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The Evolutionary Ecology of Eusociality in Australian Gall Thrips: a ‘Model Clades’ Approach

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Ecology of Social Evolution

We integrate phylogenetic information with data on genetic relatedness, inbreeding, sex ratio s, reproductive skew, host-plant use, gall morphology, soldier defensive behavior, kleptoparasite pressure, and demography to evaluate hypotheses for the origin and evolution of soldier caste s in Australian gall thrips. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the single origin of thrips soldiers appear to include high relatedness and inbreeding, strong kleptoparasite pressure, small brood size, and long duration of the gall. However, only brood size and gall duration apparently changed (becoming smaller) concomitant to the origin of soldiers. Reproductive skew between the foundress and soldiers was relatively low at the origin of soldiers, but increased substantially along the lineage leading to two species, Kladothrips habrus and K. intermedius, that also exhibit a relatively high propensity for defense by soldiers. Analysis of the associations between genetic and ecological traits that resulted from the social-adaptive radiation of gall thrips with soldiers indicated that (1) fewer matings by foundress es, and less mating after dispersal, result in stronger local mate competition, higher relatedness (and a higher inbreeding coefficient) among soldier females, and a stronger female bias in dispersers, and (2) gall size apparently constrains the reproduction of soldiers, with less soldier reproduction favoring the evolution of more-effective, more-altruistic soldiers; moreover, when soldiers are more effective, fewer of them need be produced, leading to higher production of dispersers. Soldiers were apparently lost in two lineages, in both cases in conjunction with a shift to a phylogenetically divergent species of Acacia host plant. Our analyses demonstrate that the evolution of soldiers in thrips is driven by a combination of selective pressures at three levels: from host-plant, to conspecific interactions, to kleptoparasites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Memorial University, NF A1B 3X9, St. John's, Canada

    Thomas W. Chapman

  2. Department of Biosciences and Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Simon Fraser University, BC V5A 1S6, Burnaby, Canada

    Bernard J. Crespi

  3. School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University of South Australia, SA 5001, Adelaide, South Australia

    Scott P. Perry

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  1. Universität Regensburg, 93040, Regensburg, Germany

    Judith Korb  & Jörgen Heinze  & 

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Chapman, T.W., Crespi, B.J., Perry, S.P. (2008). The Evolutionary Ecology of Eusociality in Australian Gall Thrips: a ‘Model Clades’ Approach. In: Korb, J., Heinze, J. (eds) Ecology of Social Evolution. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75957-7_3

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