Abstract
Eusociality, a form of animal social organization involving sterile and reproductive castes, is a rare but, arguably, a highly ecologically successful form of life. There are striking examples of eusocial species with populations that are ecologically dominant in their native ranges, as well as remarkably successful globally as invasive species; prominent examples include fire ants and yellowjacket wasps. At the same time, there have been startling population declines in other social insects, notably bumble bees. Here, we explore the possible role of phenotypic plasticity in invasion biology and declines of social insect species. This topic is of particular interest, because social insects exhibit extreme behavioral, developmental, physiological, and morphological plasticity. It has been suggested that this plasticity may contribute to ecological dominance in some species, but could be a liability or cost to others. In this review, we explore the relationship between phenotypic plasticity, invasion biology, and vulnerability to global change in social insects. By considering plasticity at three levels-- molecular, individual, and colony—we suggest ways in which considerations of phenotypic plasticity may help in managing social insect populations.
Highlights
Phenotypic Plasticity in Social InsectsPhenotypic plasticity is defined as the ability of an individual organism to respond to the environment by producing alternative phenotypes based on the same genotype (Baldwin, 1896)
Phenotypic plasticity is of great interest in ecology and evolution because it allows an organism to actively adjust its phenotype in response to environmental conditions; it is a major mechanism of ecological adaptation (Via et al, 1995; Lande, 2015; Beaman et al, 2016; Colautti et al, 2017)
No large-scale meta-analyses have been conducted on invasion potential and phenotypic plasticity in animals, below, we provide a brief review of potentially plastic traits that have been proposed to be associated with invasiveness in animals, highlighting some specific examples that lead to hypotheses about invasive traits in social insects
Summary
Phenotypic plasticity is defined as the ability of an individual organism to respond to the environment by producing alternative phenotypes based on the same genotype (Baldwin, 1896). Eusocial insects show some of the most striking known examples of phenotypic plasticity known in the animal world, on both the individual and colony levels (Kennedy et al, 2017). These animals are defined by the presence of distinct castes within colonies—individuals that are specialized for specific types of activity, the most prominent being the division of labor between reproductive “royal” castes (e.g., queens) and non-reproductive castes (e.g., workers, Wilson, 1971)
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