showing 2 related works from this author
Biogenic amine levels, reproduction and social dominance in the queenless ant Streblognathus peetersi
2006
Social harmony often relies on ritualized dominance interactions between society members, particularly in queenless ant societies, where colony members do not have developmentally predetermined castes but have to fight for their status in the reproductive and work hierarchy. In this behavioural plasticity, their social organisation resembles more that of vertebrates than that of the "classic" social insects. The present study investigates the neurochemistry of the queenless ant species, Streblognathus peetersi, to better understand the neural basis of the high behavioural plasticity observed in queenless ants. We report measurements of brain biogenic amines [octopamine, dopamine, serotonin]…
Reproductive monopoly enforced by sterile police workers in a queenless ant
2004
In societies of totipotent insects, dyadic dominance interactions generate a hierarchy that often underlies an extreme reproductive skew. Subordinates remain infertile but can maximize their indirect fitness benefits through collective power (worker policing): interference with challenging high-rankers can prevent an untimely replacement of the reproductive. However, police workers only benefit if they favor individuals with high fertility. In the monogynous queenless ant Streblognathus peetersi, we used behavioral, physiological, and chemical methods to show that police workers have the primary role in the selection of the reproductive, and that they probably use reliable information about…