Nepotistic colony fission in dense colony aggregations of an Australian paper wasp
Abstract Social insects are highly diverse in their social structures, aside from the consistent presence of reproductive castes. Among social insects, the Australian paper wasp Ropalidia plebeiana constructs extremely dense colony aggregations consisting of hundreds of colonies within a few square...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17117-y |
| _version_ | 1811222122300702720 |
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| author | Koji Tsuchida Norio Ishiguro Fuki Saito-Morooka Jun-ichi Kojima Philip Spradbery |
| author_facet | Koji Tsuchida Norio Ishiguro Fuki Saito-Morooka Jun-ichi Kojima Philip Spradbery |
| author_sort | Koji Tsuchida |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Social insects are highly diverse in their social structures, aside from the consistent presence of reproductive castes. Among social insects, the Australian paper wasp Ropalidia plebeiana constructs extremely dense colony aggregations consisting of hundreds of colonies within a few square meters; however, little is known about the aggregation structures. We genetically analyzed the colony and population structure of R. plebeiana, and concomitant variations in colony sex ratios. In spring, the foundress (candidate queen) group started their colonies on a single old comb from the previous season, subsequently dividing these old combs via relatedness-based comb-cutting. Female philopatry, a prerequisite condition of Local Resource Competition (LRC), was confirmed. The colony sex ratio of reproductive individuals (male and female offspring for the next generation) became slightly male-biased in larger colonies, as predicted under LRC. However, the number of foundresses was positively associated with the number of reproductive individuals, suggesting that Local Resource Enhancement (LRE) also operates. Although the population structure appears to meet the prerequisites of LRC, the sex ratio appears to be modulated by factors other than LRC. Rather, through LRE, the availability of female helpers at the founding stage is likely to mitigate the sex ratios predicted under LRC. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T08:11:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8aaf54cee3f04eb3897cd802242aa52d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T08:11:19Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-8aaf54cee3f04eb3897cd802242aa52d2022-12-22T03:40:58ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-07-011211910.1038/s41598-022-17117-yNepotistic colony fission in dense colony aggregations of an Australian paper waspKoji Tsuchida0Norio Ishiguro1Fuki Saito-Morooka2Jun-ichi Kojima3Philip Spradbery4Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu UniversityLaboratory of Insect Ecology, Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu UniversityNatural History Laboratory, Faculty of Science, Ibaraki UniversityAustralian National Insect Collection, CSIROXCS Consulting Pty LtdAbstract Social insects are highly diverse in their social structures, aside from the consistent presence of reproductive castes. Among social insects, the Australian paper wasp Ropalidia plebeiana constructs extremely dense colony aggregations consisting of hundreds of colonies within a few square meters; however, little is known about the aggregation structures. We genetically analyzed the colony and population structure of R. plebeiana, and concomitant variations in colony sex ratios. In spring, the foundress (candidate queen) group started their colonies on a single old comb from the previous season, subsequently dividing these old combs via relatedness-based comb-cutting. Female philopatry, a prerequisite condition of Local Resource Competition (LRC), was confirmed. The colony sex ratio of reproductive individuals (male and female offspring for the next generation) became slightly male-biased in larger colonies, as predicted under LRC. However, the number of foundresses was positively associated with the number of reproductive individuals, suggesting that Local Resource Enhancement (LRE) also operates. Although the population structure appears to meet the prerequisites of LRC, the sex ratio appears to be modulated by factors other than LRC. Rather, through LRE, the availability of female helpers at the founding stage is likely to mitigate the sex ratios predicted under LRC.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17117-y |
| spellingShingle | Koji Tsuchida Norio Ishiguro Fuki Saito-Morooka Jun-ichi Kojima Philip Spradbery Nepotistic colony fission in dense colony aggregations of an Australian paper wasp Scientific Reports |
| title | Nepotistic colony fission in dense colony aggregations of an Australian paper wasp |
| title_full | Nepotistic colony fission in dense colony aggregations of an Australian paper wasp |
| title_fullStr | Nepotistic colony fission in dense colony aggregations of an Australian paper wasp |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nepotistic colony fission in dense colony aggregations of an Australian paper wasp |
| title_short | Nepotistic colony fission in dense colony aggregations of an Australian paper wasp |
| title_sort | nepotistic colony fission in dense colony aggregations of an australian paper wasp |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17117-y |
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