PMID: 16526510Mar 11, 2006Paper

Sex-ratio conflict between queens and workers in eusocial Hymenoptera: mechanisms, costs, and the evolution of split colony sex ratios

Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
Ken R HelmsL Keller

Abstract

Because workers in the eusocial Hymenoptera are more closely related to sisters than to brothers, theory predicts that natural selection should act on them to bias (change) sex allocation to favor reproductive females over males. However, selection should also act on queens to prevent worker bias. We use a simulation approach to analyze the coevolution of this conflict in colonies with single, once-mated queens. We assume that queens bias the primary (egg) sex ratio and workers bias the secondary (adult) sex ratio, both at some cost to colony productivity. Workers can bias either by eliminating males or by directly increasing female caste determination. Although variation among colonies in kin structure is absent, simulations often result in bimodal (split) colony sex ratios. This occurs because of the evolution of two alternative queen or two alternative worker biasing strategies, one that biases strongly and another that does not bias at all. Alternative strategies evolve because the mechanisms of biasing result in accelerating benefits per unit cost with increasing bias, resulting in greater fitness for strategies that bias more and bias less than the population equilibrium. Strategies biasing more gain from increased biasin...Continue Reading

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Aug 19, 2008·The American Naturalist·M Reuter, L Keller

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Citations

Mar 28, 2009·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Diane C Wiernasz, Blaine J Cole
Oct 12, 2010·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Emilie MackeIsabelle Olivieri
Oct 7, 2009·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Laurent Keller
Feb 1, 2007·Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution·Timothy A Linksvayer
Aug 5, 2015·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·A F G Bourke
Aug 26, 2009·Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution·Gabriel D G DeboutDouglas W Yu

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