Modern termites inherited the potential of collective construction from their common ancestor. Issue 13 (2nd June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mizumoto, Nobuaki; Bourguignon, Thomas
• Is Part Of: Ecology and evolution. Volume 10:Issue 13(2020)
• Page Start: 6775
• Page End: 6784
• Publication Date: 2020-06-02
• Subjects: collective behavior -- evolutionary convergence -- nest construction -- parallel evolution -- parameter tuning -- self‐organization; Ecology -- Periodicals; Evolution -- Periodicals; 577.05
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6381
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2045-7758

Abstract

Abstract: Animal collective behaviors give rise to various spatial patterns, such as the nests of social insects. These structures are built by individuals following a simple set of rules, slightly varying within and among species, to produce a large diversity of shapes. However, little is known about the origin and evolution of the behavioral mechanisms regulating nest structures. In this study, we discuss the perspective of inferring the evolution of collective behaviors behind pattern formations using a phylogenetic framework. We review the collective behaviors that can be described by a single set of behavioral rules, and for which variations of the environmental and behavioral parameter values produce diverse patterns. We propose that this mechanism could be at the origin of the pattern diversity observed among related species, and that, when they are placed in the proper conditions, species have the behavioral potential to form patterns observed in related species. The comparative analysis of shelter tube construction by lower termites is consistent with this hypothesis. Although the use of shelter tubes in natural conditions is variable among species, most modern species have the potential to build them, suggesting that the behavioral rules for shelter tube construction evolved once in the common ancestor of modern termites. Our study emphasizes that comparative studies of behavioral rules have the potential to shed light on the evolution of collective behaviors. Abstract : Understanding the origin of complex traits has been one of the primary focuses of evolutionary biologists since Darwin. One such trait is the nest structure of social insects, which is built by individuals following a simple set of behavioral rules. Here, we review the litterature on termite nest constructions in a phylogenetic framework and propose that parameter tuning of a common set of behavioral rules is at the origin of the diversity of nest shapes. Our reconstruction of the evolution of termite shelter tube constructions supports this idea, suggesting that the ability to build shelter tubes, and thus the behavioral rules used by termites to build them, originated once in the common ancestor of modern termites.