Work

The frequency of multi‐queen colonies increases with altitude in a N earctic ant

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: 1. Most ants in boreal and alpine habitats are facultatively polygynous, i.e. their colonies may contain one or several queens. It was investigated how the proportion of polygynous colonies varies along an elevation gradient from 60 to 2700 m in the N earctic ant Temnothorax rugatulus (Emery). 2. Across all populations, the proportion of polygynous colonies was positively correlated with altitude. The correlation was considerably stronger when only populations in the narrow area of the C hiricahua M ts, A rizona, were compared. 3. The dominance of polygynous colonies at high altitudes may be associated with selection against solitary colony founding by young queens. In areas with short summers and long winters, hibernation mortality of solitarily founding queens may select for alternative reproductive tactics, such as polygyny and colony founding by budding. 4. Colony founding tactics need to be taken into account to more fully understand altitudinal and latitudinal patterns of ant faunas.

Source: Ecological Entomology

DOI: 10.1111/een.12119

Authors: JÜRGEN HEINZE, OLAV RUEPPELL

Institutions: University of Regensburg, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Language: English

Topic: Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior

Subfield: Genetics

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Awards: G2436600599, G8979066581