scholarly journals The build-up of dominance hierarchies in eusocial insects

2022 ◽  
Vol 377 (1845) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Shimoji ◽  
Shigeto Dobata
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Pecking Order ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Eusocial Insects ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Current State ◽  
Individual Memory ◽  
Behavioural Interactions ◽  
Selective Forces ◽  
Reproductive Division

Reproductive division of labour is a hallmark of eusocial insects. However, its stability can often be hampered by the potential for reproduction by otherwise sterile nest-mates. Dominance hierarchy has a crucial role in some species in regulating which individuals reproduce. Compared with those in vertebrates, the dominance hierarchies in eusocial insects tend to involve many more individuals, and should require additional selective forces unique to them. Here, we provide an overview of a series of studies on dominance hierarchies in eusocial insects. Although reported from diverse eusocial taxa, dominance hierarchies have been extensively studied in paper wasps and ponerine ants. Starting from molecular physiological attributes of individuals, we describe how the emergence of dominance hierarchies can be understood as a kind of self-organizing process through individual memory and local behavioural interactions. The resulting global structures can be captured by using network analyses. Lastly, we argue the adaptive significance of dominance hierarchies from the standpoint of sterile subordinates. Kin selection, underpinned by relatedness between nest-mates, is key to the subordinates' acceptance of their positions in the hierarchies. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies’.

Ergonomic skew and reproductive queuing based on social and seasonal variation in foraging activity of eastern carpenter bees (Xylocopa virginica)

2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (8) ◽  
pp. 615-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.H. Richards ◽  
C. Course
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Foraging Activity ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Carpenter Bee ◽  
Eusocial Insects ◽  
Carpenter Bees ◽  
Behavioural Interactions ◽  
Reproductive Division Of Labour ◽  
Xylocopa Virginica ◽  
Reproductive Division

Reproductive division of labour in social carpenter bees differs from that in classically eusocial insects because reproductive output and ergonomic inputs are positively correlated—dominant females monopolize both foraging and reproduction. We quantified ergonomic skew in the facultatively social bee Xylocopa virginica (L., 1771) (eastern carpenter bee) based on detailed observations of foraging activity by individually marked females in 2009. Unusually for a univoltine bee, this species exhibits a spring foraging phase during which females feed pollen to other adults, probably as part of behavioural interactions to establish dominance hierarchies. During brood-provisioning, foraging in social nests was dominated by one female at a time, with replacement by a succession of foragers as dominants disappeared and were succeeded by a subordinate. The principal foragers (individuals that did the largest share of foraging in each colony) did 85%–100% of all pollen trips, so contributions to pollen-provisioning by female nest mates were highly uneven. Individual foraging rate was unaffected by group size and total colony foraging effort was a function of the number of foragers per group. Transient females that moved to new nests were as successful in achieving dominant forager status as females resident in their natal nests. This evidence indicates that colony social organisation is based on reproductive queues, whereby the first-ranked bee is the dominant forager and subordinates queue for opportunities to replace her.

Emergence of size-structured dominance hierarchies through size-dependent feedback

2022 ◽  
Vol 377 (1845) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian M. Hamilton ◽  
Macie D. Benincasa
Keyword(s):  
Size Structure ◽  
Dynamic Game ◽  
Optimal Investment ◽  
Growth Suppression ◽  
Pecking Order ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Size Dependent ◽  
Current State ◽  
Dominance Structure ◽  
Competition For Food

Size-based dominance hierarchies influence fitness, group size and population dynamics and link dominance structure to evolutionary and ecological outcomes. While larger individuals often gain dominance, social status may influence growth and size in return, resulting in feedbacks among status, growth and size. Here, we present two models evaluating how these feedbacks influence the emergence of size structure in a dominance hierarchy. In the first, size influences competition for food and investment in suppressing growth of groupmates. Stable size differences emerged when suppression was greatest for similarly sized individuals and size had little effect on competition for food. The model predicted size divergence when size strongly affected competition for food. In the second model, we used a dynamic game to solve for optimal investment in growth suppression as a function of size structure. Investment in growth suppression was favoured only when dominants and subordinates were similar in size, generating size ratios different than those expected by chance. Variation in the feedbacks among growth, size and status can explain variation in emergent size structure of dominance hierarchies and its consequences for conflict within groups. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies’.

