The Experts below are selected from a list of 20136 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Amy L Toth - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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A Potential Role for Phenotypic Plasticity in Invasions and Declines of Social Insects
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2019Co-Authors: Fabio Manfredini, Marina Arbetman, Amy L TothAbstract:EuSociality, a form of animal Social organization involving sterile and reproductive castes, is a rare but, arguably, a highly ecologically successful form of life. There are striking examples of euSocial species with populations that are ecologically dominant in their native ranges, as well as remarkably successful globally as invasive species; prominent examples include fire ants and yellowjacket wasps. At the same time, there have been startling population declines in other Social Insects, notably bumble bees. Here, we explore the possible role of phenotypic plasticity in invasion biology and declines of Social insect species. This topic is of particular interest, because Social Insects exhibit extreme behavioral, developmental, physiological, and morphological plasticity. It has been suggested that this plasticity may contribute to ecological dominance in some species, but could be a liability or cost to others. In this review, we explore the relationship between phenotypic plasticity, invasion biology, and vulnerability to global change in Social Insects. By considering plasticity at three levels-- molecular, individual, and colony—we suggest ways in which considerations of phenotypic plasticity may help in managing Social insect populations.
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the trap of sex in Social Insects from the female to the male perspective
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2014Co-Authors: Laura Beani, Francesco Dessifulgheri, Federico Cappa, Amy L TothAbstract:Abstract The phenotype of male Hymenoptera and the peculiar role of males has been neglected and greatly understudied, given the spectacular cooperative behavior of female Social Insects. In Social Insects there has been considerable progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms behind haplodiploid sex determination but, beyond that, very little is known concerning the neural, endocrine, and genetic correlates of sexual selection in males. An opportunity is being missed: the male phenotype in Hymenoptera is a natural experiment to compare the drives of natural versus sexual selection. In contrast to females, males do not work, they usually display far from the nest to gain mates, compete among rivals in nuptial flights or for a symbolic territory at leks , and engage in direct or ritualized conflicts. By comparing the available data on male paper wasps with studies on other Social Hymenoptera, we summarize what we currently know about the physical, hormonal, neural and behavioral traits in a model system appropriate to examine current paradigms on sexual selection. Here we review male behavior in Social Hymenoptera beyond sex stereotypes: the subtle role of “drones” in the colony, the lack of armaments and ornaments, the explosive mating crowds, the “endurance” race, the cognitive bases of the “choosy” male and his immune defense. Social insect males are not just simple-minded mating machines, they are shaped, constrained and perhaps trapped by sexual selection.
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epigenetics in Social Insects a new direction for understanding the evolution of castes
Genetics research international, 2012Co-Authors: Susan A Weiner, Amy L TothAbstract:Epigenetic modifications to DNA, such as DNA methylation, can expand a genome's regulatory flexibility, and thus may contribute to the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. Recent work has demonstrated the importance of DNA methylation in alternative queen and worker “castes” in Social Insects, particularly honeybees. Social Insects are an excellent system for addressing questions about epigenetics and evolution because: (1) they have dramatic caste polyphenisms that appear to be tied to differential methylation, (2) DNA methylation is widespread in various groups of Social Insects, and (3) there are intriguing connections between the Social environment and DNA methylation in many species, from Insects to mammals. In this article, we review research on honeybees, and, when available, other Social Insects, on DNA methylation and queen and worker caste differences. We outline a conceptual framework for the effects of methylation on caste determination in honeybees that may help guide studies of epigenetic regulation in other polyphenic taxa. Finally, we suggest future paths of study for Social insect epigenetic research, including the importance of comparative studies of DNA methylation on a broader range of species, and highlight some key unanswered mechanistic questions about how DNA methylation affects gene regulation.
Diana E Wheeler - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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molecular mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity in Social Insects
Current opinion in insect science, 2016Co-Authors: Miguel Corona, Romain Libbrecht, Diana E WheelerAbstract:Polyphenism in Insects, whereby a single genome expresses different phenotypes in response to environmental cues, is a fascinating biological phenomenon. Social Insects are especially intriguing examples of phenotypic plasticity because division of labor results in the development of extreme morphological phenotypes, such as the queen and worker castes. Although Sociality evolved independently in ants, bees, wasps and termites, similar genetic pathways regulate phenotypic plasticity in these different groups of Social Insects. The insulin/insulin-like growth signaling (IIS) plays a key role in this process. Recent research reveals that IIS interacts with other pathways including target of rapamycin (TOR), epidermal growth factor receptor (Egfr), juvenile hormone (JH) and vitellogenin (Vg) to regulate caste differentiation.
Boris Baer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Female Choice in Social Insects
Cryptic Female Choice in Arthropods, 2015Co-Authors: Boris BaerAbstract:The mating biology of euSocial Insects , being the ants , bees , wasps , and termites , is truly amazing as a number of reproductive traits have evolved in these species that are not or rarely found in other species, such as the absence of remating later in life, prolonged sperm storage, and extreme levels of queen fertility . Kin selection is recognized as a driving force shaping these insect societies and their reproductive biology, selecting for high relatedness among helpers, and limiting the number of fathers contributing to offspring. The study of the mating biology of Social Insects received remarkably little scientific attention, despite the fact that mating behavior can provide a mechanism through which high relatedness can be achieved. As a consequence, our current knowledge about the presence or absence of sexual selection including female choice remains poorly investigated. In this chapter, I provide a theoretical introduction to female choice in Social Insects , arguing that in the absence of female remating later in life and exceptional high demands for large numbers of viable sperm, queens should express male choice throughout all steps of the mating process. I then discuss some examples from the recent literature that provide empirical evidence for female choice (precopulatory and cryptic choice) and develop a number of questions and hypotheses that can be addressed in the future.
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polyandry reduces sperm length variation in Social Insects
Evolution, 2011Co-Authors: John L Fitzpatrick, Boris BaerAbstract:Postcopulatory sexual selection, either in the form of sperm competition or cryptic female choice, is an important selective force that is thought to have generated the enormous variation in sperm morphology observed interspecifically. However, the evolutionary significance of intraspecific variation in sperm morphology, and the role that postcopulatory sexual selection plays in influencing this variation, remains poorly investigated in invertebrates. Here, we tested the hypothesis that postcopulatory sexual selection reduces variation in sperm morphology, both between and within males, in 27 species of euSocial ants and bees. These euSocial species offer an unusual opportunity to assess how selection acts on variance in sperm morphology, as haploid males produce clonal, haploid sperm that does not experience haploid?diploid conflict. We provide solid evidence that males of polyandrous ant and bee species indeed produce less?variable sperm, indicating that sperm competition selected for sperm of superior quality. Our results offer a mechanistic explanation for the evolution of high?quality sperm and provide comprehensive evidence that sperm morphology of Social Insects is influenced by sexual selection.
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the evolution of male traits in Social Insects
Annual Review of Entomology, 2005Co-Authors: Jacobus J Boomsma, Boris Baer, Jürgen HeinzeAbstract:▪ Abstract Pair formation in Social Insects mostly happens early in adult life and away from the Social colony context, which precludes promiscuity in the usual sense. Termite males have continuous sperm production, but males of Social Hymenoptera have fixed complements of sperm, except for a few species that mate before female dispersal and show male-fighting and lifelong sperm production. We develop an evolutionary framework for testing sexual selection and sperm competition theory across the advanced euSocial Insects (ants, wasps, bees, termites) and highlight two areas related to premating sexual selection (sexual dimorphism and male mate number) that have remained understudied and in which considerable progress can be achieved with relatively simple approaches. We also infer that mating plugs may be relatively common, and we review further possibilities for postmating sexual selection, which gradually become less likely in termite evolution, but for which euSocial Hymenoptera provide unusual opportun...
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Bumblebees as model organisms to study male sexual selection in Social Insects
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2003Co-Authors: Boris BaerAbstract:Social-insect males are often regarded as being merely short-lived "flying sperm containers", which ignores their potential influence on females and paternity patterns as found in other animals. Consequently, Social-insect males have received only marginal attention and sexual selection has almost never been studied in these species. Here I present a review of the mating biology of bumblebees ( Bombus spp.), which are the best-studied Social Insects to date. I follow a male's pathway from his birth until he successfully contributes to the next generation, and show that males have evolved adaptations and behaviors to influence paternity patterns at various stages of their life, which are similar to those exhibited by males of non-Social Insects. By comparing the available bumblebee data with more sparse studies of male reproductive behavior in other Social Hymenoptera, I argue that such male adaptations may indeed be widespread in Social Insects. I suggest that current paradigms on sexual selection should be challenged by using Social Insects as model systems, because they offer unique features, and a solid theoretical background in which clear predictions can be made and appropriate experimental tests of them can be designed.
