Skip to main content
Log in

Alternative reproductive tactics and the impact of local competition on sex ratios in the ant Hypoponera opacior

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The ant Hypoponera opacior exhibits alternative reproductive morphs of males and females associated with distinct sexual behaviours. Our long-term study reports strong seasonality in sexual production with a mating season in early and one in late summer. Winged (alate) reproductives emerge in June, swarm during the monsoon season and establish new colonies independently. In contrast, wingless worker-like (ergatoid) reproductives that appear in late August mate within their natal or adjacent nests and either do not disperse or establish new nests close by. These divergent dispersal patterns allowed us to analyse the impact of local factors on investment strategies by comparing sex allocation between and within the two reproductive events. The optimal sex ratio for ergatoid reproductives should be influenced both by competition for matings between brothers (local mate competition) and rivalry among young locally dispersing queens for workers, nest sites or food (local resource competition). The greater importance of local resource competition was demonstrated both by a male-biased sex ratio for wingless sexuals and a stronger increase in the number of males with total sexual production than for the number of queens. Microsatellite analysis revealed that inter-nest variation in relatedness asymmetry cannot explain split sex ratios in the August generation. Instead, nests with related ergatoid males raised a male-biased sex ratio contrary to the expectations under local mate competition. In conclusion, male bias in wingless H. opacior indicates that local mate competition is less strong than local resource competition among ergatoid queens over the help of workers during nest foundation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexander RD, Sherman PW (1977) Local mate competition and parental investment in social insects. Science 196:494–500

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bartz SH, Hölldobler B (1982) Colony founding in Myrmecocystus mimicus Wheeler (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and the evolution of foundress associations. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 10:137–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boomsma JJ, Grafen A (1990) Intraspecific variation in ant sex ratios and the Trivers–Hare hypothesis. Evolution 44:1026–1034

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boomsma JJ, Grafen A (1991) Colony-level sex ratio selection in eusocial Hymenoptera. J Evol Biol 3:383–407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boomsma JJ, Baer B, Heinze J (2005) The evolution of male traits in social insects. Ann Rev Entomol 50:395–420

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brian MV (1955) Studies of caste differentiation in Myrmica rubra L. 3. Larval dormancy, winter size and vernalisation. Insect Soc 2:85–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brian MV (1975) Caste determination through a queen influence on diapause in larvae of the ant Myrmica rubra. Entomol Exp Appl 18:429–442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burton-Chellew MN, Koevoets T, Grillenberger BK, Sykes EM, Underwood SL, Bijlsma K, Gadau J, van de Zande L, Beukeboom LW, West SA, Shuker DM (2008) Facultative sex ratio adjustment in natural populations of wasps: cues of local mate competition and the precision of adaptation. Am Nat 172:393–404

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clark AB (1978) Sex ratio and local resource competition in a prosimian primate. Science 201:163–165

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cremer S, Heinze J (2003) Stress grows wings. Environmental induction of winged dispersal males in Cardiocondyla ants. Curr Biol 13:219–223

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cremer S, Sledge MF, Heinze J (2002) Chemical mimicry: male ants disguised by the queen’s bouquet. Nature 419:897

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2009) R: a language and environment for statistical computing, R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria, http://www.R-project.org

  • Foitzik S, Heinze J, Oberstadt B, Herbers JM (2002) Mate guarding and alternative reproductive tactics in the ant Hypoponera opacior. Anim Behav 63:597–604

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frank SA (1985) Hierarchical selection theory and sex ratios. II. On applying the theory, and a test with fig wasps. Evolution 39:949–964

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frank SA (1987a) Individual and population sex allocation patterns. Theoret Pop Biol 31:47–74

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Frank SA (1987b) Variable sex ratio among colonies of ants. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 20:195–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gadgil M (1972) Male dimorphism as a consequence of sexual selection. Am Nat 106:574–580

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodnight KF, Queller DC (1994) Relatedness. Goodnight Software, Houston

    Google Scholar 

  • Gross MR (1996) Alternative reproductive strategies and tactics: diversity within sexes. Trends Ecol Evol 11:92–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton WD (1967) Extraordinary sex ratios. Science 156:477–488

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton WD (1975) Gamblers since life began: barnacles, aphids, elms. Q Rev Biol 50:175–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heinze J, Tsuji K (1995) Ant reproductive strategies. Res Pop Ecol 37:135–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heinze J, Keller L (2000) Alternative reproductive strategies: a queen perspective in ants. Trends Ecol Evol 15:508–512