scholarly journals Identification of an ant queen pheromone regulating worker sterility

2010 ◽  
Vol 277 (1701) ◽  
pp. 3793-3800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Holman ◽  
Charlotte G. Jørgensen ◽  
John Nielsen ◽  
Patrizia d'Ettorre
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Cuticular Hydrocarbon ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Queen Pheromone ◽  
Lasius Niger ◽  
Strong Response ◽  
Selective Forces ◽  
The Right ◽  
Worker Sterility ◽  
Reproductive Division

The selective forces that shape and maintain eusocial societies are an enduring puzzle in evolutionary biology. Ordinarily sterile workers can usually reproduce given the right conditions, so the factors regulating reproductive division of labour may provide insight into why eusociality has persisted over evolutionary time. Queen-produced pheromones that affect worker reproduction have been implicated in diverse taxa, including ants, termites, wasps and possibly mole rats, but to date have only been definitively identified in the honeybee. Using the black garden ant Lasius niger , we isolate the first sterility-regulating ant queen pheromone. The pheromone is a cuticular hydrocarbon that comprises the majority of the chemical profile of queens and their eggs, and also affects worker behaviour, by reducing aggression towards objects bearing the pheromone. We further show that the pheromone elicits a strong response in worker antennae and that its production by queens is selectively reduced following an immune challenge. These results suggest that the pheromone has a central role in colony organization and support the hypothesis that worker sterility represents altruistic self-restraint in response to an honest quality signal.

scholarly journals Adaptation and the genetics of social behaviour

2009 ◽  
Vol 364 (1533) ◽  
pp. 3209-3216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Keller
Keyword(s):  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Chemical Signalling ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms ◽  
Selective Forces ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Reproductive Division Of Labour ◽  
Reproductive Division

In recent years much progress has been made towards understanding the selective forces involved in the evolution of social behaviour including conflicts over reproduction among group members. Here, I argue that an important additional step necessary for advancing our understanding of the resolution of potential conflicts within insect societies is to consider the genetics of the behaviours involved. First, I discuss how epigenetic modifications of behaviour may affect conflict resolution within groups. Second, I review known natural polymorphisms of social organization to demonstrate that a lack of consideration of the genetic mechanisms involved may lead to erroneous explanations of the adaptive significance of behaviour. Third, I suggest that, on the basis of recent genetic studies of sexual conflict in Drosophila , it is necessary to reconsider the possibility of within-group manipulation by means of chemical substances (i.e. pheromones). Fourth, I address the issue of direct versus indirect genetic effects, which is of particular importance for the study of behaviour in social groups. Fifth, I discuss the issue of how a genetic influence on dominance hierarchies and reproductive division of labour can have secondary effects, for example in the evolution of promiscuity. Finally, because the same sets of genes (e.g. those implicated in chemical signalling and the responses that are triggered) may be used even in species as divergent as ants, cooperative breeding birds and primates, an integration of genetic mechanisms into the field of social evolution may also provide unifying ideas.

scholarly journals The effect of age on non-reproductive division of labour in the tropical primitively eusocial wasp, Ropalidia cyathiformis

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (4-5-6) ◽  
pp. 267-273
Author(s):  
Sruthi Unnikrishnan ◽  
Raghavendra Gadagkar
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Age Polyethism ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Eusocial Insects ◽  
Primitively Eusocial Wasp ◽  
Eusocial Wasp ◽  
Reproductive Division Of Labour ◽  
Absolute Age ◽  
Reproductive Division ◽  
Primitively Eusocial

Division of labour among workers (non-reproductive division of labour), a characteristic feature of eusocial insects enables the efficient functioning of their colonies. In many advanced insect societies division of labour is based on age (age polyethism). Primitively eusocial insects however are believed to have a weak age polyethism. Here we investigated the role of age in non-reproductive division of labour in the tropical primitively eusocial wasp, Ropalidia cyathiformis and compared it with that in Ropalidia marginata, a congeneric species that exhibits relatively strong age polyethism. Age had a significant effect on the first performance of the four tasks studied; tasks were initiated in the sequence feed larva, build, bring food and bring building material. We measured task performance as the absolute frequency of tasks performed (FTP) and the probability of performing a task relative to other tasks (PTP) and age as absolute age in days since eclosion as well as relative age compared to nestmates. FTP varied significantly with both absolute and relative age, although absolute age explained more variance. PTP varied significantly with absolute age but not always with relative age. This is contrary to R. marginata, where more variation is explained by relative age than by absolute age. There was no trade-off between intranidal and extranidal tasks in R. cyathiformis unlike in R. marginata where the frequency of intranidal tasks decreased and that of extranidal tasks increased with age. We conclude that age polyethism is weak and less flexible in R. cyathiformis compared to that in R. marginata.

scholarly journals Dominance in humans

2022 ◽  
Vol 377 (1845) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tian Chen Zeng ◽  
Joey T. Cheng ◽  
Joseph Henrich
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
High Status ◽  
Pecking Order ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Institutional Power ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Current State ◽  
Behavioural Patterns ◽  
Specific Factors

Dominance captures behavioural patterns found in social hierarchies that arise from agonistic interactions in which some individuals coercively exploit their control over costs and benefits to extract deference from others, often through aggression, threats and/or intimidation. Accumulating evidence points to its importance in humans and its separation from prestige—an alternate avenue to high status in which status arises from information (e.g. knowledge, skill, etc.) or other non-rival goods. In this review, we provide an overview of the theoretical underpinnings of dominance as a concept within evolutionary biology, discuss the challenges of applying it to humans and consider alternative theoretical accounts which assert that dominance is relevant to understanding status in humans. We then review empirical evidence for its continued importance in human groups, including the effects of dominance—independently of prestige—on measurable outcomes such as social influence and reproductive fitness, evidence for specialized dominance psychology, and evidence for gender-specific effects. Finally, because human-specific factors such as norms and coalitions may place bounds on purely coercive status-attainment strategies, we end by considering key situations and contexts that increase the likelihood for dominance status to coexist alongside prestige status within the same individual, including how: (i) institutional power and authority tend to elicit dominance; (ii) dominance-enhancing traits can at times generate benefits for others (prestige); and (iii) certain dominance cues and ethology may lead to mis-attributions of prestige. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies’.

scholarly journals Neural systems that facilitate the representation of social rank

2022 ◽  
Vol 377 (1845) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeleine F. Dwortz ◽  
James P. Curley ◽  
Kay M. Tye ◽  
Nancy Padilla-Coreano
Keyword(s):  
Social Rank ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Pecking Order ◽  
Approach And Avoidance ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Unique Individual

Across species, animals organize into social dominance hierarchies that serve to decrease aggression and facilitate survival of the group. Neuroscientists have adopted several model organisms to study dominance hierarchies in the laboratory setting, including fish, reptiles, rodents and primates. We review recent literature across species that sheds light onto how the brain represents social rank to guide socially appropriate behaviour within a dominance hierarchy. First, we discuss how the brain responds to social status signals. Then, we discuss social approach and avoidance learning mechanisms that we propose could drive rank-appropriate behaviour. Lastly, we discuss how the brain represents memories of individuals (social memory) and how this may support the maintenance of unique individual relationships within a social group. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies’.

scholarly journals Costs dictate strategic investment in dominance interactions

2022 ◽  
Vol 377 (1845) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobit Dehnen ◽  
Danai Papageorgiou ◽  
Brendah Nyaguthii ◽  
Wismer Cherono ◽  
Julia Penndorf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Cost ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Pecking Order ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Strategic Investment ◽  
Aggressive Interactions ◽  
Current State ◽  
Dominance Interactions ◽  
Group Members

