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Social environment: Trait, context and agent for selection in a meta-population
1Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada.
The Journal of Animal Ecology
|January 11, 2021
Summary
Social network traits in beetles face variable selection, unlike their weaponry, which shows consistent directional selection. This highlights how social behaviors evolve differently across populations.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Behavioral Ecology
- Population Genetics
Background:
- Social network traits display consistent individual differences.
- These traits can influence fitness, but selection pressures remain unclear.
- Understanding selection on social traits at different scales is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether sexual selection on social network traits versus morphological traits differs in scale.
- To contrast selection pressures (hard vs. soft) on social versus morphological traits.
- To explore the evolution of social traits in a meta-population.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a meta-population of forked fungus beetles.
- Analyzed selection on social network traits and morphological traits.
- Contrasted local (soft) versus global (hard) selection scales.
Main Results:
- Morphological traits are under strong, hard directional positive selection.
- Social traits experience soft and variable selection.
- Selection intensity on social traits varies across the meta-population.
Conclusions:
- Social traits are subject to more dynamic selection pressures than morphological traits.
- Variable selection on social traits may drive their evolution in meta-populations.
- Findings contribute to understanding multi-level selection and social trait evolution.
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