scholarly journals Life-history evolution in ants: the case of Cardiocondyla

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1850) ◽  
pp. 20161406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen Heinze
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Terrestrial Habitats ◽  
Genomic Studies ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Evolution ◽  
Nesting Habits

Ants are important components of most terrestrial habitats, and a better knowledge of the diversity of their life histories is essential to understand many aspects of ecosystem functioning. The myrmicine genus Cardiocondyla shows a wide range of colony structures, reproductive behaviours, queen and male lifespans, and habitat use. Reconstructing the evolutionary pathways of individual and social phenotypic traits suggests that the ancestral life history of Cardiocondyla was characterized by the presence of multiple, short-lived queens in small-sized colonies and a male polyphenism with winged dispersers and wingless fighters, which engage in lethal combat over female sexuals within their natal nests. Single queening, queen polyphenism, the loss of winged males and tolerance among wingless males appear to be derived traits that evolved with changes in nesting habits, colony size and the spread from tropical to seasonal environments. The aim of this review is to bring together the information on life-history evolution in Cardiocondyla and to highlight the suitability of this genus for functional genomic studies of adaptation, phenotypic plasticity, senescence, invasiveness and other key life-history traits of ants.

The evolution of childhood as a by-product?

2006 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-289
Author(s):  
Peter Kappeler
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
History Evolution ◽  
Linguistic Skills

The proposition that selective advantages of linguistic skills have contributed to shifts in ontogenetic landmarks of human life histories in early Homo sapiens is weakened by neglecting alternative mechanisms of life history evolution. Moreover, arguments about biological continuity through sweeping comparisons with nonhuman primates do not support various assumptions of this scenario.

scholarly journals Life history of Xenodexia ctenolepis: implications for life history evolution in the family Poeciliidae

2007 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID REZNICK ◽  
TOMAS HRBEK ◽  
SUNNY CAURA ◽  
JAAP DE GREEF ◽  
DEREK ROFF
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
The Family ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Evolution

scholarly journals From stochastic environments to life histories and back

2009 ◽  
Vol 364 (1523) ◽  
pp. 1499-1509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shripad Tuljapurkar ◽  
Jean-Michel Gaillard ◽  
Tim Coulson
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Environmental Stochasticity ◽  
Vital Rates ◽  
Stochastic Growth ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
History Evolution ◽  
Average Individual

Environmental stochasticity is known to play an important role in life-history evolution, but most general theory assumes a constant environment. In this paper, we examine life-history evolution in a variable environment, by decomposing average individual fitness (measured by the long-run stochastic growth rate) into contributions from average vital rates and their temporal variation. We examine how generation time, demographic dispersion (measured by the dispersion of reproductive events across the lifespan), demographic resilience (measured by damping time), within-year variances in vital rates, within-year correlations between vital rates and between-year correlations in vital rates combine to determine average individual fitness of stylized life histories. In a fluctuating environment, we show that there is often a range of cohort generation times at which the fitness is at a maximum. Thus, we expect ‘optimal’ phenotypes in fluctuating environments to differ from optimal phenotypes in constant environments. We show that stochastic growth rates are strongly affected by demographic dispersion, even when deterministic growth rates are not, and that demographic dispersion also determines the response of life-history-specific average fitness to within- and between-year correlations. Serial correlations can have a strong effect on fitness, and, depending on the structure of the life history, may act to increase or decrease fitness. The approach we outline takes a useful first step in developing general life-history theory for non-constant environments.

scholarly journals Reactive oxygen species as universal constraints in life-history evolution

2009 ◽  
Vol 276 (1663) ◽  
pp. 1737-1745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damian K. Dowling ◽  
Leigh W. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Reactive Oxygen Species ◽  
Life History ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Sperm Quality ◽  
Reactive Oxygen ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Oxygen Species ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Evolution

Evolutionary theory is firmly grounded on the existence of trade-offs between life-history traits, and recent interest has centred on the physiological mechanisms underlying such trade-offs. Several branches of evolutionary biology, particularly those focusing on ageing, immunological and sexual selection theory, have implicated reactive oxygen species (ROS) as profound evolutionary players. ROS are a highly reactive group of oxygen-containing molecules, generated as common by-products of vital oxidative enzyme complexes. Both animals and plants appear to intentionally harness ROS for use as molecular messengers to fulfil a wide range of essential biological processes. However, at high levels, ROS are known to exert very damaging effects through oxidative stress. For these reasons, ROS have been suggested to be important mediators of the cost of reproduction, and of trade-offs between metabolic rate and lifespan, and between immunity, sexual ornamentation and sperm quality. In this review, we integrate the above suggestions into one life-history framework, and review the evidence in support of the contention that ROS production will constitute a primary and universal constraint in life-history evolution.

