Dataset Information

Colony size evolution and the origin of eusociality in corbiculate bees (Hymenoptera: Apinae).

ABSTRACT: Recently, it has been proposed that the one of the main determinants of complex societies in Hymenoptera is colony size, since the existence of large colonies reduces the direct reproductive success of an average individual, given a decreased chance of being part of the reproductive caste. In this study, we evaluate colony size evolution in corbiculate bees and their relationship with the sociality level shown by these bees. Specifically i) the correlation between colony size and level of sociality considering the phylogenetic relationship to evaluate a general evolutionary tendency, and ii) the hypothetical ancestral forms of several clades within a phylogeny of corbiculate bees, to address idiosyncratic process occurring at important nodes. We found that the level of social complexity in corbiculate bees is phylogenetically correlated with colony size. Additionally, another process is invoked to propose why colony size evolved concurrently with the level of social complexity. The study of this trait improves the understanding of the evolutionary transition from simple to complex societies, and highlights the importance of explicit probabilistic models to test the evolution of other important characters involved in the origin of eusociality.

SUBMITTER: Rodriguez-Serrano E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3396608 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Colony size evolution and the origin of eusociality in corbiculate bees (Hymenoptera: Apinae).

Rodriguez-Serrano Enrique E Inostroza-Michael Oscar O Avaria-Llautureo Jorge J Hernandez Cristian E CE

PloS one 20120713 7

Recently, it has been proposed that the one of the main determinants of complex societies in Hymenoptera is colony size, since the existence of large colonies reduces the direct reproductive success of an average individual, given a decreased chance of being part of the reproductive caste. In this study, we evaluate colony size evolution in corbiculate bees and their relationship with the sociality level shown by these bees. Specifically i) the correlation between colony size and level of social ...[more]

PMID: 22808274

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Project description:Eusocial insects offer a unique opportunity to analyze the evolution of body size differences between sexes in relation to social environment. The workers, being sterile females, are not subject to selection for reproductive function providing a natural control for parsing the effects of selection on reproductive function (i.e., sexual and fecundity selection) from other kinds of natural selection. Patterns of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) and testing of Rensch's rule controlling for phylogenetic effects were analyzed in the Meliponini or stingless bees. Theory predicts that queens may exhibit higher selection for fecundity in eusocial taxa, but contrary to this, we found mixed patterns of SSD in Meliponini. Non-Melipona species generally have a female-biased SSD, while all analyzed species of Melipona showed a male-biased SSD, indicating that the direction and magnitude of the selective pressures do not operate in the same way for all members of this taxon. The phylogenetic regressions revealed that the rate of divergence has not differed between the two castes of females and the males, that is, stingless bees do not seem to follow Rensch's rule (a slope >1), adding this highly eusocial taxon to the various solitary insect taxa not conforming with it. Noteworthy, when Melipona was removed from the analysis, the phylogenetic regressions for the thorax width of males on queens had a slope significantly smaller than 1, suggesting that the evolutionary divergence has been larger in queens than males, and could be explained by stronger selection on female fecundity only in non-Melipona species. Our results in the stingless bees question the classical explanation of female-biased SSD via fecundity and provide a first evidence of a more complex determination of SSD in highly eusocial species. We suggest that in highly eusocial taxa, additional selection mechanisms, possibly related to individual and colonial interests, could influence the evolution of environmentally determined traits such as body size.

Dataset Information

Colony size evolution and the origin of eusociality in corbiculate bees (Hymenoptera: Apinae).

Publications

Colony size evolution and the origin of eusociality in corbiculate bees (Hymenoptera: Apinae).

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