Lack of inbreeding avoidance in the Argentine ant Linepithema humile
Details
State: Public
Version: author
Serval ID
serval:BIB_E254E798BA5A
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Lack of inbreeding avoidance in the Argentine ant Linepithema humile
Journal
Behavioral Ecology
ISSN
1045-2249
Publication state
Published
Issued date
01/2002
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
13
Number
1
Pages
28-31
Notes
513QW Times Cited:6 Cited References Count:52 --- Old month value: Jan
Abstract
Although workers might increase their inclusive fitness by favoring closer over more distant kin, evidence suggest that nepotism generally does not occur within colonies of social insects. It has been suggested that this may be due to the cost of recognition errors. We tested whether recognition occurs in a system where a better than random ability to recognize kin should be selected for. Using DNA microsatellites, we show that sexuals of the Argentine ant Linepithema humile fail to use genetic cues to avoid sib-mating. When offspring of two queens were allowed to mate, the percentage of matings among siblings was not significantly lower than expected under the hypothesis of random mating. The finding that sexuals fail to use genetic cues to avoid sib-matings cannot be attributed to the cost of recognition errors because any recognition system that would lead to a better than random ability to avoid sib-mating should be selected for when there are costs to inbreeding. These data are thus consistent with the view that kin recognition mediated solely by genetic cues might be intrinsically error prone within colonies of social insects.
Keywords
argentine ants inbreeding kin recognition linepithema humile recognition errors sib-mating solenopsis-invicta hymenoptera honeybees apis-mellifera multiple-queen colonies kin recognition fire ant iridomyrmex-humilis discrimination relatedness population formicidae
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
24/01/2008 19:39
Last modification date
20/08/2019 17:06