Characteristics of eusocial societies

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Characteristics of eusocial societies

• 1. Group Living
• 2. Overlap of Two or More Generations
• 3. Cooperative Care of the Young
• 4. Reproductive Division of Labor -
  reproductive skew

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Where has eusociality evolved (sterility)?

• Taxa number of times
• Insects
• Hymenoptera Ants, bees, wasps 11
• Isoptera Termites 1
• Homoptera Gall-forming aphids 1
• Coleoptera Bark-nesting weavils 1
• Thysanoptera Gall-forming thrips 1
• Non-insects
• Snapping shrimps and naked mole rats 2
• Total 17

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Evolution of Social Behavior in Hymenoptera
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Eciton burchelli, photo Alex Wild
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number of new workers (log)
current number of workers (log)
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Gall Aphids
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Social Australian gall thrips
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Synalpheus regalia
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From Duffy 1996 Nature
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Naked Mole Rats
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Eusociality has Evolved Twice in Molerats
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Live in Large under ground tunnel systems Harsh
environments Dispersal is very costly (there may
even be a dispersal caste)
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Something in common among these groups?
Live and feed in highly specialized habitat they
created (or modified) that is defensible by
specialized casts.
16
Something in common among these groups?
Can have large numbers of individuals (up to many
million), facilitating the acquisition of
resources and production of new individuals.
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Something in common among these groups?
Next time division of labor.