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males of Social Insects can prevent queens from multiple mating
Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2001Co-Authors: Annette Sauter, Boris Baer, Mark J F Brown, Paul SchmidhempelAbstract:During copulation, males of Bombus terrestris fill the queen's sexual tract with a mating plug after transferring their sperm. The sticky secretion is produced by the male's accessory glands and disappears within a couple of days. Experiments now show that the primary function of the plug is to reduce the subsequent mating probability of the queen. The plug is not efficient in preventing sperm migration into the spermatheca. Due to its low energetic value, the plug is also unlikely to serve as a nuptial gift. This type of male interference with female mating propensity has so far not been found in Social Insects. This finding could, at least tentatively, explain why females of B. terrestris may not be able to take advantage of the demonstrated benefits of multiple mating. Furthermore, such male interference could be a more general phenomenon in Social Insects, with obvious ramifications for the evolution of polyandry in this group.
Jean-louis Deneubourg - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the formation of spatial patterns in Social Insects from simple behaviours to complex structures
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 2003Co-Authors: Guy Theraulaz, Scott Camazine, Jacques Gautrais, Jean-louis DeneubourgAbstract:Many of the collective activities performed by Social Insects result in the formation of complex spatio–temporal patterns. Without centralized control, workers are able to work together and collectively tackle tasks far beyond the abilities of any one individual. The resulting patterns produced by a colony are not explicitly coded at the individual level, but rather emerge from nonlinear interactions between individuals or between individuals and their environment. We present a few selected examples to illustrate some of the basic mechanisms used by Social Insects, such as templates, stigmergy and self–organization. These mechanisms can be used in combination to organize pattern formation at the colony level.
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dynamic scheduling and division of labor in Social Insects
Adaptive Behavior, 2000Co-Authors: Michael Campos, Guy Theraulaz, Eric Bonabeau, Jean-louis DeneubourgAbstract:A method for assigning tasks or resources, based on a model of division of labor in Social Insects, is introduced and applied to a dynamic flow shop scheduling problem. The problem consists of assigning trucks to paint booths in a truck facility to minimize total makespan and the number of paint flushes. Similarities between the ant-based approach and a market-based approach are highlighted. Both systems are able to adapt well to changing conditions.
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Information Processing in Social Insects - Information processing in Social Insects
1999Co-Authors: Claire Detrain, Jean-louis Deneubourg, Jacques PasteelsAbstract:1 Group size and information flow inside the colony.- Group size, productivity, and information flow in Social wasps.- Task partitioning in foraging: general principles, efficiency and information reliability of queueing delays.- Interaction patterns and task allocation in ant colonies.- Information flow during Social feeding in ant societies.- Models of information flow in ant foraging: the benefits of both attractive and repulsive signals.- Information flow in the Social domain: how individuals decide what to do next.- 2 Role and control of behavioral thresholds.- Response thresholds and division of labor in insect colonies.- Role and variability of response thresholds in the regulation of division of labor in insect societies.- Social control of division of labor in honey bee colonies.- Genetic, developmental and environmental determinants of honey bee foraging behavior.- Behavioral threshold variability: costs and benefits in insect societies.- 3 The individual at the core of information management.- Individuality and colonial identity in ants: the emergence of the Social representation concept.- Key individuals and the organisation of labor in ants.- Temporal information in Social Insects.- The individual at the core of information management.- 4 Amplification of information and emergence of collective patterns.- Activity cycles in ant colonies: worker interactions and decentralized control.- The mechanisms and rules of coordinated building in Social Insects.- Decision-making in foraging by Social Insects.- The mystery of swarming honeybees: from individual behaviors to collective decisions.- Collective behavior in Social caterpillars.- Self-organization or individual complexity: a false dilemma or a true complementarity?.
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information processing in Social Insects
Information processing in social insects, 1999Co-Authors: Claire Detrain, Jean-louis Deneubourg, Jacques PasteelsAbstract:1 Group size and information flow inside the colony.- Group size, productivity, and information flow in Social wasps.- Task partitioning in foraging: general principles, efficiency and information reliability of queueing delays.- Interaction patterns and task allocation in ant colonies.- Information flow during Social feeding in ant societies.- Models of information flow in ant foraging: the benefits of both attractive and repulsive signals.- Information flow in the Social domain: how individuals decide what to do next.- 2 Role and control of behavioral thresholds.- Response thresholds and division of labor in insect colonies.- Role and variability of response thresholds in the regulation of division of labor in insect societies.- Social control of division of labor in honey bee colonies.- Genetic, developmental and environmental determinants of honey bee foraging behavior.- Behavioral threshold variability: costs and benefits in insect societies.- 3 The individual at the core of information management.- Individuality and colonial identity in ants: the emergence of the Social representation concept.- Key individuals and the organisation of labor in ants.- Temporal information in Social Insects.- The individual at the core of information management.- 4 Amplification of information and emergence of collective patterns.- Activity cycles in ant colonies: worker interactions and decentralized control.- The mechanisms and rules of coordinated building in Social Insects.- Decision-making in foraging by Social Insects.- The mystery of swarming honeybees: from individual behaviors to collective decisions.- Collective behavior in Social caterpillars.- Self-organization or individual complexity: a false dilemma or a true complementarity?.
