Colony Founding Research Articles

The lose-to-win strategy of the weak: intraspecific parasitism via egg abduction in a termite.

Predation by larger conspecifics poses a major threat to small juveniles in many animal species. However, in social insects, raids perpetrated by large colonies may provide smaller colonies with opportunities for parasitization. Herein, in the termite Reticulitermes speratus, we demonstrate that small incipient colonies parasitize large mature colonies through egg abduction when attacked by raiding conspecifics. We observed that the eggs of incipient colonies were brought into raiding colonies while their parents were killed during the attack. In this species, unmated females found new colonies with female-female (FF) cooperation, in addition to the typical monogamous colony foundation. Interestingly, the abducted eggs of FF pairs developed into nymphs (reproductive caste) in the raiding colonies, whereas the eggs of male-female (MF) pairs developed into workers (non-reproductive caste). Parthenogenetic eggs are known to be developmentally predisposed to becoming female reproductives owing to genomic imprinting in termites. This study demonstrates that the plundering of small colonies by larger conspecific colonies not only results in the extinction of the weaker colonies, but also serves as a strategy that incipient colonies use to obtain the reproductive position in large colonies by stealth. The results elucidate the diversity and complexity of inter-colonial interactions in social insects.

Individual vs. Combined Short-Term Effects of Soil Pollutants on Colony Founding in a Common Ant Species.

Insects are integral to terrestrial life and provide essential ecosystem functions such as pollination and nutrient cycling. Due to massive declines in insect biomass, abundance, or species richness in recent years, the focus has turned to find their causes. Anthropogenic pollution is among the main drivers of insect declines. Research addressing the effects of pollutants concentrates on aquatic insects and pollinators, despite the apparent risk of contaminated soils. Pollutants accumulating in the soil might pose a significant threat because concentrations tend to be high and different pollutants are present simultaneously. Here, we exposed queens of the black garden ant Lasius niger at the colony founding stage to different concentrations and combinations of pollutants (brake dust, soot, microplastic particles and fibers, manure) to determine dose-dependent effects and interactions between stressors. As proxies for colony founding success, we measured queen survival, the development time of the different life stages, the brood weight, and the number of offspring. Over the course of the experiment queen mortality was very low and similar across treatments. Only high manure concentrations affected the colony founding success. Eggs from queens exposed to high manure concentrations took longer to hatch, which resulted in a delayed emergence of workers. Also, fewer pupae and workers were raised by those queens. Brake dust, soot and plastic particles did not visibly affect colony founding success, neither as single nor as multiple stressors. The application of manure, however, affected colony founding in L. niger negatively underlining the issue of excessive manure application to our environment. Even though anthropogenic soil pollutants seem to have little short-term effects on ant colony founding, studies will have to elucidate potential long-term effects as a colony grows.

Consistent signatures of urban adaptation in a native, urban invader ant Tapinoma sessile.

Biological invasions are becoming more prevalent due to the rise of global trade and expansion of urban areas. Ants are among the most prolific invaders with many exhibiting a multiqueen colony structure, dependent colony foundation and reduced internest aggression. Although these characteristics are generally associated with the invasions of exotic ants, they may also facilitate the spread of native ants into novel habitats. Native to diverse habitats across North America, the odorous house ant Tapinoma sessile has become abundant in urban environments throughout the United States. Natural colonies typically have a small workforce, inhabit a single nest, and are headed by a single queen, whereas urban colonies tend to be several orders of magnitude larger, inhabit multiple nests (i.e., polydomy) and are headed by multiple queens (i.e., polygyny). Here, we explore and compare the population genetic and breeding structure of T.sessile within and between urban and natural environments in several localities across its distribution range. We found the social structure of a colony to be a plastic trait in both habitats, although extreme polygyny was confined to urban habitats. Additionally, polydomous colonies were only present in urban habitats, suggesting T.sessile can only achieve supercoloniality within urbanized areas. Finally, we identified strong differentiation between urban and natural populations in each locality and continent-wide, indicating cities may restrict gene flow and exert intense selection pressure. Overall, our study highlights urbanization's influence in charting the evolutionary course for species.

