The evolution of division of labour: preconditions and evolutionary feedback

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1922)

Published: March 20, 2025

Division of Labour (DoL) among group members reflects the pinnacle social complexity. The synergistic effects created by task specialization and sharing duties benefitting raise efficiency acquisition, use, management defence resources a fundamental step above potential individual agents. At same time, it may stabilize societies because involved interdependence collaborators. Here, I review conditions associated with emergence DoL, which include existence (i) sizeable groups enduring membership; (ii) improving performance; (iii) low conflict interest owing to correlated payoffs. This results in (iv) combination intra-individual consistency inter-individual variance carrying out different tasks, creates (v) some degree mutual members. DoL typically evolves ‘bottom-up’ without external regulatory forces, but latter gain importance at later stage evolution Owing feedback processes, cause effect are often difficult disentangle evolutionary trajectory towards structured well-developed their Nevertheless, entail one-way street complexity, retrogression getting increasingly more agents depend on each other progressing stages evolution. article is part theme issue ‘Division labour as key driver evolution’.

Language: Английский

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Division of labour in colony defence in a clonal ant

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1922)

Published: March 20, 2025

Division of labour (DOL) plays a key role across all scales biological organization, but how its expression varies contexts is still poorly understood. Here, we measure DOL in crucial task, colony defence, social insect that affords precise experimental control over individual and traits, the clonal raider ant ( Ooceraea biroi ). We find defence behaviour emerges within colonies near-identical workers, likely reflecting variation response thresholds, it increases with size. Additionally, pupae show higher levels than those without brood. However, do not evidence for behavioural syndrome linking exploration activity, as previously reported other systems. By showing composition size affect group to potential threats, our findings highlight context shaping DOL. This article part theme issue ‘Division driver evolution’.

Language: Английский

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Division of labour during honeybee colony defence: poetic and scientific views

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1922)

Published: March 20, 2025

Poets, philosophers and politicians have used bees, often projected an idealized human society into their view of how beehives are organized, from the ancient Greeks to present times. We first review division labour in honeybees was perceived by observers, before presenting our current understanding. focus specifically on defensive behaviour show that this model provides interesting case study for conceptual understanding as a whole. distinguish three phases response: detection intruder, recruitment individuals collective defence attack. Individual bees may selectively contribute one or more these steps. Guard monitor entering conspecifics attacking mammals, release alarm pheromone recruit stinging soldiers. However, we still far why only subsets become guards soldiers (or even if soldiering can be considered task per se ). discuss stimuli associated with each steps, they define number needed might combine individual developmental characteristics such take particular task. also highlight pending questions avenues future research. This article is part theme issue ‘Division key driver social evolution’.

Language: Английский

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Mutualism and division of labour: a mutual expansion of concepts

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 380(1922)

Published: March 20, 2025

Division of labour within social groups and the interspecific relationships mutualisms have traditionally been treated as separate research areas. In this opinion, we align terminologies concepts between two fields, by comparing within-group division to outsourcing functions in mutualisms. share fundamental similarities. Both are built from specialization some individuals relationship on tasks or required for survival, growth reproduction. also generate variable fitness outcomes. A key difference is that generally direct gain, while benefits cooperative sociality often accrue a mix indirect fitness. Additionally, levels physical physiological many expand far beyond differentiation seen groups, with exception reproductive labour. The consideration between-species context allows expansion our understanding both fields beyond, consider general principles drivers labour, role differences more broadly across complexity. This article part theme issue ‘Division driver evolution’.

Language: Английский

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Parasitism by Entomopathogenic Fungi and Insect Host Defense Strategies

Microorganisms, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 13(2), P. 283 - 283

Published: Jan. 27, 2025

Entomopathogenic fungi, a group of insect pathogens, are characterized by high insecticidal efficacy and minimal environmental impact. They commonly used as biopesticides for pest control due to their significant practical value. We here classify entomopathogenic fungi according the process fungal infection in hosts, changes host behavior during infection, mechanisms spore transmission, review strategies employed insects resist including physical barrier defenses, immune system behavioral avoidance pathogens. This also discusses pathogenic on closely linked co-evolution between pathogens defenses. In conclusion, perspective future research is provided, emphasizing impact population density concentration environment disease outbreaks.

Language: Английский

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Investigating the Biology of Leaf-Cutting Ants to Support the Development of Alternative Methods for the Control and Management of These Agricultural Pests

Agriculture, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 15(6), P. 642 - 642

Published: March 18, 2025

Concerns about the environmental and health risks of synthetic insecticides are driving search for alternative pest control methods. Leaf-cutting ants (LCAs), one most significant pests in neotropics, cause substantial economic damage to agriculture present challenges due their complex biology ecology. While chemical remains primary strategy, its intensive use has negative impacts, promotes resistance, endangers non-target species, including plants, animals, humans. This review describes LCAs, examines traditional methods suggests strategies such as entomopathogenic fungi (EPFs) combined with sublethal doses insecticides, plant essential oils (EOs), RNAi techniques. Here, we emphasize need address LCA management sustainably by investigating ecology at both “colony” “individual” levels. Colony-level factors include morphology, life cycle, behavior, division labor, nest structure, while individual-level mechanisms involve sensory, biochemical, behavioral adaptations garden sterilization decontamination. also highlights potential insecticide EPFs induce changes worker mortality, it details mode action EOs promising strategies. The integration biological approaches could offer sustainable alternatives insecticides.

Language: Английский

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Protein-rich trophallactic contents transferred from reproductives are crucial for termite soldier differentiation in Zootermopsis nevadensis

Journal of Insect Physiology, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown, P. 104797 - 104797

Published: March 1, 2025

Language: Английский

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Exploring termite-microbe symbiosis: mechanisms, evolution and biotechnological potential

Asia-Pacific Journal of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown, P. 41 - 53

Published: April 10, 2025

The symbiotic relationship between termites and their gut microbes is one of nature's most fascinating mutualistic interactions. Termites, renowned for ability to decompose lignocellulosic materials such as wood, rely heavily on microbiota, which includes bacteria, archaea, protozoa, each playing specific roles in breaking down cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin. This complex partnership not only enables thrive low-nutrient environments but also supports nitrogen metabolism provides essential nutrients survival. termite highly compartmentalized, creating various microenvironments that support diverse microbial communities facilitate metabolic processes, including fermentation anoxic conditions. Shaped by evolutionary pressures, this has resulted specialized adaptations optimize lignocellulose degradation cycling. review explores the mechanisms termite-microbe symbiosis, functional across different taxa, structural compartmentalization gut, dynamics driving relationship. In addition, highlights ecological biotechnological significance offering valuable insights into efficient nutrient recycling could inspire future applications sustainable bioenergy waste management.

Language: Английский

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Evolving division of labor in a response threshold model

Ecological Complexity, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 58, P. 101083 - 101083

Published: April 26, 2024

Language: Английский

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Aggressive behavior across ant lineages: importance, quantification, and associations with trait evolution

Insectes Sociaux, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 70(4), P. 393 - 403

Published: Sept. 4, 2023

Language: Английский

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