Social evolution in ants
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Social evolution in ants
（Monographs in behavior and ecology）
Princeton University Press, c1995
- : pbk
Available at / 11 libraries
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University Library for Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo図
: pbkA9018145019566289
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [445]-509) and indexes
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
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: pbk ISBN 9780691044262
Description
Biologists since Darwin have been intrigued and confounded by the complex issues involved in the evolution and ecology of the social behavior of insects. The self-sacrifice of sterile workers in ant colonies has been particularly difficult for evolutionary biologists to explain. In this important new book, Andrew Bourke and Nigel Franks not only present a detailed overview of the current state of scientific knowledge about social evolution in ants, but also show how studies on ants have contributed to an understanding of many fundamental topics in behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology. One of the substantial contributions of Social Evolution in Ants is its clear explanation of kin selection theory and sex ratio theory and their applications to social evolution in insects. Working to dispel lingering skepticism about the validity of kin selection and, more broadly, of "selfish gene" theory, Bourke and Franks show how these ideas underpin the evolution of both cooperation and conflict within ant societies. In addition, using simple algebra, they provide detailed explanations of key mathematical models.
Finally, the authors discuss two relatively little-known topics in ant social biology: life history strategy and mating systems. This comprehensive, up-to-date, and well-referenced work will appeal to all researchers in social insect biology and to scholars and students in the fields of entomology, behavioral ecology, and evolution.
Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments1Kin Selection32Levels-of-selection Theory, Gene Selectionism, and Insect Societies393Kin Selection, Haplodiploidy, and the Evolution of Eusociality in Ants694Sex Ratio Theory for the Social Hymenoptera1075Tests of Sex Ratio Theory in Ants1566Kin Conflict over Sex Allocation2007Kin Conflict over Reproduction2208Evolution and Ecology of Multiple-queen Societies2589Life History Theory in Ants29910The Diversity of Life Histories in Ants32811Mating Biology36512The Division of Labor400References445Author Index511Subject Index519Taxonomic Index526
- Volume
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ISBN 9780691044279
Description
Biologists have long been intrigued and confounded by the complex issues in the evolution and ecology of the social behaviour of insects. The self-sacrifice of sterile workers in ant colonies has been particularly difficult for evolutionary biologists to explain. This text presents an overview of the current state of scientific knowledge about social evolution in ants and shows how studies on ants have contributed to an understanding of many fundamental topics in behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology. The book explains kin selection theory and sex ratio theory and their applications to social evolution in insects. Aiming to dispel lingering skepticism about the validity of kin selection and, more broadly, of "selfish gene" theory, the authors show how these ideas underpin the evolution of both co-operation and conflict within ant societies. In addition, using simple algebra, they provide detailed explanations of key mathematical models. Finally, they discuss two relatively little-known topics in ant social biology: life history strategy and mating systems.
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