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Size and shape in the evolution of ant worker morphology.
1Laboratório de Dinâmica Evolutiva e Sistemas Complexos, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná , Curitiba , Brazil.
Peerj
|November 21, 2013
Summary
Ant worker evolution shows size changes much faster than shape changes. These distinct evolutionary rates, size and shape, reveal complex patterns in ant morphology over time.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Zoology
- Morphometrics
Background:
- Ant worker morphology is traditionally linked to colony efficiency.
- Macroevolutionary studies on ant worker size and shape evolution are limited.
- Understanding worker morphology evolution is key to ant social evolution.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the tempo and mode of ant worker size and shape evolution.
- Analyze evolutionary rates and patterns across diverse ant lineages.
- Examine phylogenetic signal and rate heterogeneity in morphological evolution.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a large dataset of 1650 measurements from various ant genera, including the genus Pheidole.
- Applied comparative phylogenetic methods to analyze evolutionary rates of size and shape.
- Tested alternative models of morphological evolution and identified rate shifts.
Main Results:
- The rate of ant worker size evolution was at least five times faster than shape evolution.
- Significant phylogenetic signal was detected for both size and shape across datasets.
- Identified multiple shifts in evolutionary rates for size and shape, though not always concordant in timing.
Conclusions:
- Ant worker size evolves more rapidly than shape, suggesting different selective pressures.
- Phylogenetic analyses confirm significant evolutionary history influences on ant morphology.
- Disconcordant shifts in size and shape evolution highlight complex macroevolutionary dynamics in ants.
