scholarly journals Large body size variation is associated with low communication success in tandem running ants

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Wagner ◽  
Lena Bachenberg ◽  
Simone M. Glaser ◽  
Avgousta Oikonomou ◽  
Melissa Linn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Walking Speed ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Recruitment Strategy ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Tandem Running ◽  
Phenotypic Differences ◽  
Communication Processes ◽  
Temnothorax Nylanderi

Abstract Diversity in animal groups is often assumed to increase group performance. In insect colonies, genetic, behavioural and morphological variation among workers can improve colony functioning and resilience. However, it has been hypothesized that during communication processes, differences between workers, e.g. in body size, could also have negative effects. Tandem running is a common recruitment strategy in ants and allows a leader to guide a nestmate follower to resources. A substantial proportion of tandem runs fail because leader and follower lose contact. Using the ant Temnothorax nylanderi as a model system, we tested the hypothesis that tandem running success is impaired if leader and follower differ in size. Indeed, we found that the success rate of tandem pairs drops considerably as size variation increases: tandem runs were unsuccessful when the leader–follower size difference exceeded 10%, whereas ~ 80% of tandem runs were successful when ants differed less than 5% in body length. Possible explanations are that size differences are linked to differences in walking speed or sensory perception. Ants did not choose partners of similar size, but extranidal workers were larger than intranidal workers, which could reduce recruitment mistakes because it reduced the chance that very large and very small ants perform tandem runs together. Our results suggest that phenotypic differences between interacting workers can have negative effects on the efficiency of communication processes. Whether phenotypic variation has positive or negative effects is likely to depend on the task and the phenotypic trait that shows variation. Significance statement Diversity is often assumed to increase colony performance in social insects. However, phenotypic differences among workers could also have negative effects, e.g. during communication. Tandem running is a common recruitment strategy in ants, but tandem runs often fail when ants lose contact. We used the ant Temnothorax nylanderi to test the hypothesis that body size differences between tandem leader and follower impair tandem communication. We show that the success rate of tandem pairs drops considerably as size variation increases, possibly because ants of varying size also differ in walking speed. Our study supports the hypothesis that phenotypic variation among workers might not always be beneficial and can negatively impact the efficiency of communication processes.

scholarly journals Large body size variation is linked to low communication success in tandem running ants

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wagner Thomas ◽  
Bachenberg Lena ◽  
Glaser Simone ◽  
Oikonomou Avgousta ◽  
Linn Melissa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Group Performance ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Recruitment Strategy ◽  
Size Difference ◽  
Phenotypic Trait ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Tandem Running ◽  
Communication Processes

AbstractDiversity in animal groups is often assumed to increase group performance. In insect colonies, genetic, behavioral and morphological variation among workers can improve colony functioning and resilience. However, it has been hypothesized that during communication processes, differences between workers, e.g. in body size, could also have negative effects. Tandem running is a common recruitment strategy in ants and allows a leader to guide a nestmate follower to resources. A substantial proportion of tandem runs fail because leader and follower loose contact. Using the ant Temnothorax nylanderi as a model system, we tested the hypothesis that tandem running success is impaired if leader and follower differ in size. Indeed, we found that the success rate of tandem pairs drops considerably as size variation increases: only ~7% of tandem runs were successful when the leader-follower size difference exceeded 10%, whereas 80% of tandem runs were successful when ants differed less than 5% in body length. One possible explanation is that ant size is linked to the preferred walking speed. Ants did not choose partners of similar size, but extranidal workers were larger than intranidal workers, which could reduce recruitment mistakes because it reduced the chance that very large and very small ants perform tandem runs together. Our results suggest that phenotypic differences between interacting workers can have negative effects on the efficiency of communication processes. Whether phenotypic variation has positive or negative effects is likely to depend on the task and the phenotypic trait that shows variation.

scholarly journals Analysing phenotypic variation in barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) across China to assess subspecies status

2020 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Liu ◽  
Elizabeth S C Scordato ◽  
Zhengwang Zhang ◽  
Matthew Evans ◽  
Rebecca J Safran
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Hirundo Rustica ◽  
Barn Swallow ◽  
Phenotypic Differentiation ◽  
Phenotypic Differences ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Barn Swallows

