Genetic differentiation in sympatric wood ants, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Formica rufa</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">F. polyctena</Emphasis>

Summary Direct observations have suggested that the closely related wood ants Formica polyctena and F. rufa represent different social organizations, with high queen number in F. polyctena and a high frequency of monogynous nests in F. rufa. We examined social organization and genetic population structure in a setup where populations of the two species are sympatric and gene flow between the species is possible. Our aim was to compare social organization in the species, and study evolutionary relationships between them. The observed relatedness among colony workers suggested that the difference in the level of polygyny is quantitative rather than qualitative, with a higher queen number in F. polyctena. The observed difference in polygyny was not accompanied by a difference in spatial genetic differentiation which was weak in both species. The genetic distance between the species is consistent with limited interspecific gene flow. Identification of a few possible F. rufa migrants in F. polyctena populations suggests potential interspecific gene flow. Thus, reproductive isolation of the species may not be complete when they are sympatric.Received 14 March 2003; revised 10 October 2003; accepted 20 October 2003.     

The adaptive value of sociality in mammalian groups

According to behavioural ecology theory, sociality evolves when the net benefits of close association with conspecifics exceed the costs. The nature and relative magnitude of the benefits and costs of sociality are expected to vary across species and habitats. When sociality is favoured, animals may form groups that range from small pair-bonded units to huge aggregations. The size and composition of social groups have diverse effects on morphology and behaviour, ranging from the extent of sexual dimorphism to brain size, and the structure of social relationships. This general argument implies that sociality has fitness consequences for individuals. However, for most mammalian species, especially long-lived animals like primates, there are sizable gaps in the chain of evidence that links sociality and social bonds to fitness outcomes. These gaps reflect the difficulty of quantifying the cumulative effects of behavioural interactions on fitness and the lack of information about the nature of social relationships among individuals in most taxa. Here, I review what is known about the reproductive consequences of sociality for mammals.     

SEX ALLOCATION IN THE ANT COLOBOPSIS NIPPONICUS (WHEELER). I. POPULATION SEX RATIO

The relative power of queens and workers at controlling sex allocation in the ant Colobopsis nipponicus is investigated in this study. Results show that C. nipponicus completely satisfies Hamilton's assumptions concerning colony social structure: monogyny, monoandry, and no worker reproduction. A genetic survey of the population structure rejects possibilities of local mate competition, local resource enhancement, and local resource competition, which all can bias population-allocation ratios from 0.5. Although these factors are absent, the observed sex-allocation ratio (male investment/total sexual investment; 0.250 ± 0.027) is significantly biased toward females and is not different from the estimated optimal ratio for workers (0.252). Thus, it appears that workers are likely to win in conflicts over sex allocation with queens.     

Colony size,social complexity and reproductive conflict in social insects

The broad limits of mature colony size in social insect species are likely to be set by ecological factors. However, any change in colony size has a number of important social consequences. The most fundamental is a change in the expected reproductive potential of workers. If colony size rises, workers experience a fall in their chances of becoming replacement reproductives and, it is shown, increasing selection for mutual inhibition of one another's reproduction (worker policing). As workers’ reproductive potential falls, the degree of dimorphism between reproductive and worker castes (morphological skew) can rise. This helps explain why small societies have low morphological skew and tend to be simple in organization, whereas large societies have high morphological skew and tend to be complex. The social consequences of change in colony size may also alter colony size itself in a process of positive feedback. For these reasons, small societies should be characterized by intense, direct conflict over reproduction and caste determination. By contrast, conflict in large societies should predominantly be over brood composition, and members of these societies should be relatively compliant to manipulation of their caste. Colony size therefore deserves fuller recognition as a key determinant, along with kin structure, of social complexity, the reproductive potential of helpers, the degree of caste differentiation, and the nature of within-group conflict.     

昆虫非遗传多型性研究进展

非遗传多型性是指同一基因型或同一基因组通过外界环境诱导可产生两种或者多种不连续表型的现象。该现象在昆虫中已有报道,如变态、季节性非遗传多型、社会性昆虫的等级制等。昆虫通过非遗传多型性做出应答,通过表型改变来适应环境并利用周围环境物质以达到躲避天敌从而进行生存繁衍的目的。因此,非遗传多型性是昆虫种类繁多、数量庞大的主要因素之一。近几十年来,非遗传多型性日益受到广泛关注,从最初对现象的描述,到诱导该现象产生的可能因素的实验验证,至目前大数据时代下利用二代测序技术、基因敲除和RNA干扰等技术揭示其分子机制。本文对近年来非遗传多型性在昆虫中的研究进展进行了总结,并对未来的趋势进行了展望。     

