Transitions in social complexity along elevational gradients reveal a combined impact of season length and development time on social evolution.

ABSTRACT: Eusociality is taxonomically rare, yet associated with great ecological success. Surprisingly, studies of environmental conditions favouring eusociality are often contradictory. Harsh conditions associated with increasing altitude and latitude seem to favour increased sociality in bumblebees and ants, but the reverse pattern is found in halictid bees and polistine wasps. Here, we compare the life histories and distributions of populations of 176 species of Hymenoptera from the Swiss Alps. We show that differences in altitudinal distributions and development times among social forms can explain these contrasting patterns: highly social taxa develop more quickly than intermediate social taxa, and are thus able to complete the reproductive cycle in shorter seasons at higher elevations. This d

SUBMITTER: Kocher SD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4071548 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature