Journal
AMERICAN NATURALIST
Volume 170, Issue 1, Pages E14-E25Publisher
UNIV CHICAGO PRESS
DOI: 10.1086/518185
Keywords
social insects; Formica; kin conflict; worker reproduction; policing; polygyny
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
A potential tragedy of the commons arises in social-insect colonies where workers are fertile if egg-laying workers decrease their contribution to other tasks. We studied worker ovary development and egg laying in relation to kin structure, colony size, and the presence of a queen in nine species (11 populations) of Formica ants. Workers were highly fertile and laid eggs in the presence of a queen in five out of the seven species where egg samples were obtained. Worker fertility correlated neither with colony size nor with kin structure, which suggests that colony-level costs and efficiency of policing precede relatedness as the most important conflict determinant. We conclude that careful quantification of the costs of worker reproduction and policing is essential for inferences about the tragedy of the commons.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available