Journal
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
Volume 22, Issue 8, Pages 408-413Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE LONDON
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2007.06.001
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Although most insect colonies are headed by a singly mated queen, some ant, wasp and bee taxa have evolved high levels of multiple mating or 'polyandry'. We argue here that a contributing factor towards the evolution of polyandry is that the resulting genetic diversity within colonies provides them with a system of genetically based task specialization, enabling them to respond resiliently to environmental perturbation. An alternate view is that genetic contributions to task specialization are a side effect of multiple mating, which evolved through other causes, and that genetically based task specialization now makes little or no contribution to colony fitness.
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