Abstract
The remarkable diversity of ant social organization is reflected in both their life history and population kin structure. Different species demonstrate a high variation with respect to both social structure and mating strategies: from the ancestral colony type that is composed of a single queen (monogyny), singly inseminated (monoandry), to the more derived states of colonies headed by a multiply inseminated queen (polyandry), to colonies composed of multiple queens (polygyny) that are either singly or multiply inseminated. Moreover, the population structure of an ant species can range from multicoloniality to polydomy to supercoloniality, and Cataglyphis is considered to be a model genus in regard to such diversity. The present study sought to determine the social and population structure of the recently described C. israelensis species in Israel. For this purpose we employed a multidisciplinary approach, rather than the commonly used single approach that is mostly based on genetics. Our study encompassed behavior (nest insularity/openness), chemistry (composition of nestmate recognition signals and cuticular hydrocarbons), and genetics (microsatellite polymorphism). Each approach has been shown to possess both advantages and disadvantages, depending on the studied species. Our findings reveal that C. israelensis colonies are headed by a single, multiply inseminated queen and that the population structure is polydomous, with each colony comprising one main nest and several additional satellite nests. Moreover, our findings demonstrate that none of the above‐noted approaches, when employed individually, is suitable or sufficient in itself for delineating population structure, thus emphasizing the importance of using multiple approaches when assessing such complex systems.
Highlights
Understanding how animal societies are organized constitutes a major question in evolutionary biology (Wilson, 2012).Comparing social and population structures can shed light on the evolution of sociality as well as on other traits (Kennedy et al, 2017)
It is insufficient to assess colony boundaries using genetic methods alone. Another colony‐specific “marker” is that of the cuticular hydrocarbon profile (CHC), which in many ant species is responsible for nestmate recog‐ nition
The newly‐described Cataglyphis israelensis is distributed along the central mountain ridge in Israel, but has a small extension along the coast, at the foot of Mount Carmel, where it is sympatric with C. savignyi
Summary
Understanding how animal societies are organized constitutes a major question in evolutionary biology (Wilson, 2012).Comparing social and population structures can shed light on the evolution of sociality as well as on other traits (Kennedy et al, 2017). In species that are highly territorial and aggressive, simple dyadic encounters between nest‐ mates and nonnestmates will result in an unequivocal aggressive response, while in less aggressive species similar assays may result in mild responses, irrespective of whether the encountering ants are nestmates or alien (Buczkowski, Kumar, Suib, & Silverman, 2005) In the latter case, assays that determine whether two nests merge into a single colony may provide more unequivocal results (Boulay, Katzav‐Gozansky, Vander Meer, & Hefetz, 2003). The genus Cataglyphis is considered a good model for social evolu‐ tion (Boulay et al, 2017; Lenoir, Aron, Cerda, & Hefetz, 2009) It com‐ prises over a hundred species (Agosti, 1990), displaying various social and population structures, ranging from the basic monogynous multi‐ colonial population to polygynous supercolonies (Jowers et al, 2013; Leniaud, Heftez, Grumiau, & Aron, 2011; Timmermans, Grumiau, Hefetz, & Aron, 2010; Timmermans, Hefetz, Fournier, & Aron, 2008). The study was conducted at the distribution edge of this species along the northern coastline of Israel, presenting a similar ecological niche to that of other recently studied congener species (Leniaud et al, 2011; Saar, Leniaud, Aron, & Hefetz, 2014) that display various forms of sociality
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