Lack of kin discrimination in the eusocial aphid pseudoregmabambucicola (Homoptera: Aphididae) |
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Authors: | Harunobu Shibao |
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Institution: | (1) Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, 060-0810 Sapporo, Japan;(2) Present address: National Institute of Bioscience & Human-Technology, Agency of Industrial Science & Technology, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Higashi 1-1, Tsukuba, 305-8566 Ibaraki, Japan |
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Abstract: | The significance of kin discrimination for the evolution of sociality is theoretically important. The behavioural response
ofPseudoregma bambucicola soldiers to aphids from other colonies was studied to examine the possibility of context-specific kin discrimination. When
non-kin aphids were artificially introduced into experimental colonies, they were never killed or removed by soldiers. Field
experiments revealed that the soldiers frequently attacked distantly related species such asAstegopteryx bambucifoliae andCeratoglyphina styracicola, but rarely conspecific aphids or congeneric species such asP. koshunensis andP. alexanderi. Another experiment showed that the soldiers showed altruistic defence even when coexisting with non-kin reproductives. These
results agree with and extend the results from previous studies of kin discrimination in social aphids. The absence of kin
discrimination suggests that some other factors besides higher genetic relatedness may play a prominent role in the evolutionary
maintenance of soldier behaviour in aphids. |
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Keywords: | |
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