The evolution of social parasitism in Formica ants revealed by a global phylogeny

Studying the behavioral and life history transitions from a cooperative, eusocial life history to exploitative social parasitism allows for deciphering the conditions under which changes in behavior and social organization lead to diversification. The Holarctic ant genus Formica is ideally suited for studying the evolution of social parasitism because half of its 172 species are confirmed or suspected social parasites, which includes all three major classes of social parasitism known in ants. However, the life history transitions associated with the evolution of social parasitism in this genus are largely unexplored. To test competing hypotheses regarding the origins and evolution of social parasitism, we reconstructed a global phylogeny of Formica ants. The genus originated in the Old World ∼30 Ma ago and dispersed multiple times to the New World and back. Within Formica, obligate dependent colony-founding behavior arose once from a facultatively polygynous common ancestor practicing independent and facultative dependent colony foundation. Temporary social parasitism likely preceded or arose concurrently with obligate dependent colony founding, and dulotic social parasitism evolved once within the obligate dependent colony-founding clade. Permanent social parasitism evolved twice from temporary social parasitic ancestors that rarely practiced colony budding, demonstrating that obligate social parasitism can originate from a facultative parasitic background in socially polymorphic organisms. In contrast to permanently socially parasitic ants in other genera, the high parasite diversity in Formica likely originated via allopatric speciation, highlighting the diversity of convergent evolutionary trajectories resulting in nearly identical parasitic life history syndromes.

Promoting Epistemic Vigilance Against Racist Attacks on Africans on Mediatised Permanent Education Sites

This paper analyses how tropes of racism against people of African descent manifest in public texts (permanent education sites) of different genres and forms. The selected permanent education sites include the mediatisation of the public and private lives of the British royal family’s Prince Harry and Meghan’s break away from royal duties, the FIFA World Cup and the English Premier League, the Chinese Museum in Hubei, and other public incidences that provoked racial controversies. These activities, controversies and exhibitions are vehicles through which racism is reproduced as part of the historical global capitalist system. This is the ubiquitous public pedagogy of permanent education. The porous but multifarious dominant sitesdiffuse diverse forms of pedagogical address to put into play a limited range of identities, ideologies, and subject positions that both reinforce neoliberal social relations and undermine the capacity for democratic politics. Critical scholarship has a normative duty to be mindful of all cultural activities and productions, their processes of signification, and implications for humanization and democracy. After conveniently selecting specific mass mediated permanent education sites, this paper theorises and historicises the colonial foundations of racism and the European construction of an imagined racial hierarchy. It then problematises China as an emergent global economic powerhouse located in this gradation, and its contemporary self- identities – both official and public – given notable allegations of incidences of Chinese racism against people of African descent. Popular sites of mediation are not studied for their own sake, but to develop a radical pan-African scholarship strategically positioned to influence public education sites for social transformation and justice. Such vigilant critical decolonial scholarship makes necessary com onse to insidious sites ocultural education.

Foraging for the fungus: why do Acromyrmex subterraneus (Formicidae) queens need to forage during the nest foundation phase?

1. Semiclaustral ant queens must pay the price of foraging to guarantee their survival and also that of their brood through the nest foundation phase. For leaf‐cutting ant species, the challenge is even greater, as they also need to cultivate their symbiont fungus.2. We hypothesised that suppressing foraging activity could reflect in larger offspring and higher survival, as queens would be entirely dedicated to rearing the brood and initial fungus.3. By providing easy access to leaves or completely denying it, we evaluated how foraging runs interfere in Acromyrmex subterraneus queens' survival, productivity, and variation of body mass components.4. Three foraging conditions were simulated: Starved – no leaves, Spoiled – leaves inside the nest chamber, and Walker – leaves 3 m away from the nest chamber. We registered the number of dead queens, offspring, weight of the fungus garden, fresh and lean dry mass of the queens, as well as their lipid and water contents.5. Survival of Starved queens, which did not oviposit, was lower than that of Spoiled and Walker queens, although weight loss, water content, and lean dry mass were similar. While lipid content reduction was similar for Spoiled and Walker queens, the former had more larvae and pupae, and a heavier fungus garden than the latter, suggesting a greater rearing effort of Spoiled queens toward them both.6. The simulated foraging conditions provided novel data for a semiclaustral leaf‐cutting ant species that evidences that fungus garden cultivation is definitively the main driving force for the colony founding success.

