Diversity of sociality across the tree of life – Part 2

Question 1

snapping shrimp - eusociality castes

Answer 1

• contain only one reproductive female - a “queen”
• Larger colony members never breed and defend the colony against intruders — soldier caste.

Question 2

snapping shrimp - overlap of generations

Answer 2

Developing juveniles remain in the natal sponge

Question 3

what is the Ancestral Character State
Reconstruction used for

Answer 3

to infer social states at internal nodes

Question 4

eusociality in insects evolved independently in _______________

Answer 4

5 insect orders

Question 5

define primitive eusociality

Answer 5

species that satisfy the three general criteria of eusociality, without permanent caste membership

Question 6

define complex eusociality

Answer 6

involving evolution of morphologically distinct castes

Question 7

thrips - mated female initiates the ____ and lays brood.

Answer 7

gall

Question 8

thrips - early produced individuals

Answer 8

small wings, barbed front legs, and swarm-attack gall intruders (i.e. soldiers)

Question 9

thrips - later broods

Answer 9

Later broods have the more typical wing size and disperse (like the initiating mating female)

Question 10

thrips - origins of eusociality

Answer 10

• Number or origins unclear: Multiple origins or multiple loses in the same region of the tree
• eusociality is a “labile” trait.

Question 11

Like thrips, eusociality in aphids has evolved multiple times and is defined by soldier production in __________ species

Answer 11

galling

Question 12

in termites, a ________________________________________, with all living species showing complex eusociality (distinct morphological castes).

Answer 12

single, ancient origin of eusociality

Question 13

termite juveniles are ______________ of the mature adults (hemi-metabolous insects) and act as workers.

Answer 13

small versions

Question 14

Developing offspring typically retain incredible __________________________ to become reproductives or soldiers

Answer 14

developmental flexibility

Question 15

define “True worker”

Answer 15

means a specialized, terminal developmental form for non-reproductive tasks

Question 16

All ants are __________, except where ____________________ in extreme social parasites

Answer 16

• eusocial
• secondarily lost

Question 17

Most Hymenoptera (predominantly bees and wasps) are _________

Answer 17

solitary

Question 18

All ants live in complex eusocial societies (unless secondarily lost) — single origin of eusociality _________________________________________

Answer 18

before the ancestor of modern ants

Question 19

Social evolution in ants is characterized by _________________________________________

Answer 19

repeated and diverse patterns of caste evolution

Question 20

Castes in ant society include alternative reproductive forms, nurses, transport castes, and soldiers, all of which have evolved ______________________________

Answer 20

multiple times independently

Question 21

A ______________ genus-level phylogeny of the ants is near but still a work in progress

Answer 21

fully-resolved

Question 22

define convergent evolution

Answer 22

Two or more species descended from distantly related ancestors evolve similar adaptations to common environmental challenges