Environmental conditions shape the global distribution of ant societies
Abstract
Sociality has evolved several times and is a key strategy for overcoming environmental challenges and promoting ecological success. Yet, it remains unclear how environmental conditions shape global variation in social traits of animals. With their diverse societies and global distribution, ants are ideal to test whether environmental conditions influence the distribution of animal social traits worldwide. Here, we used trait data for a total of 3,299 ant species to explore how three key social traits (reproductive structure, colony size, and worker polymorphism) vary with environmental conditions globally. We show that trait compositions are strongly structured by biomes, indicating that habitat types, as well as environmental factors like temperature and seasonality, influence sociality. Our findings highlight the crucial role of the environment in shaping the global distribution of sociality in ants, contributing to a better understanding of how complex animal societies evolved.
Article Details
Journal Info
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
Authors (6)
Eddie Pérochon
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne
Benoit Guénard
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong
Jérôme M. W. Gippet
Department of Biology, University of Fribourg
Tristan Klaftenberger
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne
Sébastien Ollier
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne
Cleo Bertelsmeier
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne