Impact of worker longevity and other endogenous factors on colony size in the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta

Autor:	Deby L. Cassill, Erika Asano
Rok vydání:	2011
Předmět:	education.field_of_study Fire ant Endogenous Factors Family structure Ecology media_common.quotation_subject Population Longevity Insect Biology biology.organism_classification Predation Insect Science Reproduction education Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics media_common
Zdroj:	Insectes Sociaux. 58:551-557
ISSN:	1420-9098 0020-1812
DOI:	10.1007/s00040-011-0179-5
Popis:	Central to the survival and reproduction of social insect queens is the size of colonies at maturity. The influence of exogenous factors such as predation, food abundance, and seasonal changes in temperature on colony size are well studied. Less well studied are endogenous life-history factors such as a queen’s fertility and lifespan, duration of worker development from egg to adult and worker lifespan. Endogenous factors regulating the rate of colony growth and colony size were simulated using the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. Assuming ideal environmental conditions of no predation, abundant food and uniform temperature, the simulation showed unequivocally that colony size is determined by two endogenous factors: a queen’s egg-laying rate (R q) and worker longevity (L w) (Colony size = R q × L w). Thus, we are left with an unanswered question: if worker longevity contributes directly to colony size, why is the lifespan of workers so short—in most cases, a small fraction of a queen’s lifespan?
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::d140c9c0b3e919f3c448c3bafd0b9c09 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-011-0179-5 Zobrazit plný text záznamu Full text from SpringerLink