Abstract Phenotypic variation is often used to delineate species and subspecies boundaries. Statistical analysis of phenotypic variation within a species is helpful both for understanding biodiversity and for its conservation. At least three named subspecies of barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) have distributions that span China, yet, to date, no systematic study of phenotypic differentiation has been applied to understand the delineation of these subspecies. In this study, we collected 510 samples of barn swallow from 23 populations in China, including two recognized subspecies, H. r. rustica and H. r. gutturalis, and one potential subspecies, H. r. mandschurica. With these samples, we examined and found morphometric and colour differences among different populations. Western Chinese barn swallows (H. r. rustica) have larger body size and could be clearly differentiated from eastern H. r. gutturalis and H. r. mandschurica, while north-eastern populations (named H. r. mandschurica) have darker, redder ventral plumage than H. r. rustica and H. r. gutturalis. However, we inferred that although there were phenotypic differences between H. r. mandschurica and H. r. gutturalis, they were not sufficiently distinct to assign them to separate subspecies based on the 75% rule for defining subspecies.

scholarly journals Heritability and selection on body size in a natural population of Drosophila buzzatii.

Genetics ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 141 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-189
Author(s):  
A Leibowitz ◽  
M Santos ◽  
A Fontdevila
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Random Sample ◽  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Development Time ◽  
Wing Length ◽  
Genetic Differences ◽  
Phenotypic Differences ◽  
Drosophila Buzzatii ◽  
Average Development

Abstract An attempt was made to assess whether the phenotypic differences in body size (as measured by wing length) between wild-caught mating and single Drosophila buzzatii males could be attributed to genetic differences between the samples. Mating males were found to be larger and less variable than a random sample of the population. The progeny of the mating males (produced by crossing to a random female from a stock derived from the same population) were on average larger than those of the single males, but not significantly so (P = 0.063), and less phenotypically variable. This difference in variance between the samples suggests that there are indeed genetic differences between the paternal samples but tests for significant differences in the additive genetic component of variance proved inconclusive. For both samples it was found that while the ratio of additive genetic variation in the laboratory to phenotypic variation in the field yielded estimates of ĥs2(N) congruent to 10% the regression of offspring reared in the laboratory on parents from the wild was not significantly different from zero. In addition, it was found that the average development time of the progeny of the mating males is shorter than that of the random sample.

scholarly journals Independent evolution towards larger body size in the distinctive Faroe Island mice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Wilches ◽  
William H Beluch ◽  
Ellen McConnell ◽  
Diethard Tautz ◽  
Yingguang Frank Chan
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Laboratory Mouse ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Island Population ◽  
Multiple Loci

Abstract Most phenotypic traits in nature involve the collective action of many genes. Traits that evolve repeatedly are particularly useful for understanding how selection may act on changing trait values. In mice, large body size has evolved repeatedly on islands and under artificial selection in the laboratory. Identifying the loci and genes involved in this process may shed light on the evolution of complex, polygenic traits. Here, we have mapped the genetic basis of body size variation by making a genetic cross between mice from the Faroe Islands, which are among the largest and most distinctive natural populations of mice in the world, and a laboratory mouse strain selected for small body size, SM/J. Using this F2 intercross of 841 animals, we have identified 111 loci controlling various aspects of body size, weight and growth hormone levels. By comparing against other studies, including the use of a joint meta-analysis, we found that the loci involved in the evolution of large size in the Faroese mice were largely independent from those of a different island population or other laboratory strains. We hypothesize that colonization bottleneck, historical hybridization, or the redundancy between multiple loci have resulted in the Faroese mice achieving an outwardly similar phenotype through a distinct evolutionary path.

scholarly journals Mammalian body size is determined by interactions between climate, urbanization, and ecological traits

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maggie M. Hantak ◽  
Bryan S. McLean ◽  
Daijiang Li ◽  
Robert P. Guralnick
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Species Traits ◽  
Body Size Variation ◽  
Resource Availability Hypothesis ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
Thermal Buffering

AbstractAnthropogenically-driven climate warming is a hypothesized driver of animal body size reductions. Less understood are effects of other human-caused disturbances on body size, such as urbanization. We compiled 140,499 body size records of over 100 North American mammals to test how climate and human population density, a proxy for urbanization, and their interactions with species traits, impact body size. We tested three hypotheses of body size variation across urbanization gradients: urban heat island effects, habitat fragmentation, and resource availability. Our results demonstrate that both urbanization and temperature influence mammalian body size variation, most often leading to larger individuals, thus supporting the resource availability hypothesis. In addition, life history and other ecological factors play a critical role in mediating the effects of climate and urbanization on body size. Larger mammals and species that utilize thermal buffering are more sensitive to warmer temperatures, while flexibility in activity time appears to be advantageous in urbanized areas. This work highlights the value of using digitized, natural history data to track how human disturbance drives morphological variation.

