Intraspecific Interactions Among Dampwood Termite Colonies Nesting Within a Limited Resource: Implications for the Evolution of Eusociality in Isoptera

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

Lay Absract: Proposal # 0414596 Proposal Title: "Intraspecific interactions among dampwood termite colonies nesting within a limited resource: implications for the evolution of eusociality in Isoptera" P.I.: Dr. Barbara L. Thorne Abstract: Long live the queen? Maybe not. All 2500+ termite species live in highly social colonies in which few insects ever reproduce and hundreds, thousands, or over a million other individuals are helpers or defenders. How would such a system evolve? By studying primitive termites, Thorne and her lab group demonstrated that inevitable meetings between termite families living within the same piece of wood result in assassination of some reproductives, merging of remaining populations of the two colonies, and differentiation of some helpers into new reproductives. In this research, Thorne will continue to explore whether this competitive circumstance provides a missing link in explaining how offspring helpers would have opportunities to inherit their parents' nest resources. The same context of battles between neighboring colonies frequently produces reproductive soldiers, a highly unusual termite caste that can be aggressive during intercolony fights and therefore appears to be a precursor to modern, sterile soldier termites. Experimental manipulations and molecular genetic tools will be used to more precisely understand the origin of specialized termite castes and underlying dynamics that favored the evolution of their complex societies.