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SEX ALLOCATION IN THE ANT COLOBOPSIS NIPPONICUS (WHEELER). I. POPULATION SEX RATIO
Author(s) -
Hasegawa Eisuke
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.84
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1558-5646
pISSN - 0014-3820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1994.tb05299.x
Subject(s) - sex ratio , biology , sex allocation , competition (biology) , resource allocation , population , investment (military) , ant , optimal allocation , reproduction , operational sex ratio , microeconomics , demography , demographic economics , ecology , economics , mathematics , sociology , management , politics , political science , law , mathematical optimization
The relative power of queens and workers at controlling sex allocation in the ant Colobopsis nipponicus is investigated in this study. Results show that C. nipponicus completely satisfies Hamilton's assumptions concerning colony social structure: monogyny, monoandry, and no worker reproduction. A genetic survey of the population structure rejects possibilities of local mate competition, local resource enhancement, and local resource competition, which all can bias population‐allocation ratios from 0.5. Although these factors are absent, the observed sex‐allocation ratio (male investment/total sexual investment; 0.250 ± 0.027) is significantly biased toward females and is not different from the estimated optimal ratio for workers (0.252). Thus, it appears that workers are likely to win in conflicts over sex allocation with queens.