Behavioural phase polyphenism in the Australian plague locust (Chortoicetes terminifera)

Swarming and the expression of phase polyphenism are defining characteristics of locust species. Increases in local population density mediate morphological, physiological and behavioural changes within individuals, which correlate with mass marching of juveniles in migratory bands and flying swarms of adults. The Australian plague locust (Chortoicetes terminifera) regularly forms migratory bands and swarms, but is claimed not to express phase polyphenism and has accordingly been used to argue against a central role for phase change in locust swarming. We demonstrate that juvenile C. terminifera express extreme density-dependent behavioural phase polyphenism. Isolated-reared juveniles are sedentary and repelled by conspecifics, whereas crowd-reared individuals are highly active and are attracted to conspecifics. In contrast to other major locust species, however, behavioural phase change does not accumulate across generations, but shifts completely within an individual''s lifetime in response to a change in population density.     

Higher reproductive skew among birds than mammals in cooperatively breeding species

While competition for limited breeding positions is a common feature of group life, species vary widely in the extent to which reproduction is shared among females (‘reproductive skew’). In recent years, there has been considerable debate over the mechanisms that generate variation in reproductive skew, with most evidence suggesting that subordinates breed when dominants are unable to prevent them from doing so. Here, we suggest that viviparity reduces the ability of dominant females to control subordinate reproduction and that, as a result, dominant female birds are more able than their mammal counterparts to prevent subordinates from breeding. Empirical data support this assertion. This perspective may increase our understanding of how cooperative groups form and are stabilized in nature.     

Life history consequences of social complexity a comparative study of ground-dwelling sciurids

We examined life-history consequences of increased social complexityin ground-dwelling schnid rodents. We derived a continuous metricof social complexity from demographic data. Social complexityincreased with the number of age-sex "roles" that interactedin a social group. Data were analyzed by computing phylogeneticaDyindependent contrasts and by using phylogenetic autocorrelationto estimate and then remove the marimiim amount of variationin life-history variables that could be attributed to phylogeneticsimilarity. Analyses that incorporated estimates of phytogenygenerated consistent results. As social complexity increased,a smaller proportion of adult females bred, there was a greatertime to first reproduction, litter size decreased, and therewas greater first-year offspring survival. Social complexityinfluenced neither gestation nor lactation time. Thus, socialcomplexity has costs in terms of a reduction in the annual per-capitanumber of offspring produced but benefits in terms of enhancedoffspring survival.     

The Sensorial Production of the Social

In China temple festivals are replete with noises, sights, smells, tastes, and ambient sensory productions. When worshipers converge on a particular temple festival, they produce and experience honghuo (social heat or red-hot sociality). This native concept of honghuo highlights the importance of the social production of a heightened sensory ambience as well as the sensorial production of sociality. In co-producing honghuo the festivalgoers are exhibiting a ‘resonant body-person’ that is in accord with the spirit of mutual responsiveness. I propose a sensory-production model of sensory analysis that foregrounds the active participatory role of social agents in producing a sensorially rich social world. This model extends from, yet also critiques the prevalent cultural phenomenological approach to investigating sensory orders in different cultures. A ‘mindful body’ or an ‘attentive body’ is only the pre-condition for any person's action-full lifeworld.     

Social behavior of a group of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) on an artificial island in Singapore Zoological Gardens

The behavior of 12 orangutans (three adult males, two adult females, two subadult males, three adolescent males, and two infant males) was observed on a 450-m² island at the Singapore Zoological Gardens (SZG). Male orangutans (6–18 years old) showed less social and solitary play as they aged; adults (over 16 years old) were not seen to play. As they grew older males increasingly spent less time making physical contact, but the amount of time they spent in proximity (within arm's length) to others increased. Adult females regularly played with other group members. Contact, allogrooming, and social play showed nonrandom relationships between individuals. Adult females showed the most allogrooming and contact, adolescent and subadult males the most play. There was no obvious dominance hierarchy. One adult male spent about 10% of his time walking around the perimeter of the island. One-year-old infants rarely interacted with other individuals apart from their own and the other infant's mother. While orangutans lead relatively solitary lives in nature, it was concluded that the opportunities for social contact and play provided by the SZG orangutan island were beneficial to this species in captivity. Opportunities for social interaction provided the animals with a means of increasing the stimulus component of their environment, thus compensating for the inevitable restriction of complexity and unpredictability as compared with the wild state.