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Complex social behaviour derived from maternal reproductive traits

Author

Listed:
  • Gro V. Amdam

    (Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences
    University of Life Sciences)

  • Angela Csondes

    (University of California)

  • M. Kim Fondrk

    (Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences)

  • Robert E. Page

    (Arizona State University, School of Life Sciences)

Abstract

Working together On the cover, a solitary bee forages for pollen as a protein-source for her brood alongside a sterile ‘eusocial’ worker honey bee. The social biology of these two females is different, but the evolutionary origin of their behaviour is identical. A eusocial lifestyle involves sterile workers that care for younger siblings. One explanation of how this behaviour arose invokes selection on maternal reproductive traits, and experiments in the honey bee confirm this as a possibility. Intriguingly, differences in worker bee behaviour can be explained by variation in reproductive characteristics. Strains selected to prefer pollen-foraging over nectar-foraging have workers with high, typically unexpressed, reproductive potential. Unselected bees with a high reproductive potential also prefer to collect pollen. This means that maternal traits can act as an evolutionary bridgehead between the solitary estate and worker-containing insect societies.

Suggested Citation

  • Gro V. Amdam & Angela Csondes & M. Kim Fondrk & Robert E. Page, 2006. "Complex social behaviour derived from maternal reproductive traits," Nature, Nature, vol. 439(7072), pages 76-78, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:439:y:2006:i:7072:d:10.1038_nature04340
    DOI: 10.1038/nature04340
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    Cited by:

    1. James R. Carey, 2008. "Biodemography: Research prospects and directions," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(50), pages 1749-1758.
    2. Chao Tong & Leticia Avilés & Linda S. Rayor & Alexander S. Mikheyev & Timothy A. Linksvayer, 2022. "Genomic signatures of recent convergent transitions to social life in spiders," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Karolina Kuszewska & Michal Woyciechowski, 2015. "Age at Which Larvae Are Orphaned Determines Their Development into Typical or Rebel Workers in the Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(4), pages 1-12, April.
    4. Jan J. Kreider & Thijs Janzen & Abel Bernadou & Daniel Elsner & Boris H. Kramer & Franz J. Weissing, 2022. "Resource sharing is sufficient for the emergence of division of labour," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.

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