scholarly journals Intraspecific Variation in Maximum Ingested Food Size and Body Mass in Varecia rubra and Propithecus coquereli

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Hartstone-Rose ◽  
Jonathan M. G. Perry
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Maximum Size ◽  
Least Squares Regression ◽  
Scaling Relationship ◽  
Varecia Rubra ◽  
Food Size ◽  
The Relationship

In a recent study, we quantified the scaling of ingested food size (Vb )—the maximum size at which an animal consistently ingests food whole—and found that Vb scaled isometrically between species of captive strepsirrhines. The current study examines the relationship between Vb and body size within species with a focus on the frugivorous Varecia rubra and the folivorous Propithecus coquereli. We found no overlap in Vb between the species (all V. rubra ingested larger pieces of food relative to those eaten by P. coquereli), and least-squares regression of Vb and three different measures of body mass showed no scaling relationship within each species. We believe that this lack of relationship results from the relatively narrow intraspecific body size variation and seemingly patternless individual variation in Vb within species and take this study as further evidence that general scaling questions are best examined interspecifically rather than intraspecifically.

scholarly journals The role of local versus biogeographical processes in influencing diversity and body‐size variation in mammal assemblages

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 1447-1456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Carlos S. Lopez ◽  
Marcos S. L. Figueiredo ◽  
Maria Paula de Aguiar Fracasso ◽  
Daniel Oliveira Mesquita ◽  
Ulisses Umbelino Anjos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Body Size Variation ◽  
Mammal Assemblages

scholarly journals A study of phenotypic variation ofStaphylococcus epidermidisusing Congo red agar

1992 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Deighton ◽  
J. Capstick ◽  
R. Borland
Keyword(s):  
Restriction Endonuclease ◽  
Plasmid Dna ◽  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Staphylococcus Epidermidis ◽  
Congo Red ◽  
Prosthetic Valve ◽  
Common Property ◽  
Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis ◽  
Phenotypic Differences ◽  
Colonial Morphology

SUMMARYThis study examines a series of phenotypic variants ofStaphylococcus epidermidisthat were generated from a pair of parent variants, isolated from valvular tissue of a patient with prosthetic valve endocarditis. The variants were initially classified by examining their colonial morphology on Congo red agar. In addition to differences in Congo red binding and colonial morphology, they differed in the expression of several surface components and enzymes. Despite these phenotypic differences, all variants had the same restriction endonuclease profile of plasmid DNA. Examination of a collection of clinical isolates demonstrated that phenotypic variation is a common property ofS. epidermidis. The ability to express different combinations of surface components and enzymes could contribute to the virulence ofS. epidermidisstrains by enabling these organisms to colonize a range of diverse environments.

scholarly journals Positive selection of skeleton genes during domestication indicates the potential genetic mechanism for loss of flight in ducks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Zhu ◽  
Xin Qi ◽  
Yu Chen ◽  
Liang Wang ◽  
Xueze Lv ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Bone Development ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Genomic Data ◽  
Domestic Animals ◽  
Genetic Mechanism ◽  
Bone Morphology ◽  
Domestic Ducks ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract Background Domestication alters lots of phenotypic, neurologic and physiologic traits between domestic animals and their wild ancestors. Domestic ducks were originated from mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and some documents also showed that spot-billed ducks (Anas zonorhyncha) could also genetically contribute a small part to the domestication. Compared with the two ancestral species, domestic ducks generally present changes in body size and bone morphology, which is supposed to lead to loss of fight in domestic ducks. In the present study, we performed both genomic and transcriptomic analysis to identify candidate genes in order to elucidate the genetic mechanism underlying the phenotypic variation. Results Our results showed that genes associated with the skeleton systems were positively selected during domestication by Fst analysis between the wild and domestic ducks. We also found that many differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the breast muscle between the wild and domestic ducks were enriched in the pathway for ossification. Among the genes, FGF14 and EIF2AK3 were also under strong selection by the genomic data, and they were both reported to be associated with limb morphology, bone development and flightlessness in some bird species. Conclusions Our study showed that the skeleton related genes were positively selected in the process of domestication, which could also cause the loss of flight in domestic ducks.

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