Sex-specific and caste-specific brain adaptations related to spatial orientation in Cataglyphis ants.

Cataglyphis desert ants are charismatic central place foragers. After long-ranging foraging trips, individual workers navigate back to their nest relying mostly on visual cues. The reproductive caste faces other orientation challenges, i.e. mate finding and colony foundation. Here we compare brain structures involved in spatial orientation of Cataglyphis nodus males, gynes, and foragers by quantifying relative neuropil volumes associated with two visual pathways, and numbers and volumes of antennal lobe (AL) olfactory glomeruli. Furthermore, we determined absolute numbers of synaptic complexes in visual and olfactory regions of the mushroom bodies (MB) and a major relay station of the sky-compass pathway to the central complex (CX). Both female castes possess enlarged brain centers for sensory integration, learning, and memory, reflected in voluminous MBs containing about twice the numbers of synaptic complexes compared with males. Overall, male brains are smaller compared with both female castes, but the relative volumes of the optic lobes and CX are enlarged indicating the importance of visual guidance during innate behaviors. Male ALs contain greatly enlarged glomeruli, presumably involved in sex-pheromone detection. Adaptations at both the neuropil and synaptic levels clearly reflect differences in sex-specific and caste-specific demands for sensory processing and behavioral plasticity underlying spatial orientation.

Travelers in the Mediterranean: The Case for Ancient Parians

The island of Paros located in the centre of the Aegean Sea, emerged as an organized polis/state already in mid-8th century BC. Its geographical position favored early sea communications and foundation of colonies along the Mediterranean. In the article, I discuss the impressive phenomenon of itinerant Parians in the Mediterranean in relation to (a) the colonies founded by Paros in the Propontis, the North Aegean and the Adriatic Sea, (b) certain activities of travelling groups of artists in Greece proper and the periphery of the Greek world, and (c) two exceptional cases of itinerant Parians, Archilochos the poet (7th century BC) and Skopas the sculptor and architect (4th century BC). Finally, a short mention is made of another type of mobilization of fighters, under state control.

Social isolation and group size are associated with divergent gene expression in the brain of ant queens.

Social life and isolation pose a complex suite of challenges to organisms prompting significant changes in neural state. However, plasticity in how brains respond to social challenges remains largely unexplored. The fire ants Solenopsis invicta provide an ideal scenario for examining this. Fire ant queens may found colonies individually or in groups of up to 30 queens, depending on key factors such as density of newly mated queens and availability of nesting sites. We artificially manipulated availability of nesting sites to test how the brain responds to social versus solitary colony founding at two key timepoints (early vs. late colony founding) and to group size (large vs. small groups). We adopted a powerful neurogenomic approach to identify even subtle differences of gene expression between treatment groups, and we built a global gene co-expression network of the fire ant brain to identify gene modules specifically associated with the different components of the social environment. The difference between group and single founding queens involves only one gene when founding behavior is still plastic and queens can switch from one modality to another, while hundreds of genes are involved later in the process, when behaviors have lost the initial plasticity and are more canalized. Furthermore, we find that large groups are associated with greater changes in gene expression than small groups, showing that even potentially subtle differences in the social environment can be linked to different neurogenomic states.

Positionality, Privilege, and Possibility: The Ethnographer “at Home” as an Uncomfortable Insider

AbstractConducting ethnographic fieldwork “at home” is often undermined by the colonial foundations of anthropology, which still permeate understandings of value and legitimacy in academic research. Scholars often present hometown ethnography as providing automatic insider status or as a threat to objectivity. In this paper, I offer a self‐reflexive account of my fieldwork with working holidaymakers in the small rural Australian town where I spent my teenage years. Adjusting to conflicting roles of researcher and returning resident revealed feelings of discomfort and a heightened, uncertain sense of self at odds with the familiarity and belonging associated with localness. I argue that conducting ethnography in familiar research sites is an exercise in understanding the uncomfortable complexities of shifting researcher positionality. By sharing some internal conflicts and crises, I examine the process of conducting research in a familiar space and consider the broader methodological implications and transformative potential of doing ethnography at home.

