Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

The influences of costs and benefits on social evolution remain poorly understood, despite their importance for explaining social behavior, and continue to fuel high-profile debates. Here, we investigate the effect of a major ecological factor, wood resource-that is, natal nest value-on reproductive decision making in the termite Cryptotermes secundus. Workers continually assess the available wood resources of the colony and adjust their developmental decisions, including investment into competition, accordingly. In particular, workers are more likely to stay and fight for inheritance within resource-rich nests. Comparable responses are seen in social wasps, which evolved sociality independently from the termites, demonstrating convergent evolution. Our results, therefore, indicate a general evolutionary link between resource wealth and societal conflict. © 2012 The Author.

Original publication

DOI

10.1093/beheco/ars103

Type

Journal article

Journal

Behavioral Ecology

Publication Date

01/11/2012

Volume

23

Pages

1203 - 1208