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins RW, Chen Y, Douglas AV (1999) Interannual variability of the North American warm season precipitation regime. J Climate 12:653–680

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hölldobler B (1976) The behavioral ecology of mating in harvester ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Pogonomyrmex). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 1:405–423

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaspari M, Pickering J, Longino JT, Windsor D (2001a) The phenology of Neotropical ant assemblage: evidence for continuous and overlapping reproduction. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 50:382–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaspari M, Pickering J, Windsor D (2001b) The reproductive flight phenology of a neotropical ant assemblage. Ecol Entomol 26:245–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Le Masne G (1956) La signification des reproducteurs aptères chez la fourmi Ponera eduardi Forel. Insect Soc 3:239–259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovett-Doust J, Lovett-Doust L (1990) Plant reproductive ecology: patterns and strategies. Oxford University Press

  • McCullagh P, Nelder JA (1989) Generalized linear models. Chapman & Hall, CRC, London

  • Meunier J, West SA, Chapuisat M (2008) Split sex ratios in the social Hymenoptera: a meta-analysis. Behav Ecol 19:382–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagel HG, Rettenmeyer CW (1973) Nuptial flights, reproductive behavior and colony founding of the western harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J Kansas Entomol Soc 46:82–101

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelsona RM, Greeff JM (2009) Evolution of the scale and manner of brother competition in pollinating fig wasps. Anim Behav 77:693–700

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nonacs P (1986a) Ant reproductive strategies and sex allocation theory. Q Rev Biol 61:1–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nonacs P (1986b) Sex-ratio determination within colonies of ants. Evolution 40:199–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pamilo P (1990) Sex allocation and queen-worker conflict in polygynous ants. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 27:31–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pamilo P (1991) Evolution of colony characteristics in social insects. 1. Sex allocation. Am Nat 137:83–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Queller DC, Goodnight KF (1989) Estimating relatedness using genetic markers. Evolution 43:258–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rüger MH, Heinze J, Foitzik S (2005) Polymorphic microsatellite loci in the ponerine ant, Hypoponera opacior (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Mol Ecol Notes 5:236–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shuker DM, West SA (2004) Information constraints and the precision of adaptation: sex ratio manipulation in wasps. PNAS 101:10363–10367

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sundström L (1994) Sex ratio bias, relatedness asymmetry and queen mating frequency in ants. Nature 367:266–268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sundström L (1995) Sex allocation and colony maintenance in monogyne and polygyne colonies of Formica truncorum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): the impact of kinship and mating structure. Am Nat 146:182–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trivers RL (1972) Parental investment and sexual selection. In: Campbell B (ed) Sexual selection and the descent of man 1871–1971. Aldine, Chicago, IL, pp 136–179

  • Tsuji K, Yamauchi K (1996) Intracolonial sex ratio variation with and without local mate competition in an ant. Am Nat 48:588–596

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • West SA (2009) Sex allocation. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamauchi K, Furukawa T, Kinomura K, Takamine H, Tsuji K (1991) Secondary polygyny by inbred wingless sexuals in the dolichoderine ant Technomyrmex albipes. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 29:313–319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamauchi K, Oguchi S, Nakamura Y, Suetake H, Kawasa N, Kinomura K (2001) Mating behaviour of dimorphic reproductives of the ponerine ant, Hypoponera nubatama. Insect Soc 48:83–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuur AF, Ieno EN, Walker NJ, Saveliev AA, Smith GM (2009) Mixed effects models and extensions in ecology with R. Springer, Heidelberg

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the SWRS for accommodation and support. We thank the “Western Regional Climate Centre” for providing weather data online (www.wrcc.org). We are thankful to the Munich ant group for helpful comments on the manuscript. Funding came from the DFG (German Science Foundation; Fo 289/5-1, 3) and two grants (SWRS Student Support Fund) from the American Museum of Natural History (New York) in 2004 and 2005.

We declare that the experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susanne Foitzik.

Additional information

Communicated by L. Sundström

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(PDF 269 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Foitzik, S., Kureck, I.M., Rüger, M.H. et al. Alternative reproductive tactics and the impact of local competition on sex ratios in the ant Hypoponera opacior . Behav Ecol Sociobiol 64, 1641–1654 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-010-0977-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-010-0977-1

Keywords

Navigation