Hierarchical transitions and fractal wrinkling drive bacterial pellicle morphogenesis

Bacterial cells can self-organize into structured communities at fluid-fluid interfaces. These soft, living materials composed of cells and extracellular matrix are called pellicles. Cells residing in pellicles garner group-level survival advantages such as increased antibiotic resistance. The dynamics of pellicle formation and, more generally, how complex morphologies arise from active biomaterials confined at interfaces are not well understood. Here, using Vibrio cholerae as our model organism, a custom-built adaptive stereo microscope, fluorescence imaging, mechanical theory, and simulations, we report a fractal wrinkling morphogenesis program that differs radically from the well-known coalescence of wrinkles into folds that occurs in passive thin films at fluid-fluid interfaces. Four stages occur: growth of founding colonies, onset of primary wrinkles, development of secondary curved ridge instabilities, and finally the emergence of a cascade of finer structures with fractal-like scaling in wavelength. The time evolution of pellicle formation depends on the initial heterogeneity of the film microstructure. Changing the starting bacterial seeding density produces three variations in the sequence of morphogenic stages, which we term the bypass, crystalline, and incomplete modes. Despite these global architectural transitions, individual microcolonies remain spatially segregated, and thus, the community maintains spatial and genetic heterogeneity. Our results suggest that the memory of the original microstructure is critical in setting the morphogenic dynamics of a pellicle as an active biomaterial.

Jennifer Graber, The Gods of Indian Country: Religion and the Struggle for the American West

American Religion 2, no. 2 (Spring 2021), pp. 151–153 Copyright © 2021, The Trustees of Indiana University • doi: 10.2979/amerreli.2.2.13 Book Review Jennifer Graber, The Gods of Indian Country: Religion and the Struggle for the American West (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018) Natalie Avalos University of Colorado, Boulder, USA For Native peoples on the southern plains, ceremonial life was the place where they formed political alliances based on a shared sacred understanding of the world. Jennifer Graber’s The Gods of Indian Country notes that with the arrival of settlers in what would soon be known as “Indian Territory,” religion remained a connection point—not to consecrate political agreements with Native nations but as a rationale and means to dispossess them. This book narrates the activities of Protestant and Catholic “friends of the Indian” in the nineteenth-centurylong struggle to settle the West through their missionary and reform work with Indians in the southern Plains, specifically the Kiowa. Through careful use of government, denominational, and Kiowa sources, such as calendars and ledger drawings, Graber makes the case that these “friends of the Indian” operationalized a particular kind of white Christian civility to help materialize the structural foundations of US settler colonialism. The book is organized into three sections—open lands, closed lands, and divided lands—in order to convey the distinct shifts in ideology and practice of nineteenth-century US expansion. Beginning with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, chapters one and two outline the debates around Indian removal during the first half of the century in response to settler demands for land. Religious American Religion 2:2 152 actors, initially resistant to policies of removal, sought a moral solution to the “Indian problem,” arguing that Indians could be civilized and eventually assimilated through religious conversion. Graber contrasts these debates with a detailed contextualization of Kiowa life on the open plains as one of the region’s central power brokers—their relationship to nearby tribes as well as to the unseen world. As settlers and reformers trickled into the region, the Kiowa were pathologized as the fiercest of “wild” Indians due to their frequent raids into the Southwestern US and Mexico and their yearly observance of the Sun Dance. After skirmishes with US troops, who carried out a series of Indian massacres in the region, the Kiowa were confined to reservation lands. Here, the historical discourse involving Indian agents, federal representatives, and Kiowas demonstrates the breathtaking level of racist paternalism and deceit that operated together to facilitate land dispossession. Food provisions were promised but always fell short. Farming was encouraged yet poor instruction led to failed crops. While their Quaker reservation agent implored the federal government to act on good faith, noting that deprivations would only demoralize the Kiowas, the federal body’s uneven response communicated their long game—Indian elimination. Chapters three through five, covering the period from 1868–1881, chronicle the consolidation of Indian territory into an open-air prison that experimented with compulsory forms of social engineering aimed at civilizing Indians: changes in dress, food, and complete re-education programs via missionization and boarding schools. Pacifist reservations agents, frustrated by Kiowas who continued dancing, hunting, and raiding, became despots, invited US troops to occupy Kiowa lands, and withheld food as a form of coercion. The Kiowa were incredulous—why would they give up their lifeways on their sovereign lands? As they contemplated revolt, they took refuge in the Sun Dance and religious life, supplicating spiritual power to empower them in their duress. Kiowa assertions of autonomy in the face of this coercion are salient here. As one Kiowa leader noted, it would take the white men many years to kill all Indians, but if all Indians die, “then the world will turn to water or burn up. [The world] can’t live when the Indians are all dead” (108). It is in the aftermath of the Kiowa’s armed resistance in the Red River War—the imprisonment of Kiowa warriors and spike in public support for Indian elimination—that the Kiowa realized they had very little choice but to tolerate this social engineering or starve. In chapters six and seven, Graber links the...

