Temporal polyethism in incipient colonies of the primitive termiteZootermopsis angusticollis: A single multiage caste |
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Authors: | Rebeca B. Rosengaus James F. A. Traniello |
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Affiliation: | (1) Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Street, 02215 Boston, Massachusetts |
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Abstract: | Division of labor was studied in incipient colonies of the dampwood termite Zootermopsis angusticollisby recording repertoire size, behavior frequencies, and time budgets of larvae. Behavioral repertoire size increased with age: first- and secondinstar larvae were mainly inactive, whereas larvae of the third through seventh instars performed 64–100% of all tasks. The increase in repertoire size from the second to the third instar was abrupt; repertoire size and composition remained more or less constant for older instars. No correlation between age (instars III–VII) and tasks was identified, suggesting that colony labor is performed by a single functional caste that spans the third to the seventh instar without any age-based division of labor. Small colony size, low oviposition rate, simple nest architecture, a lack of spatial association of tasks, and the potential for attaining reproductive status appear to be associated with the lack of age-related behavioral specialization in Z. angusticollis.In effect, the absence of temporal polyethism in this species is likely a consequence of its nesting habits and physiological and developmental constraints. |
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Keywords: | social behavior polyethism termite caste evolution |
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