Genetic Constraints on Dishonesty and Caste Dimorphism in an Ant

dc.contributor.authorHolman, Luke
dc.contributor.authorLinksvayer, Timothy A.
dc.contributor.authord'Ettorre, Patrizia
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-10T23:18:21Z
dc.date.issued2013
dc.date.updated2016-02-24T12:03:58Z
dc.description.abstractThe ultimate causes of honest signaling remain a subject of debate, with questions remaining over the relative importance of costs and constraints. Signal costs may make dishonesty prohibitively expensive, while genetic constraints could make it impossible. We investigated honest signaling using full-sib analysis and parent-offspring regression in the ant Lasius niger, in which queens produce a cuticular hydrocarbon-based pheromone that signals fertility and inhibits worker reproduction and aggression.We found multiple lines of evidence that cuticular hydrocarbon production is genetically correlated with oogenesis and that the queen pheromone 3-methylhentriacontane and other 3-methylalkanes have strong genetic links with fertility relative to other cuticular hydrocarbons. These genetic correlations may maintain honesty in the face of directional selection on signaling and explain the putatively widespread use of cuticular hydrocarbons in fertility signaling across the social insects. We also found evidence for a positive genetic correlation for fertility between the castes; that is, the most fertile queens produced especially fertile workers. These results highlight that intercaste genetic correlations could constrain the evolution of queen-worker dimorphism, such that worker reproduction may sometimes reflect a nonadaptive "caste load" rather than positively selected cheating.
dc.identifier.issn0003-0147
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/65583
dc.publisherUniversity of Chicago Press
dc.sourceThe American Naturalist
dc.subjectKeywords: hydrocarbon; sex pheromone; aggression; alkane; ant; caste; cheating behavior; cuticle; dimorphism; fertility; genetic analysis; handicap principle; honest signaling; hydrocarbon; pheromone; red queen hypothesis; signaling; animal; animal behavior; animal Cuticular hydrocarbons; Fertility signal; Handicap; Index; Lasius niger; Queen pheromone
dc.titleGenetic Constraints on Dishonesty and Caste Dimorphism in an Ant
dc.typeJournal article
local.bibliographicCitation.issue2
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage170
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage161
local.contributor.affiliationHolman, Luke, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationLinksvayer, Timothy A., University of Copenhagen
local.contributor.affiliationd'Ettorre, Patrizia, University of Copenhagen
local.contributor.authoremailu5091741@anu.edu.au
local.contributor.authoruidHolman, Luke, u5091741
local.description.embargo2037-12-31
local.description.notesImported from ARIES
local.identifier.absfor060412 - Quantitative Genetics (incl. Disease and Trait Mapping Genetics)
local.identifier.absseo970106 - Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
local.identifier.ariespublicationu9511635xPUB1127
local.identifier.citationvolume181
local.identifier.doi10.1086/668828
local.identifier.scopusID2-s2.0-84873051395
local.identifier.thomsonID000314091200004
local.identifier.uidSubmittedByu9511635
local.type.statusPublished Version

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