Data from: Determination of the cost of worker reproduction via diminished lifespan in the ant Diacamma sp.
Data files
Nov 10, 2011 version files 217.19 KB
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BehavioralChangedata Colony M1.pdf
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BehavioralChangedata Colony N1.pdf
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BehavioralChangedata Colony N4.pdf
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BehavioralChangedata Colony N5.pdf
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BehavioralChangedata Y1.pdf
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DiaBroodproduction Adults.pdf
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DiaBroodproduction Pupae.pdf
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Dialifespan Colony AGO-1.pdf
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Dialifespan Colony IMO-1.pdf
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Dialifespan Colony IMO-4.pdf
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Dialifespan Colony Sasaki-1.pdf
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Dialifespan Colony UENO-4.pdf
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README_for_BehavioralChangedata Colony M1.txt
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README_for_BehavioralChangedata Colony N1.txt
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README_for_BehavioralChangedata Colony N4.txt
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README_for_BehavioralChangedata Colony N5.txt
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README_for_BehavioralChangedata Y1.txt
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README_for_DiaBroodproduction Adults.txt
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README_for_DiaBroodproduction Pupae.txt
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README_for_Dialifespan Colony AGO-1.txt
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README_for_Dialifespan Colony IMO-1.txt
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README_for_Dialifespan Colony IMO-4.txt
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README_for_Dialifespan Colony Sasaki-1.txt
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README_for_Dialifespan Colony UENO-4.txt
Abstract
Workers of social Hymenoptera can usually produce male offspring, but rarely do so in the presence of a queen despite the potential individual fitness benefit. Various mechanisms have been hypothesized to regulate worker reproduction, including avoiding the colony-level cost of worker reproduction. However, firm quantitative evidence is lacking to support that hypothesis. Here, we accurately quantified this cost by studying an ant species (Diacamma sp.) in which worker reproduction is rare in the presence of the gamergate (the functional queen). A series of experiments to manipulate worker–gamergate contact revealed that short-term brood-production efficiency is not changed by the presence of worker reproduction. However, when workers reproduce, their average lifespan is reduced to between 74% and 88% of that in the absence of reproduction, indicating a long-term cost to the colony. In theory, this cost can explain the policing of worker reproduction under a queen-single mating system, but the cost does not appear to be high enough to stop worker reproduction. When contact with the gamergate is lost, it is only the non-reproductive workers whose lifespan was reduced; the reproductive workers lived as long as non-orphaned workers. We suggest that an increased workload can account for the reduction in lifespan better than a trade-off between reproduction and longevity.