reveal that worker differentiation evolved repeatedly during the last ~ 25 million years and coincided with the emergence of parasitic robber bees, a major threat to many stingless bee species. Furthermore, our data suggest that these robbers are a driving force behind the evolution of worker differentiation as targets of robber bees are four times more likely to have nest guards of increased size than non-targets. These findings reveal unexpected diversity in the social organization of stingless bees.
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Repeated evolution of soldier sub-castes suggests parasitism drives social complexity in stingless bees
Nature Communications, 2017Co-Authors: Christoph Gruter, Francisca H I D Segers, Cristiano Menezes, Tiago Falcon, Marcia Maria Gentile Bitondi, Fabio S Nascimento, Ayrton Vollet-neto, Lucas Von Zuben, Eduardo A. B. AlmeidaAbstract:The differentiation of workers into morphological castes represents an important evolutionary innovation that is thought to improve division of labor in insect societies. Given the potential benefits of task-related worker differentiation, it is puzzling that physical worker castes, such as soldiers, are extremely rare in social bees and absent in wasps. Following the recent discovery of soldiers in a stingless bee, we studied the occurrence of worker differentiation in 28 stingless bee species from Brazil and found that several species have specialized soldiers for colony defence. Our results reveal that worker differentiation evolved repeatedly during the last ~ 25 million years and coincided with the emergence of parasitic robber bees, a major threat to many stingless bee species. Furthermore, our data suggest that these robbers are a driving force behind the evolution of worker differentiation as targets of robber bees are four times more likely to have nest guards of increased size than non-targets. These findings reveal unexpected diversity in the social organization of stingless bees. Although common in ants and termites, worker differentiation into physical castes is rare in social bees and unknown in wasps. Here, Grüter and colleagues find a guard caste in ten species of stingless bees and show that the evolution of the guard caste is associated with parasitization by robber bees.
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Hovering guards of the stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula increase colony defensive perimeter as shown by intra- and inter-specific comparisons
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2011Co-Authors: Jelle S. Zweden, Christoph Gruter, Sam M. Jones, Francis L.w. RatnieksAbstract:Social insects need to defend their nest against Robbery, parasitism and predation. The stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula is unique in that it has guards that hover near the nest entrance in addition to guards that stand at the entrance. We tested both the general hypothesis that hovering guards increase the effectiveness with which flying intruders are detected and the specific hypothesis that hovering guards improve the detection of workers of the obligate robber bee, Lestrimellita limao . In an intraspecific study comparing colonies, we found a strong positive relationship between the number of hovering guards and the distance at which a dummy robber bee or L. limao worker, experimentally moved towards the nest entrance, was detected. These results were mirrored in an interspecific study showing that four species of stingless bees with similar population colonies but which lacked hovering guards, detected L. limao only at the nest entrance, in contrast to T. angustula . In addition, we found that a greater number of attacks by guards occurred when dummies were impregnated with citral, a major component of L. limao mandibular gland odour. Our results support the hypothesis that T. angustula hovering guards increase the detection perimeter for flying intruders, especially L. limao .
Fabio S Nascimento - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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repeated evolution of soldier sub castes suggests parasitism drives social complexity in stingless bees
Nature Communications, 2017Co-Authors: Christoph Gruter, Francisca H I D Segers, Cristiano Menezes, Ayrton Volletneto, Tiago Falcon, Lucas Von Zuben, Marcia Maria Gentile Bitondi, Fabio S NascimentoAbstract:The differentiation of workers into morphological castes represents an important evolutionary innovation that is thought to improve division of labor in insect societies. Given the potential benefits of task-related worker differentiation, it is puzzling that physical worker castes, such as soldiers, are extremely rare in social bees and absent in wasps. Following the recent discovery of soldiers in a stingless bee, we studied the occurrence of worker differentiation in 28 stingless bee species from Brazil and found that several species have specialized soldiers for colony defence. Our results reveal that worker differentiation evolved repeatedly during the last ~ 25 million years and coincided with the emergence of parasitic robber bees, a major threat to many stingless bee species. Furthermore, our data suggest that these robbers are a driving force behind the evolution of worker differentiation as targets of robber bees are four times more likely to have nest guards of increased size than non-targets. These findings reveal unexpected diversity in the social organization of stingless bees.
