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Related Experiment Video

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Induction and Evaluation of Inbreeding Crosses Using the Ant, Vollenhovia Emeryi

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Caste determination through mating in primitively eusocial societies.

Eric R Lucas¹, Jeremy Field

¹Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Biophore, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. eric.lucas@unil.ch

Journal of Theoretical Biology

|June 18, 2013

Summary

The mate limitation hypothesis (MLH) suggests mating status determines caste in social animals. Our model shows this can be evolutionarily stable, but only under specific conditions, particularly if early workers are more valuable.

Keywords:

ESS model Halictus Mate limitation Sex ratio

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Area of Science:

Behavioral Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Social Insects

Background:

Eusocial societies feature a worker caste that aids reproduction instead of reproducing directly.
Caste determination cues are known in some insects (nutritional) but less understood in others and vertebrates.
The mate limitation hypothesis (MLH) proposes mating status dictates caste: mated females become reproductives, unmated become workers.

Purpose of the Study:

To model a foundress's offspring sex-ratio strategy.
To investigate if an increasingly male-biased operational sex-ratio is evolutionarily stable under the MLH.

Main Methods:

Mathematical modeling of a foundress's offspring sex-ratio strategy.
Analysis of conditions for evolutionary stability of the MLH.

Main Results:

An increasing male-biased operational sex-ratio over time can be evolutionarily stable under the MLH.
This stability is more likely if early workers are more valuable than late workers.
Conditions favoring this include high male mortality, low worker mortality, high worker value, and short helping periods.

Conclusions:

The mate limitation hypothesis (MLH) can be evolutionarily stable, but requires restrictive conditions.
The value of early workers and environmental factors significantly influence the stability of the MLH.
Further manipulative experiments are needed to confirm if mating status directly determines caste in natural settings.