기원전 63년 룰루스(P. Servilius Rullus) 농지 법안 재고: 기원전 103년‒기원전 63년 로마 공화정 후기 농지 정책 변천사

In contrast to the voluminous scholarship on the Gracchan agrarian reforms, the agrarian history of Roman Italy of the last century of the Roman Republic is in need of a systematic analysis. Modern discussions of the agrarian legislation after the Gracchi tend to be fragmented; it has been generally considered as a contributing factor in narratives of political struggles of the final phase of the Republic, if not treated as an epilogue to the significant Gracchan period. This paper reassesses the agrarian proposal of P. Servilius Rullus in 63 BC, primarily in the context of the Roman agrarian policy after the Gracchi, rather than seeing it from the perspective of Roman politics at that time. This paper examines the way in which Rullus’ proposal reflects provisions of earlier measures and attempts to contribute to a better understanding of the innovations of Rullus’ proposal. The provision of the purchase of land for re-distribution with public funds in Rullus’ proposal was first introduced in Saturninus’ agrarian law in 100 BC, which then seems to have been adopted in Plotius’ agrarian law in 70/69 BC. Rullus also revived Livius Drusus’ colonial foundations in Italy in 91 BC, rejecting, however, Sulla’s coercive measures in 82 BC. This paper concludes by suggesting that Rullus’ agrarian proposal was in the tradition of the Gracchan agrarian reforms, which was continued by Flavius in 60 BC and Caesar in 59 BC.

CANCER INSIGHT: HALLMARKS AND THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES

Cancer metastasis is a complex, multistep process responsible for > 90% of cancer-related deaths. Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and about 8.8 million people worldwide died from cancer (Liver (788 000), Lung (1.69 million) Colorectal (774 000), Stomach (754 000), Breast (571 000)) in 20151. That is nearly 1 in 6 of all global deaths. Lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach and liver cancer are the most common types of cancer in men, while breast, colorectal, lung, cervix and stomach cancer are the most common among women. During metastasis, the primary tumor seeds pioneer cells that move out, invade adjacent tissues, and then travel to distant sites where they may succeed in founding new colonies called secondary tumors . In the last few decades, a rich and complex body of knowledge has been generated in cancer, revealing cancer to be a disease involving dynamic changes in the genome. In 2000, Douglas Hanahan and Robert A. Weinberg reported six hallmarks of cancer. They include sustaining proliferative signaling, evading growth suppressors, resisting cell death, enabling replicative immortality, inducing angiogenesis, and activating invasion and metastasis. Underlying these hallmarks are genome instability, which generates the genetic diversity that expedites their acquisition, and inflammation. Cancer Initiation, detachment and organ-specific affinity of cancer cells to host cells in terms of the above mentioned hallmarks helped devise new potential therapies. To date, five cancer treatment modalities have been defined. Currently available cancer treatments include the traditional surgery (Cryosurgery, Lasers,Hyperthermia), radiotherapy (External Beam Radiation Therapy, Internal Radiation Therapy), and conventional chemotherapy (Oral, Intravenous (IV), Injection, Intrathecal, Intraperitoneal (IP), Intraarterial (IA), Topical), approaches and have been extended with two new modalities in recent decades: molecularly targeted therapy (MTT) ( Small -molecule drugs, antibodies ) and immunotherapy Monoclonal antibodies,, Adoptive cell transfer, Cytokines, Treatment Vaccines, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)). The most important goal of targeted therapy or more advanced immune-based strategies is to eradicate cancer cells more specifically than traditional theraphies while maintaining an acceptable level of side effects and quality of life. Unfortunately, the newly developed targeted agents or techniques show a similar incidence and severity of toxicities as traditional cytotoxic agents do. With a full clarity of mechanism, cancer prognosis and treatment will become a rational science. It's a dream that one day the patchwork quilt of major fields like cell biology, genetics, histopathology, biochemistry, immunology, pharmacology and physics will detect and identify all stages of cancer progression and will be able to prevent incipient cancers from developing and will cure preexisting cancers.

