0000000001312242
AUTHOR
Beate Nicolai
No inbreeding depression but increased sexual investment in highly inbred ant colonies.
Inbreeding can lead to the expression of deleterious recessive alleles and to a subsequent fitness reduction. In Hymenoptera, deleterious alleles are purged in haploid males moderating inbreeding costs. However, in these haplodiploid species, inbreeding can result in the production of sterile diploid males. We investigated the effects of inbreeding on the individual and colony level in field colonies of the highly inbred ant Hypoponera opacior. In this species, outbreeding winged sexuals and nest-mating wingless sexuals mate during two separate reproductive periods. We show that regular sib-matings lead to high levels of homozygosity and the occasional production of diploid males, which spo…
Similar Performance of Diploid and Haploid Males in an Ant Species without Inbreeding Avoidance
AbstractUnder haplodiploidy, a characteristic trait of all Hymenoptera, femalesdevelop from fertilised eggs, and males from unfertilised ones. Males aretherefore typically haploid. Yet, inbreeding can lead to the production ofdiploid males that often fail in development, are sterile or are of lowerfertility. In most Hymenoptera, inbreeding is avoided by dispersal flightsof one or both sexes, leading to low diploid male loads. We investigatedcauses for the production of diploid males and their performance in ahighly inbred social Hymenopteran species. In the ant Hypoponera opacior,inbreeding occurs between wingless sexuals, which mate within themother nest, whereas winged sexuals outbreed dur…
Data from: No inbreeding depression but increased sexual investment in highly inbred ant colonies
Inbreeding can lead to the expression of deleterious recessive alleles and to a subsequent fitness reduction. In Hymenoptera, deleterious alleles are purged in haploid males moderating inbreeding costs. However, in these haplo-diploid species, inbreeding can result in the production of sterile diploid males. We investigated the effects of inbreeding on the individual and colony level in field colonies of the highly inbred ant Hypoponera opacior. In this species, outbreeding winged sexuals and nest-mating wingless sexuals mate during two separate reproductive periods. We show that regular sib-matings lead to high levels of homozygosity and the occasional production of diploid males, which sp…