Spectrum of sociality - arthropods Flashcards
An exceptional diversity of social structures are seen across organisms. Common themes do exist, especially with respect to patterns of ________________________________.
offspring production and rearing
what are major categories of arthropod sociality based on?
- level of offspring care
- level of reproductive division of labor
- presence of overlapping generations
defining major categories - level of offspring care
do society members care for offspring that are not their own?
defining major categories - level of reproductive division of labor
do some society members specialize in offspring production to a greater extent than others?
defining major categories - presence of overlapping generations
do older individuals stay with or persist in the society to cooperate with subsequent generations of offspring?
The major categories of sociality in arthropods from least to most complex
- solitary
- subsocial
- communal
- quasisocial
- semisocial
- eusocial
define solitary
Showing no offspring care, reproductive division of labor, or overlap of generations
define subsocial
Adults care for their own offspring for some period of time — simple parental care
define communal
members of the same generation share a composite or group shelter, but without cooperating in offspring care.
define quasisocial
members of the same generation share a composite or group shelter and cooperate in offspring care
define semisocial
members of the same generation share a group shelter, cooperate in offspring care, and show reproductive division of labor.
define eusocial
shared group shelter, cooperative offspring care, division of labor, and overlap of generations
The ______________ of insects provide __________________________ to their offspring
- majority
- no parental care
____________ species provide _____________________ to their offspring past the egg laying stage
- Subsocial
- some level of care
how can subsocial species parental care vary?
- type
- duration
- parental involvement
what is an example of a subsocial species
a burying beetle
burying beetle - Mating pair forms over ________________, which is the resource for raising offspring
discovery of carrion
burying beetle - The cooperating female-male pair __________________________________.
bury carrion, mate, female lays eggs
burying beetle - ______________ to protect and tend to their larvae.
Both parents stay
burying beetle - At maturity, _______________________________ from the burrow
larvae pupate and parents disperse
communal arthropods typically form ________________________________
large aggregate shelters or nests
communal arthropods - benefits to shelters
- Greater deterrent to predators
- Collective defense of shelter
- Increased food resources
- Environmental buffering
communal arthropods - parental care of each individual are _____________________________________
directed towards their own offspring
communal arthropods - Each family unit is ___________________________ aggregate shelter
spatially clustered within a larger
quasisocial arthropods - what forms of cooperation can be found
- Cooperative offspring feeding/provisioning.
- Cooperative defense.
- Cooperative shelter construction and maintenance
example of a quasisocial species
social spiders: cooperative prey capture and shelter defense
semisocial arthropods - Cooperative parental care is reinforced with ________________________________________ — a reproductive division of labor.
a bias in offspring production among parents
define dominance hierarchy
The physical domination of some members of a group by other members, creating a stable order for access to reproductive opportunities and other resources within the society
example of semisocial arthropods
Halictid bees
Halictid bees - Differences in reproductive potential (ovary development), reinforced by _________________________, results in a reproductive division of labor
dominance interactions
define caste
individuals that specialize on a well defined subset of tasks within a semi-social or eusocial society for a significant proportion or all of their lives
define queen
The female caste that specializes in reproduction for the majority or all of its life within a semisocial or eusocial society
define worker
The caste that specializes in non reproductive tasks within the colony
Simplest castes are _______________, often reinforced by ___________________________________.
- behavioral
- secondary physiological changes
______________ castes have evolved in some social species, reinforcing behavioral specialization with a ________________________
- Morphological
- specialized phenotype
All ______________________________ of eusociality show __________________ in extent to which is has evolved
- three defining characteristics
- massive diversity
defining characteristics of eusociality - reproductive division of labor
Reproductive division of labor can be:
- strictly behavioral and unstable (usurpation)
- up to extreme morphological differentiation and egg production rates
defining characteristics of eusociality - cooperative offspring care
Cooperative offspring care can scale from:
- simple feeding bouts to
- complex division of labor in handling and rearing offspring.
defining characteristics of eusociality - overlap of generation
Overlap of generation can be:
- fleeting at the and of the life of an annual colony, all the way up to
- effectively immortal colonies with continuous overlap of generations of workers and reproductives.
eusocial arthropods - degrees in castes
- degrees of reproductive division of labor
- Degrees of division of labor among non-reproductive individuals
eusocial arthropods castes - degrees of reproductive division of labor
- Behavioral queen.
- Morphological specialized queen.
- Different queen castes within the same species.
eusocial arthropods castes - degrees of division of labor among non-reproductive individuals
- Behavioral worker caste.
- Behavioral specialization within worker caste.
- Morphological specialization for a small subset of worker tasks.
example of a behavioral caste
paper wasps
paper wasps - how is the reproductive division of labor produced
- via behavioral dominance
- aggression is used to maintain reproductive position
paper wasps - is the position of the queen stable
no, the behavioral “queen” can be usurped at any stage
example of an anthropod with morphological castes
fire ants
fire ants - describe the queen
Large, morphologically specialized and highly fecund
fire ants - why is there an additional specialized queen
it tries to take over nests that have lost their queen
fire ants - explain the sequential division of labor among worker caste
- nurses
- within-nest specialists
- foragers
______________________________ among worker fire ants, reinforces certain specializations - e.g. larger individuals more aggressive in combat.
Physical size differentiation
define soldier
A member of a eusocial society morphologically specialized for defense
example of a soldier
polyembryonic wasps