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Repeated evolution of soldier sub-castes suggests parasitism drives social complexity in stingless bees
Nature Communications, 2017Co-Authors: Christoph Gruter, Francisca H I D Segers, Cristiano Menezes, Tiago Falcon, Marcia Maria Gentile Bitondi, Fabio S Nascimento, Ayrton Vollet-neto, Lucas Von Zuben, Eduardo A. B. AlmeidaAbstract:The differentiation of workers into morphological castes represents an important evolutionary innovation that is thought to improve division of labor in insect societies. Given the potential benefits of task-related worker differentiation, it is puzzling that physical worker castes, such as soldiers, are extremely rare in social bees and absent in wasps. Following the recent discovery of soldiers in a stingless bee, we studied the occurrence of worker differentiation in 28 stingless bee species from Brazil and found that several species have specialized soldiers for colony defence. Our results reveal that worker differentiation evolved repeatedly during the last ~ 25 million years and coincided with the emergence of parasitic robber bees, a major threat to many stingless bee species. Furthermore, our data suggest that these robbers are a driving force behind the evolution of worker differentiation as targets of robber bees are four times more likely to have nest guards of increased size than non-targets. These findings reveal unexpected diversity in the social organization of stingless bees. Although common in ants and termites, worker differentiation into physical castes is rare in social bees and unknown in wasps. Here, Grüter and colleagues find a guard caste in ten species of stingless bees and show that the evolution of the guard caste is associated with parasitization by robber bees.
Francisca H I D Segers - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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repeated evolution of soldier sub castes suggests parasitism drives social complexity in stingless bees
Nature Communications, 2017Co-Authors: Christoph Gruter, Francisca H I D Segers, Cristiano Menezes, Ayrton Volletneto, Tiago Falcon, Lucas Von Zuben, Marcia Maria Gentile Bitondi, Fabio S NascimentoAbstract:The differentiation of workers into morphological castes represents an important evolutionary innovation that is thought to improve division of labor in insect societies. Given the potential benefits of task-related worker differentiation, it is puzzling that physical worker castes, such as soldiers, are extremely rare in social bees and absent in wasps. Following the recent discovery of soldiers in a stingless bee, we studied the occurrence of worker differentiation in 28 stingless bee species from Brazil and found that several species have specialized soldiers for colony defence. Our results reveal that worker differentiation evolved repeatedly during the last ~ 25 million years and coincided with the emergence of parasitic robber bees, a major threat to many stingless bee species. Furthermore, our data suggest that these robbers are a driving force behind the evolution of worker differentiation as targets of robber bees are four times more likely to have nest guards of increased size than non-targets. These findings reveal unexpected diversity in the social organization of stingless bees.
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Repeated evolution of soldier sub-castes suggests parasitism drives social complexity in stingless bees
Nature Communications, 2017Co-Authors: Christoph Gruter, Francisca H I D Segers, Cristiano Menezes, Tiago Falcon, Marcia Maria Gentile Bitondi, Fabio S Nascimento, Ayrton Vollet-neto, Lucas Von Zuben, Eduardo A. B. AlmeidaAbstract:The differentiation of workers into morphological castes represents an important evolutionary innovation that is thought to improve division of labor in insect societies. Given the potential benefits of task-related worker differentiation, it is puzzling that physical worker castes, such as soldiers, are extremely rare in social bees and absent in wasps. Following the recent discovery of soldiers in a stingless bee, we studied the occurrence of worker differentiation in 28 stingless bee species from Brazil and found that several species have specialized soldiers for colony defence. Our results reveal that worker differentiation evolved repeatedly during the last ~ 25 million years and coincided with the emergence of parasitic robber bees, a major threat to many stingless bee species. Furthermore, our data suggest that these robbers are a driving force behind the evolution of worker differentiation as targets of robber bees are four times more likely to have nest guards of increased size than non-targets. These findings reveal unexpected diversity in the social organization of stingless bees. Although common in ants and termites, worker differentiation into physical castes is rare in social bees and unknown in wasps. Here, Grüter and colleagues find a guard caste in ten species of stingless bees and show that the evolution of the guard caste is associated with parasitization by robber bees.
