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Intrinsic worker mortality depends on behavioral caste and the queens’ presence in a social insect

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Abstract

According to the classic life history theory, selection for longevity depends on age-dependant extrinsic mortality and fecundity. In social insects, the common life history trade-off between fecundity and longevity appears to be reversed, as the most fecund individual, the queen, often exceeds workers in lifespan several fold. But does fecundity directly affect intrinsic mortality also in social insect workers? And what is the effect of task on worker mortality? Here, we studied how social environment and behavioral caste affect intrinsic mortality of ant workers. We compared worker survival between queenless and queenright Temnothorax longispinosus nests and demonstrate that workers survive longer under the queens’ absence. Temnothorax ant workers fight over reproduction when the queen is absent and dominant workers lay eggs. Worker fertility might therefore increase lifespan, possibly due to a positive physiological link between fecundity and longevity, or better care for fertile workers. In social insects, division of labor among workers is age-dependant with young workers caring for the brood and old ones going out to forage. We therefore expected nurses to survive longer than foragers, which is what we found. Surprisingly, inactive inside workers showed a lower survival than nurses but comparable to that of foragers. The reduced longevity of inactive workers could be due to them being older than the nurses, or due to a positive effect of activity on lifespan. Overall, our study points to behavioral caste-dependent intrinsic mortality rates and a positive association between fertility and longevity not only in queens but also in ant workers.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the E.N Huyck preserve for research grant, accommodation, and the collection permit. The study was supported by a GeneRed grand to SF and BF as well the DFG grants (FO 298/19) and (FE 1333/6-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Johannes von Müller Weg 6, 55128, Mainz, Germany

    Philip Kohlmeier, Matteo Antoine Negroni, Marion Kever, Stefanie Emmling, Heike Stypa & Susanne Foitzik

  2. Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Senckenberganlage 25, D-60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Barbara Feldmeyer

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  1. Philip Kohlmeier
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  2. Matteo Antoine Negroni
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Correspondence to Philip Kohlmeier.

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Communicated by: Alain Dejean

Philip Kohlmeier and Matteo Antoine Negroni contributed equally to the study.

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Kohlmeier, P., Negroni, M.A., Kever, M. et al. Intrinsic worker mortality depends on behavioral caste and the queens’ presence in a social insect. Sci Nat 104, 34 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-017-1452-x

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