Aging and social homeostasis in social insects [Elektronische Ressource] / vorgelegt von Bartosz J. Walter

Ls Heinze

Informations

• Publié par: universitat_regensburg
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 24
• Langue: Deutsch

Extrait

Aging and Social Homeostasis in Social Insects





Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Naturwissenschaften
(Dr. rer. nat.) der Fakultät III der Universität Regensburg

vorgelegt von

Bartosz J. Walter aus Pozna ń

Juli 2009









Erklärung
Hiermit erkläre ich ehrenwörtlich, dass die vorliegende Dissertation von mir selbständig
und nur unter der Verwendung der angegebenen Quellen und Hilfsmittel angefertigt
wurde. Diese Dissertation wurde weder in gleicher, noch in ähnlicher Form in einer
Prüfungsbehörde bereits vorgelegt noch veröffentlicht.

Regensburg, 22.07.2009





















Promotionsgesuch eingereicht am 22.07.2009

Die Arbeit wurde angeleitet von Prof. Dr. Jürgen Heinze

Mitglieder der Promotionskomission:
Vorsitzender: Prof. Dr. Stephan Schneuwly
1. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Jürgen Heinze
2. rof. Dr. Erhard Strohm
3. Prüfer: Prof. Dr. Christoph Oberprieler
2Table of Contents

Chapter I: General Introduction .................................................................................. 5

Chapter II: Insemination and longevity in honey bee (Apis mellifera) queens....... 22
Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 23
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 24
Material and Methods..................................................................................................... 26
Results ............................................................................................................................ 28
Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 28
Figures.... 30
References. 31
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ 32

Chapter III: Social insects die lonely – ants altruistically protect their nestmates
from infections .............................................................................................................. 33
Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 34
Introduction. 35
Results and Discussion................................................................................................... 36
Supporting online material............................................................................................. 38
Figures............................................................................................................................ 42
References ...................................................................................................................... 44
Acknowledgements 44

Chapter IV: Policing effectiveness depends on relatedness and group size............ 45
Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 46
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 47
Material and Methods..................................................................................................... 49
Results.... 53
Discussion. 56
Figures............................................................................................................................ 59
References ...................................................................................................................... 65
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ 66

Chapter V: The potential fecundity hypothesis: reduction of potential fecundity
leads to precocious foraging ........................................................................................ 67
Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 68
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 69
Material and Methods..................................................................................................... 74
Results ............................................................................................................................ 78
Discussion. 80
Figures.... 84
References ...................................................................................................................... 91
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ 95

Chapter VI: Summary................................................................................................. 96

Photo Gallery................................................................................................................ 97

Acknowledgements....................................................................................................... 98
3Publications

This thesis is based on the following manuscripts:

Walter, B., Rueppell, O., Leonard, A., Heinze, J. Insemination and longevity in honey
bee (Apis mellifera) queens.

Heinze, J., Walter, B. Social insects die lonely – ants altruistically protect their
nestmates from infections.

Walter, B., Brunner, E., Heinze, J. Policing effectiveness depends on relatedness and
group size.

Walter, B., Heinze, J. The potential fecundity hypothesis: reduction of potential
fecundity leads to precocious foraging.















4Chapter I
General Introduction

Evolution of eusociality – theories and concepts
Two major questions of evolutionary biology are how eusociality evolved and how it is
maintained (Wilson 1971, Maynard Smith and Szathmáry 1995). Eusociality is defined
as a system where individuals display three fundamental traits: cooperative brood
rearing, reproductive division of labour (i.e. occurrence of reproductives and non-
reproducing workers) and overlapping of at least two generations in a colony (Wilson
1971). All ants and termites, some bees and wasps (Wilson 1971), an ambrosia beetle
(Kent and Simpson 1992), fifty aphids (Aoki 1987, Benton and Foster 1992), seven
thrips (Crespi 1992), six snapping shrimps (Duffy 1996) and two mole rat species
(Sherman et al. 1991, Jarvis et al. 1994) fall within the definition of eusociality
(reviewed in Korb and Heinze 2008).
The existence of non-reproducing individuals was puzzling evolutionary biologists from
Darwin on (Darwin 1859). Because natural selection favours individuals that have the
greatest personal reproductive success it was unclear why some individuals forego
reproduction but help others to reproduce. It may be, as Darwin suggested, that “with
social insects selection has been applied to the family and not to an individual” (Darwin
1859). Two major factors driving natural selection are competition and cooperation, but
the importance of the latter was overseen for decades. The natural selection theory of
Darwin was considered to be a pitiless struggle for life (Huxley 1887). Therefore, when
Kropotkin presented his Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution (1902) he brought back
attention to the role of cooperation in evolution (for more details see Gardner and Foster
2008).
Modern concepts concerning eusocial evolution include life history hypotheses as well
as genetic theories (Fletcher and Ross 1985). As to life history hypotheses there are
three major ones, namely: subsocial hypothesis, semisocial hypothesis and familial
hypothesis. According to the subsocial hypothesis (Wheeler 1923) eusocial insects
evolved from species with parental brood-care by increasing cooperation between a
mother and her offspring which was possible due to the increasing life span of a mother.
5The semisocial hypothesis (Mitchener 1958) implies that high sociality evolved from
cooperative breeding with reproductive division of labour among non-related
individuals sharing the same nest side. Originally the hypothesis was created for
semisocial bees as an alternative to eusocial evolution. The reproductive division of
labour between non-related individuals lasting for a single generation serves as an
example that a system where individuals are not related can not evolve into eusociality
(Mitchener 1958, Wilson1971, Fletcher and Ross 1985). However a recent hypothesis
(Wilson and Hölldobler 2005) proposes that eusocial species have evolved from the
assemblages of unrelated individuals, likewise explained by the semisocial hypothesis.
Similarly, the skew selection model theory (Cassill 2003) assumes that eusocial systems
originated from unrelated groups, mainly because