An iconic messenger of climate change? Predicting the range dynamics of the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)

When environmental conditions change, species usually face three options: adaptation, range shifts, or extinction. In the wake of climate change, it is generally believed that range shifts are the norm in mobile species such as birds, resulting in poleward range shifts. The European Bee-eater is a predominantly Mediterranean species which has expanded its range to higher latitudes over the last decades. Germany in particular has seen a surge in breeding pairs and foundation of new colonies. However, while many experts suggest climate warming as the main driver behind this range expansion, an explicit quantification remains open. Here, we use an ensemble modelling approach to study the recent climatic niche suitability of the European Bee-eater across Europe with a special focus on Germany and project its predicted Palaearctic breeding distribution onto the year 2050 using two global circulation models and two representative concentration pathways. Models were able to predict the current European range of the species with some underestimated areas in Central and Eastern Europe, depending on the selected model. We found a strong relationship between climatic suitable areas and estimated population sizes across European countries that is reflected in most algorithms. In particular, the German population size is in line with climate suitability in the country suggesting a strong climate–population relationship and a high degree of niche filling. Most future predictions point to an ongoing northward expansion of the species while areas in Southern Europe and the Maghreb area remain largely suitable. The strong climate–population relationship makes the European Bee-eater an appropriate indicator species for climate change. Yet the high variability of modelling algorithms also call for caution of using these techniques without careful inspection.

Myth and concealment at colonial law's foundations

AbstractThis paper provides an engagement with, and highlights the depth of, Peter Fitzpatrick's careful examination of myths that grounded modern law and its colonial instances. That grounding is shown to be premised on a concealment of basic contradictions behind fictions of a unified law, even though it only appears through negations of others. Intersecting patterns of marginalisation are shown to be constitutive of modern and colonial law, so it is not surprising that current protests should address a basic exclusionary racism that Fitzpatrick's work signalled. It concludes with some reflections on what his work might mean for three current debates.

Fine-scale habitat heterogeneity favours the coexistence of supergene-controlled social forms in Formica selysi

