Queen signaling in social wasps.
Jelle S van Zweden1, Wim Bonckaert, Tom Wenseleers
1Centre for Social Evolution, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken, 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, KU Leuven, Naamsestraat 59, box 2466, 3000, Leuven, Belgium. jelle.vanzweden@bio.kuleuven.be.
Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|November 14, 2013
Summary
In social wasps, queens honestly signal their fertility through chemical cues, allowing workers to adjust reproduction based on colony needs. This honest signaling, not queen control, explains the division of labor in these insects.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Behavioral ecology
- Insect sociality
Background:
- Social Hymenoptera exhibit reproductive division of labor, with queens reproducing and workers aiding offspring care.
- A key debate exists on whether queens enforce sterility (queen control) or honestly signal fertility (queen signaling).
Purpose of the Study:
- To test queen control versus queen signaling hypotheses in Vespine wasps.
- To investigate the role of chemical cues in regulating reproductive division of labor.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of chemical cues emitted by queens of Dolichovespula saxonica.
- Correlation of queen signal levels with colony development and worker reproduction.
- Comparison of pheromone conservation across Vespine species.
- Examination of worker reproduction in relation to colony kin structures.
Main Results:
- Queens emit reliable chemical cues signaling their fertility, which decrease as colonies mature and worker reproduction rises.
- These queen signals are conserved across different Vespine species, suggesting against rapid co-evolutionary arms races.
- Worker reproduction levels align with colony kin structures, supporting the queen signaling hypothesis.
Conclusions:
- Honest chemical signaling by queens explains reproductive division of labor in social wasps.
- The findings challenge the queen control hypothesis, favoring queen signaling as the primary mechanism.
- Pheromone conservation indicates stable signaling strategies in Vespine wasps.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Mate Choice
8.3K
Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
8.3K
01:28Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing
960
Quorum sensing is a mechanism of bacterial communication that enables coordinated gene expression in response to changes in population density. This facilitates collective behaviors that enhance survival, resource acquisition, and ecological adaptation. This process relies on small signaling molecules called autoinducers that accumulate as bacterial populations grow. When a critical threshold concentration of autoinducers is reached, bacterial cells collectively modify gene expression,...
960
02:40Pollination and Flower Structure
63.9K
Flowers are the reproductive, seed-producing structures of angiosperms. Typically, flowers consist of sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. Sepals and petals are the vegetative flower organs. Stamens and carpels are the reproductive organs.
63.9K
01:28Yeast Signaling
15.7K
Yeasts are single-celled organisms, but unlike bacteria, they are eukaryotes (cells with a nucleus). Cell signaling in yeast is similar to signaling in other eukaryotic cells. A ligand, such as a protein or a small molecule released from a yeast cell, attaches to a receptor on the cell surface. The binding stimulates second-messenger kinases to activate or inactivate transcription factors that further regulate gene expression. Many of the yeast intracellular signaling cascades have similar...
15.7K
01:03Altruism
30.0K
Altruistic behaviors are “unselfish” behaviors—those that help another individual at the expense of the individual carrying out the behavior. Despite the negative consequences for the altruistic animal, these behaviors are thought to have evolved for several reasons.
30.0K
00:57Inclusive Fitness
23.7K
Most altruistic behavior—in which one animal helps another at a cost to themselves—occurs between relatives. Scientists think these altruistic behaviors evolved because they increase the inclusive fitness of the animal providing help.
23.7K