First Evidence of Inclusive Sexual Selection in the Ant Cataglyphis cursor: Worker Aggressions Differentially Affect Male Access to Virgin Queens
Sexual selection typically shapes the traits of individuals capable of reproduction. However, in social species, it may also affect the behaviour of non‐reproductive individuals if this increases their inclusive fitness. We examined the potential role of workers during mating in the polyandrous ant...
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Published in | Ethology Vol. 121; no. 7; pp. 641 - 650 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Hamburg
P. Parey
01.07.2015
Blackwell Publishing Ltd Wiley |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Sexual selection typically shapes the traits of individuals capable of reproduction. However, in social species, it may also affect the behaviour of non‐reproductive individuals if this increases their inclusive fitness. We examined the potential role of workers during mating in the polyandrous ant Cataglyphis cursor. In this species, mating takes place on the ground near the nest entrance, and workers chase away foreign males trying to mate with young queens (gynes). We investigated the effects of worker aggression on male mating attempts by placing three or four males in the presence of one foreign gyne and 20 of her nestmate workers and contrasted this with a second group of 3–4 males in the presence of another gyne without nestmate workers (n = 8 paired replicates). Workers strongly attacked males (more than 20 aggressions per minute), although this did not affect the total number of mating attempts by the 3–4 males or the skew in the number of mating attempts among these males. However, there was an interaction between worker aggression and relative male weight, as relatively heavy males attempted to mate more often than lighter males in the absence of worker whereas the reverse occurred in the presence of workers. Our study is the first to experimentally test the potential role of non‐reproductive individuals in sexual selection. It shows that workers could potentially change male mating success by disfavouring heavier males. |
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Bibliography: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/eth.12376 ArticleID:ETH12376 istex:FB5013B3D1099868017EDF77B30B8B70920D14A6 ark:/67375/WNG-WXM9H4K5-2 |
ISSN: | 0179-1613 1439-0310 |
DOI: | 10.1111/eth.12376 |