Radio-Tagging Technology Reveals Extreme Nest-Drifting Behavior in a Eusocial Insect
0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine
Wasps
HYMENOPTERA
590
01 natural sciences
576
Nesting Behavior
03 medical and health sciences
DECISIONS
Animals
VESPIDAE
Selection, Genetic
Social Behavior
GROUP-SIZE
HONEYBEE WORKERS
CONSEQUENCES
Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
Radio
SOCIAL PARASITISM
POLISTES-EXCLAMANS
PAPER WASP
Female
COLONIES
SYSNEURO
DOI:
10.1016/j.cub.2006.11.064
Publication Date:
2007-01-23T07:58:18Z
AUTHORS (4)
ABSTRACT
Kin-selection theory underlies our basic understanding of social evolution [1, 2]. Nest drifting in eusocial insects (where workers move between nests) presents a challenge to this paradigm, since a worker should remain as a helper on her natal colony, rather than visit other colonies to which she is less closely related. Here we reveal nest drifting as a strategy by which workers may maximize their indirect fitness by helping on several related nests, preferring those where the marginal return from their help is greatest. By using a novel monitoring technique, radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging, we provide the first accurate estimate of drifting in a eusocial insect: 56% of females drifted in a natural population of the eusocial paper wasp Polistes canadensis, exceeding previous records of drifting in natural populations by more than 30-fold. We demonstrate that drifting cannot be explained through social parasitism, queen succession, mistakes in nest identity, or methodological bias. Instead, workers appear to gain indirect fitness benefits by helping on several related colonies in a viscous population structure. The potential importance of this strategy as a component of the kin-selected benefits for a social insect worker has previously been overlooked because of methodological difficulties in quantifying and studying drifting.
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CITATIONS (103)
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