BackgroundSocial insects vary widely in social organization, yet the genetical and ecological factors influencing this variation remain poorly known. In particular, whether spatially varying selection influences the maintenance of social polymorphisms in ants has been rarely investigated. To fill this gap, we examined whether fine-scale habitat heterogeneity contributes to the co-existence of alternative forms of social organization within populations. Single-queen colonies (monogyne social form) are generally associated with better colonization abilities, whereas multiple-queen colonies (polygyne social form) are predicted to be better competitors and monopolize saturated habitats. We hypothesize that each social form colonizes and thrives in distinct local habitats, as a result of their alternative dispersal and colony founding strategies. Here, we test this hypothesis in the Alpine silver ant, in which a supergene controls polymorphic social organization.ResultsMonogyne and polygyne colonies predominate in distinct habitats of the same population. The analysis of 59 sampling plots distributed across six habitats revealed that single-queen colonies mostly occupy unconnected habitats that were most likely reached by flight. This includes young habitats isolated by water and old habitats isolated by vegetation. In contrast, multiple-queen colonies were abundant in young, continuous and saturated habitats. Hence, alternative social forms colonize and monopolize distinct niches at a very local scale.ConclusionsAlternative social forms colonized and monopolized different local habitats, in accordance with differences in colonization and competition abilities. The monogyne social form displays a colonizer phenotype, by efficiently occupying empty habitats, while the polygyne social form exhibits a competitor phenotype, thriving in saturated habitats. The combination of the two phenotypes, coupled with fine-scale habitat heterogeneity, may allow the coexistence of alternative social forms within populations. Overall, these results suggest that spatially varying selection may be one of the mechanisms contributing to the maintenance of genetic polymorphisms in social organization.

Dynamic protozoan abundance of Coptotermes kings and queens during the transition from biparental to alloparental care

An incipient termite colony initially functions as a biparental family unit. The emergence of the first workers initiates the transition from biparental to alloparental care within a colony. During this transition, the number of protozoa harbored by Reticulitermes speratus (Kolbe) kings and queens is dynamic. In Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann), the transition to alloparental care is completed by 150 days after colony foundation. In the present study, we quantified the protozoan abundance of C. gestroi and Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki kings and queens at ten time points during the transition from biparental to alloparental care (0–400 days post colony foundation). The protozoan abundance of C. gestroi and C. formosanus kings and queens peaked on either day 35 or 60 during the biparental care period, and then progressively decreased during the remainder of the study. By day 400 the protozoan abundance of kings and queens was either similar to or less than the abundance observed within unmated dealates. Both C. gestroi and C. formosanus kings and queens still harbored protozoa at day 150 even though the transition to alloparental care was completed by this time. On days 250 and 400 for C. formosanus, and on day 400 for C. gestroi, the protozoan abundance of kings was greater than the abundance of queens. These results indicate that alloparental care can become set within a colony prior to the loss of protozoa within the royal pair, and that queens lose their protozoa earlier than kings during incipient colony development.

Physiological changes of primary reproductives after founding incipient colonies in the subterranean termite Reticulitermes chinensis Snyder

Investigation on the physiological change in founders is helpful for understanding the strategy of termites to overcome severe and nutrition-limited condition in incipient colonies. Physiological changes of primary reproductives were analyzed 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 7.5 months after founding incipient female-female (FF) colonies or female-male (FM) colonies in the subterranean termite R. chinensis Snyder. We found that the fresh weight of FM_king or FM_queen was significantly lower than those of FF_queen at 7.5 months, suggesting that FM_king and FM_queen underwent dehydration and hardening to improve their cold resistance. There was a significantly negative linear correlation in the protein titer between FF_queen and FM_queen at 3.5 months. The decrease in protein titer of FF_queen may be due to oviposition and eggs-guarding at 1.5 months, and the subsequent increase may be due to swallowing eggs. The increase in protein titer of FM_queen at 1.5 months may be because the king can replenish the queen with protein through the transfer of proctodeal pellets, while the subsequent decrease may be due to sharply increased consumption of protein by incubation and brooding. There was marginally significant negative correlation between glucose and triglyceride titers in FM_queen and FM_king at 3.5 months, respectively. These findings suggested that indirect mutual conversion of glucose and triglyceride may occur without external nutritional supplement in primary reproductives of R. chinensis.

Law, War, Imperial Competition, and the Colonial Foundations of the Sixteenth-Century Philippines

This article contributes to the understanding of the conquest and colonization of the Philippines, particularly the global and regional processes that molded the Spanish Empire throughout the sixteenth century. It suggests that the foundation of Spanish dominion in the archipelago involved the development of royal policies in line with imperial competition. Drawing upon Spanish legislation that legitimized the subjugation of natives and reports from colonial authorities on that matter, this article calls attention to the relationship between the development of law and imperial competition. Both processes influenced how the Philippine native elites were accommodated within Spanish rule.