Two experimental tests of the relationship between group stability and aggressive conflict in Polistes wasps

Die Naturwissenschaften
Elizabeth A Tibbetts, H Kern Reeve

Abstract

Two field experiments were used to examine how the relative benefits of cooperation influence within-group conflict in foundress associations of the paper wasp Polistes dominulus. P. dominulus foundresses can either nest alone or cooperate with other foundresses. We experimentally manipulated the relative benefits of co-foundress associations vs independent reproduction and tested the effect on aggressive within-group conflict. First, we examined aggression between alpha and beta co-foundresses before and after lower-ranking foundresses were removed. Removal of subordinates increases the relative contributions of the remaining subordinates to group reproductive output as there are fewer adults to care for the brood. Transactional models predict that group conflict over reproductive shares will increase as the relative benefits of grouping increase. As predicted, aggression between the co-foundresses significantly increased following subordinate removal. Second, we experimentally reduced ecological constraints on independent nesting by placing a previously orphaned, adoptable nest comb near the occupied nests. Providing an independent breeding opportunity is predicted to increase the benefits of independent reproduction relative...Continue Reading

References

Jan 19, 1995·Nature·T H Clutton-Brock, G A Parker
Feb 12, 2000·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·H K ReeveP Nonacs
Mar 16, 2000·The American Naturalist·H K Reeve
Mar 16, 2000·The American Naturalist·M A Cant, R A Johnstone
Jun 24, 2000·Nature·D C QuellerJ E Strassmann
Dec 9, 2000·Annual Review of Entomology·H K Reeve, L Keller
May 18, 2004·Die Naturwissenschaften·A Sumana, Philip T Starks
Jul 17, 2004·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Peter NonacsPhilip T Starks
Dec 8, 2005·Annual Review of Entomology·Francis L W RatnieksTom Wenseleers
May 24, 2006·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Hudson Kern Reeve, Sheng-Feng Shen

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Citations

Jun 16, 2010·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Peter Nonacs, Reinmar Hager
Jan 10, 2014·Human Nature : an Interdisciplinary Biosocial Perspective·Laura Betzig
Jun 11, 2010·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Elizabeth A Tibbetts, Maral Banan
Jan 31, 2019·Current Zoology·Jennifer K Hellmann, Ian M Hamilton

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