Evolution of sex ratios in social hymenoptera: consequences of finite brood size

Joshi, NV (1986) Evolution of sex ratios in social hymenoptera: consequences of finite brood size. In: Journal of Genetics, 65 (1-2). 55 -64.

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Abstract

Evolutionarily stable sex ratios are determined for social hymenoptera under local mate competition (LMC) and when the brood size is finite. LMC is modelled by the parameter d. Of the reproductive progeny from a single foundress nest, a fraction d disperses (outbreeding), while (1-d) mate amongst themselves (sibmating). When the brood size is finite, d is taken to be the probability of an offspring dispersing, and similarly, r, the proportion of male offspring, the probability of a haploid egg being laid. Under the joint influence of these two stochastic processes, there is a nonzero probability that some females remain unmated in the nest. As a result, the optimal proportion of males (corresponding to the evolutionarily stable strategy, ESS) is higher than that obtained when the brood size is infinite. When the queen controls the sex ration, the ESS becomes more female biased under increased inbreeding (lower d), However, the ESS under worker control shows an unexpected pattern, including an increase in the proportion of males with increased inbreeding. This effect is traced to the complex interaction between inbreeding and local mate competition.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Journal of Genetics
Publisher:	Indian Academy of Sciences
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Indian Academy of Sciences.
Keywords:	Sex ratios;local mate competition;social hymenoptera;evolutionarily stable strategies;mathematical modeling.
Department/Centre:	Division of Physical & Mathematical Sciences > Centre for Theoretical Studies (Ceased to exist at the end of 2003)
Date Deposited:	17 Jul 2009 10:56
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 05:35
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/20968

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