Behaviourally specialized foragers are less efficient and live shorter lives than generalists in wasp colonies.

ABSTRACT: A widely held assumption in ecology is that specialists are more efficient than generalists. However, empirical evidence for this fundamental assumption is surprisingly scarce and often contradictory. Theoretically, the evolution of alternative life history strategies is underpinned by a trade-off between activity levels and survival. We investigated the consequences of specialization in a foraging context, by comparing the performance and longevity of closely related individuals in a social insect, the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris). Using radio-frequency identification technology, we monitored the lifetime foraging activity of individual wasps from three colonies kept under natural foraging conditions. Returning foragers were video-recorded as they passed the nest entrance so that their

SUBMITTER: Santoro D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6441081 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature