Transitions in social complexity along elevational gradients reveal a combined impact of season length and development time on social evolution

Kocher, Sarah D.; Pellissier, Loïc; Veller, Carl; Purcell, Jessica; Nowak, Martin A.; Chapuisat, Michel; Pierce, Naomi E.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.0627

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Transitions in social complexity along elevational gradients reveal a combined impact of season length and development time on social evolution

Université de Fribourg

Kocher, Sarah D. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
Pellissier, Loïc Arctic Research Centre, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark - Department of Biology, Ecology and Evolution, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Veller, Carl Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA - Department of Economics, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
Purcell, Jessica Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Nowak, Martin A. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA - Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA - Department of Mathematics, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA
Chapuisat, Michel Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Pierce, Naomi E. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA

22.07.2014

Published in:

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. - 2014, vol. 281, no. 1787, p. 20140627

English Eusociality is taxonomically rare, yet associated with great ecological success. Surprisingly, studies of environmental conditions favouring eusociality are often contradictory. Harsh conditions associated with increasing altitude and latitude seem to favour increased sociality in bumblebees and ants, but the reverse pattern is found in halictid bees and polistine wasps. Here, we compare the life histories and distributions of populations of 176 species of Hymenoptera from the Swiss Alps. We show that differences in altitudinal distributions and development times among social forms can explain these contrasting patterns: highly social taxa develop more quickly than intermediate social taxa, and are thus able to complete the reproductive cycle in shorter seasons at higher elevations. This dual impact of altitude and development time on sociality illustrates that ecological constraints can elicit dynamic shifts in behaviour, and helps explain the complex distribution of sociality across ecological gradients.

Faculty

Faculté des sciences et de médecine

Department

Département de Biologie

Language