Paper detail

Risk management of solitary and eusocial reproduction

Social insect colonies can be seen as a distinct form of biological organization because they function as superorganisms. Understanding how natural selection acts on the emergence and maintenance of these colonies remains a major question in evolutionary biology and ecology. Here, we explore this by using multi-type branching processes to calculate the basic reproductive ratios and the extinction probabilities for solitary versus eusocial reproductive strategies. In order to derive precise mathematical results, we use a simple haploid, asexual model. In general, we show that eusocial reproductive strategies are unlikely to materialize unless large fitness advantages are gained by the production of only a few workers. These fitness advantages are maximized through obligate rather than facultative eusocial strategies. Furthermore, we find that solitary reproduction is `unbeatable' as long as the solitary reproductive ratio exceeds a critical value. In these cases, no eusocial parameters exist that would reduce their probability of extinction. Our results help to explain why the number of solitary species exceeds that of eusocial ones: eusociality is a high risk, high reward strategy, while solitary reproduction is better at risk management.