Reproductive conflicts in cooperative associations of fire ant queens (Solenopsis invicta)
@article{Bernasconi1996ReproductiveCI, title={Reproductive conflicts in cooperative associations of fire ant queens (Solenopsis invicta)}, author={Giorgina Bernasconi and Laurent Keller}, journal={Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences}, year={1996}, volume={263}, pages={509 - 513} }
In ants, unrelated queens frequently associate to initiate a colony cooperatively. The joint reproductive effort of the cofoundresses increases growth and survival of the incipient colony. However, such associations are unstable. Soon after emergence of the first workers, queen–queen and queen–worker fights lead to the death or expulsion of all but one cofoundress. Because no sexual offspring are produced in incipient colonies the surviving queen monopolizes the entire future reproductive…
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Phenotype and individual investment in cooperative foundress associations of the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta
- Environmental Science
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It is indicated that head width differences or correlated phenotypic attributes of fighting ability influenced both investment strategies and survival probability of queens, and that queens with larger heads invested less energy into brood rearing and were more likely to survive.
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The results indicate that pleometrosis increased and accelerated worker production via a nutritional boost to the larvae and are consistent with fecundity being central to the onset and outcome of Pleometrosis, a typical case of cooperation among unrelated animals.
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These findings indicate that, in S. invicta, social environment plays a major role in the determination of the patterns of gene expression, while the queen's physiological state is secondary, highlighting the powerful influence of social environment on regulation of the genomic state, physiology and ultimately, social behavior of animals.
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