Eduardo A. B. Almeida - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Repeated evolution of soldier sub-castes suggests parasitism drives social complexity in stingless bees
Nature Communications, 2017Co-Authors: Christoph Gruter, Francisca H I D Segers, Cristiano Menezes, Tiago Falcon, Marcia Maria Gentile Bitondi, Fabio S Nascimento, Ayrton Vollet-neto, Lucas Von Zuben, Eduardo A. B. AlmeidaAbstract:The differentiation of workers into morphological castes represents an important evolutionary innovation that is thought to improve division of labor in insect societies. Given the potential benefits of task-related worker differentiation, it is puzzling that physical worker castes, such as soldiers, are extremely rare in social bees and absent in wasps. Following the recent discovery of soldiers in a stingless bee, we studied the occurrence of worker differentiation in 28 stingless bee species from Brazil and found that several species have specialized soldiers for colony defence. Our results reveal that worker differentiation evolved repeatedly during the last ~ 25 million years and coincided with the emergence of parasitic robber bees, a major threat to many stingless bee species. Furthermore, our data suggest that these robbers are a driving force behind the evolution of worker differentiation as targets of robber bees are four times more likely to have nest guards of increased size than non-targets. These findings reveal unexpected diversity in the social organization of stingless bees. Although common in ants and termites, worker differentiation into physical castes is rare in social bees and unknown in wasps. Here, Grüter and colleagues find a guard caste in ten species of stingless bees and show that the evolution of the guard caste is associated with parasitization by robber bees.
Marcia Maria Gentile Bitondi - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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repeated evolution of soldier sub castes suggests parasitism drives social complexity in stingless bees
Nature Communications, 2017Co-Authors: Christoph Gruter, Francisca H I D Segers, Cristiano Menezes, Ayrton Volletneto, Tiago Falcon, Lucas Von Zuben, Marcia Maria Gentile Bitondi, Fabio S NascimentoAbstract:The differentiation of workers into morphological castes represents an important evolutionary innovation that is thought to improve division of labor in insect societies. Given the potential benefits of task-related worker differentiation, it is puzzling that physical worker castes, such as soldiers, are extremely rare in social bees and absent in wasps. Following the recent discovery of soldiers in a stingless bee, we studied the occurrence of worker differentiation in 28 stingless bee species from Brazil and found that several species have specialized soldiers for colony defence. Our results reveal that worker differentiation evolved repeatedly during the last ~ 25 million years and coincided with the emergence of parasitic robber bees, a major threat to many stingless bee species. Furthermore, our data suggest that these robbers are a driving force behind the evolution of worker differentiation as targets of robber bees are four times more likely to have nest guards of increased size than non-targets. These findings reveal unexpected diversity in the social organization of stingless bees.
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Repeated evolution of soldier sub-castes suggests parasitism drives social complexity in stingless bees
Nature Communications, 2017Co-Authors: Christoph Gruter, Francisca H I D Segers, Cristiano Menezes, Tiago Falcon, Marcia Maria Gentile Bitondi, Fabio S Nascimento, Ayrton Vollet-neto, Lucas Von Zuben, Eduardo A. B. AlmeidaAbstract:The differentiation of workers into morphological castes represents an important evolutionary innovation that is thought to improve division of labor in insect societies. Given the potential benefits of task-related worker differentiation, it is puzzling that physical worker castes, such as soldiers, are extremely rare in social bees and absent in wasps. Following the recent discovery of soldiers in a stingless bee, we studied the occurrence of worker differentiation in 28 stingless bee species from Brazil and found that several species have specialized soldiers for colony defence. Our results reveal that worker differentiation evolved repeatedly during the last ~ 25 million years and coincided with the emergence of parasitic robber bees, a major threat to many stingless bee species. Furthermore, our data suggest that these robbers are a driving force behind the evolution of worker differentiation as targets of robber bees are four times more likely to have nest guards of increased size than non-targets. These findings reveal unexpected diversity in the social organization of stingless bees. Although common in ants and termites, worker differentiation into physical castes is rare in social bees and unknown in wasps. Here, Grüter and colleagues find a guard caste in ten species of stingless bees and show that the evolution of the guard caste is associated with parasitization by robber bees.
