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Published on: January 12, 2017
Social immunity can be a consequence and cause of social evolution
Ming Liu1,2, Thomas W Scott1, George Shillcock1
1Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, United Kingdom.
Summary
Social insects use "social immunity" to fight disease. This study reveals social immunity can arise in simple groups and drive the evolution of larger colonies with more specialized castes.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Social behavior
- Insect ecology
Background:
- Social insects exhibit collective disease defense, termed social immunity, analogous to multicellular organism immunity.
- Existing research lacks a theoretical framework to explain the evolutionary origins and consequences of social immunity.
- Understanding the conditions favoring social immunity and its interplay with social complexity is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a theoretical framework for social immunity evolution.
- To investigate the conditions required for the initial evolution of social immunity.
- To explore the coevolutionary links between social immunity and social complexity (e.g., colony size, castes).
Main Methods:
- Theoretical modeling approach.
- Examination of evolutionary scenarios linking social immunity and social evolution.
- Analysis of factors influencing the emergence and development of social immunity.
Main Results:
- Social immunity can be favored even in simple social systems with variable relatedness.
- Social immunity can coevolve with colony maturation age, promoting longer growth periods.
- Social immunity frequently drives the evolution of larger colony sizes, subsequently selecting for increased worker castes.
Conclusions:
- Social immunity is not restricted to highly complex societies and can emerge early in social evolution.
- Social immunity acts as a significant selective pressure influencing social complexity.
- Social immunity can be both a consequence and a driver of social evolution in insects.
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