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Ancestral monogamy shows kin selection is key to the evolution of eusociality

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 23:05 authored by William HughesWilliam Hughes, Benjamin P Oldroyd, Madeleine Beekman, Francis Ratnieks
Close relatedness has long been considered crucial to the evolution of eusociality. However, it has recently been suggested that close relatedness may be a consequence, rather than a cause, of eusociality. We tested this idea with a comparative analysis of female mating frequencies in 267 species of eusocial bees, wasps, and ants. We found that mating with a single male, which maximizes relatedness, is ancestral for all eight independent eusocial lineages that we investigated. Mating with multiple males is always derived. Furthermore, we found that high polyandry (>2 effective mates) occurs only in lineages whose workers have lost reproductive totipotency. These results provide the first evidence that monogamy was critical in the evolution of eusociality, strongly supporting the prediction of inclusive fitness theory.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Science

ISSN

0036-8075

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Issue

5880

Volume

320

Page range

1213-1216

Pages

4.0

Department affiliated with

  • Evolution, Behaviour and Environment Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-02-06

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