Ecophysiological responses in life-history evolution: evidence for their importance in a geographically widespread insect species complex

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 875-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine A. Tauber ◽  
Maurice J. Tauber
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Genetic Variability ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Physiological Basis ◽  
Geographical Patterns ◽  
Species Complexes ◽  
Evolution Of Life ◽  
Ecophysiological Responses ◽  
History Evolution

Geographical patterns of variation among North American populations of Chrysoperla carnea provide strong evidence that ecophysiological traits are central to the evolution of life histories. Selection pressure and the types and amounts of genetic variability underlying the traits vary geographically. Western populations exhibit considerable genetic variability in their reproductive responses to both photoperiod and prey. This variability is expressed both at the interpopulation level by the diversity of locally adapted populations and at the intrapopulation level in the form of genetic polymorphisms. By contrast, eastern, midwestern, and northwestern regions contain two types of reproductively isolated, monomorphic populations. The two types differ in their photoperiodic requirements for reproduction, but neither uses prey as a cue to stimulate reproduction. Although most of the characteristic responses to photoperiod and prey can vary independently of each other, the separate traits tend to covary to form coadaptive sets. The covariance of a few responses appears to have a genetic or physiological basis, a condition that places constraints on the evolution of life histories. Our results also demonstrate that comparative studies at the intraspecific level are highly significant to the analysis of life-history evolution and to the taxonomic treatment of species complexes.

scholarly journals Predation and Resource Availability Interact to Drive Life-History Evolution in an Adaptive Radiation of Livebearing Fish

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaj Hulthén ◽  
Jacob S. Hill ◽  
Matthew R. Jenkins ◽  
Randall Brian Langerhans
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Life History Evolution ◽  
Selective Agents ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
High Predation ◽  
History Evolution

Predation risk and resource availability are two primary factors predicted by theory to drive the evolution of life histories. Yet, disentangling their roles in life-history evolution in the wild is challenging because (1) the two factors often co-vary across environments, and (2) environmental effects on phenotypes can mask patterns of genotypic evolution. Here, we use the model system of the post-Pleistocene radiation of Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi) inhabiting blue holes to provide a strong test of the roles of predation and resources in life-history evolution, as the two factors do not co-vary in this system and we attempted to minimize environmental effects by raising eight populations under common laboratory conditions. We tested a priori predictions of predation- and resource-driven evolution in five life-history traits. We found that life-history evolution in Bahamas mosquitofish largely reflected complex interactions in the effects of predation and resource availability. High predation risk has driven the evolution of higher fecundity, smaller offspring size, more frequent reproduction, and slower growth rate—but this predation-driven divergence primarily occurred in environments with relatively high resource availability, and the effects of resources on life-history evolution was generally greater within environments having high predation risk. This implies that resource-driven selection on life histories overrides selection from predators when resources are particularly scarce. While several results matched a priori predictions, with the added nuance of interdependence among selective agents, some did not. For instance, only resource levels, not predation risk, explained evolutionary change in male age at maturity, with more rapid sexual maturation in higher-resource environments. We also found faster (not slower) juvenile growth rates within low-resource and low-predation environments, probably caused by selection in these high-competition scenarios favoring greater growth efficiency. Our approach, using common-garden experiments with a natural system of low- and high-predation populations that span a continuum of resource availability, provides a powerful way to deepen our understanding of life-history evolution. Overall, it appears that life-history evolution in this adaptive radiation has resulted from a complex interplay between predation and resources, underscoring the need for increased attention on more sophisticated interactions among selective agents in driving phenotypic diversification.

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