Dominance is important for access to resources. As dominance interactions are costly, individuals should be strategic in whom they interact with. One hypothesis is that individuals should direct costly interactions towards those closest in rank, as they have most to gain—in terms of attaining or maintaining dominance—from winning such interactions. Here, we show that male vulturine guineafowl ( Acryllium vulturinum ), a gregarious species with steep dominance hierarchies, strategically express higher-cost aggressive interactions towards males occupying ranks immediately below themselves in their group's hierarchy. By contrast, lower-cost aggressive interactions are expressed towards group members further down the hierarchy. By directly evaluating differences in the strategic use of higher- and lower-cost aggressive interactions towards competitors, we show that individuals disproportionately use highest-cost interactions—such as chases—towards males found one to three ranks below themselves. Our results support the hypothesis that the costs associated with different interaction types can determine their expression in social groups with steep dominance hierarchies. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies’.

scholarly journals Behavioural and physiological plasticity in social hierarchies

2022 ◽  
Vol 377 (1845) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Milewski ◽  
W. Lee ◽  
F. A. Champagne ◽  
J. P. Curley
Keyword(s):  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Physiological Plasticity ◽  
Pecking Order ◽  
Territorial Defence ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Phenotypic Changes ◽  
Current State ◽  
Altered Gene

Individuals occupying dominant and subordinate positions in social hierarchies exhibit divergent behaviours, physiology and neural functioning. Dominant animals express higher levels of dominance behaviours such as aggression, territorial defence and mate-guarding. Dominants also signal their status via auditory, visual or chemical cues. Moreover, dominant animals typically increase reproductive behaviours and show enhanced spatial and social cognition as well as elevated arousal. These biobehavioural changes increase energetic demands that are met via shifting both energy intake and metabolism and are supported by coordinated changes in physiological systems including the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal and hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axes as well as altered gene expression and sensitivity of neural circuits that regulate these behaviours. Conversely, subordinate animals inhibit dominance and often reproductive behaviours and exhibit physiological changes adapted to socially stressful contexts. Phenotypic changes in both dominant and subordinate individuals may be beneficial in the short-term but lead to long-term challenges to health. Further, rapid changes in social ranks occur as dominant animals socially ascend or descend and are associated with dynamic modulations in the brain and periphery. In this paper, we provide a broad overview of how behavioural and phenotypic changes associated with social dominance and subordination are expressed in neural and physiological plasticity. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies’.

Social ascent changes cognition, behaviour and physiology in a highly social cichlid fish

2022 ◽  
Vol 377 (1845) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly J. Wallace ◽  
Kavyaa D. Choudhary ◽  
Layla A. Kutty ◽  
Don H. Le ◽  
Matthew T. Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Dominance Status ◽  
Pecking Order ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Social Community ◽  
Current State ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Astatotilapia Burtoni

When an individual ascends in dominance status within their social community, they often undergo a suite of behavioural, physiological and neuromolecular changes. While these changes have been extensively characterized across a number of species, we know much less about the degree to which these changes in turn influence cognitive processes like associative learning, memory and spatial navigation. Here, we assessed male Astatotilapia burtoni , an African cichlid fish known for its dynamic social dominance hierarchies, in a set of cognitive tasks both before and after a community perturbation in which some individuals ascended in dominance status. We assayed steroid hormone (cortisol, testosterone) levels before and after the community experienced a social perturbation. We found that ascending males changed their physiology and novel object recognition preference during the perturbation, and they subsequently differed in social competence from non-ascenders. Additionally, using a principal component analysis we were able to identify specific cognitive and physiological attributes that appear to predispose certain individuals to ascend in social status once a perturbation occurs. These previously undiscovered relationships between social ascent and cognition further emphasize the broad influence of social dominance on animal decision-making. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies’.

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