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The mechanisms and rules of coordinated building in Social Insects
Information Processing in Social Insects, 1999Co-Authors: Guy Theraulaz, Claire Detrain, Jean-louis Deneubourg, Eric Bonabeau, Jacques PasteelsAbstract:This chapter presents an overview of the mechanisms, usually intertwined, used by Social Insects to build their often elaborate nests: templates, stigmer-gy, self-organization and self-assembly. A few models based on these mechanisms are also discussed, but they are to a large extent speculative because experimental evidence is scarce. Our conclusion is that it is not necessary to invoke individual complexity to explain nest complexity. Recent work suggests that a Social insect colony is a decentralized system comprised of cooperative, autonomous units that are distributed in the environment, exhibit simple probabilistic stimulus-response behavior and have access to local information. The complexity of a nest is likely to result from the unfolding of a morphogenetic process during which past construction provides both constraints and new stimuli. This form of indirect communication between Insects through the environment is an important aspect of collective coordination, and has been coined’ stigmergy’ by Grasse. We show that stigmergy has to be supplemented with a mechanism that makes use of these interactions to coordinate and regulate collective building. We suggest that at least two such mechanisms play a role in Social Insects: self-organization and self-assembly. When they are combined with templates, they became the building blocks of a powerful construction game.
Johan Billen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Signal variety and communication in Social Insects
2020Co-Authors: Johan BillenAbstract:Social insect colonies contain from tens to millions of individuals. Their Social organization is based on an efficient communication sys- tem, in which multimodal signals can be distinguished. This article aims to give examples that illustrate the use of visual, acoustic, tactile, sometimes magnetic, and especially chemical signals in communica- tion among Social Insects. The majority of insect species live a solitary life, with few contacts between con- specific individuals. Temporary aggregations may sometimes occur because of abundantly present food (as is e.g. well known in the desert grasshoppers), or conspecific males and females meet briefly during the mating season to copulate. Social Insects, however, are characterized by communities in which they live in permanent contact with their nestmates. Bees and bumblebees, wasps, ants and termites since long have fascinated man because of their well organized and often impressive colonies. Their Social lifestyle goes along with the inevitable development of a communication system, that allows the individual members of the colony to exchange information. This Social language can occur via various sensory channels, using visual, acoustic, tactile, sometimes magnetic, and espe- cially chemical signals. This article aims to have a closer look at this communication system in Social Insects, and to illustrate the various modalities that characterize it with a num- ber of examples. We first illustrate the ingenious honeybee dance as an excellent example of multimodal information exchange, and then separately deal with the various sensory channels that can play a role in Social insect communication. Honeybee dancing One of the best known examples of Social insect communication is represented in the recruitment system by means of dancing displays that honeybee workers
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Sociobiology An international journal on Social Insects
2020Co-Authors: L. Vander Plancken, Johan BillenAbstract:Social Insects are known for their overwhelming diversity of exocrine glands. This study examines the glands in the legs of workers of Frieseomelitta varia (Lepeletier). A variety of 15 glands was found, with glands occurring in every leg segment, whereas previous studies only described 5 glands in stingless bee legs. Six glands are novel exocrine structures for Social Insects. Glands occurring in the articulation region between adjacent leg segments may occur in a repetitive pattern, and probably have a lubricant function. For most glands, however, the function is not yet known, and will require further experimental work.
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Signal variety and communication in Social Insects
Proc Neth Entomol Soc Meet, 2006Co-Authors: Johan BillenAbstract:Social insect colonies contain from tens to millions of individuals. Their Social organization is based on an efficient communication system, in which multimodal signals can be distinguished. This article aims to give examples that illustrate the use of visual, acoustic, tactile, sometimes magnetic, and especially chemical signals in communication among Social Insects.
