Publications by authors named "Cathy Liautard"
Social insects have become a general model for tests of sex allocation theory. However, despite tremendous interest in the topic, we still know remarkably little about the factors that cause dramatic differences in sex allocation among local populations. A number of studies have suggested that environmental factors may influence sex allocation in ant populations.
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- Formica exsecta is a key model for studying variations in sex ratios, particularly in polygynous populations where multiple queens coexist.
- The queen-replenishment hypothesis suggests that colonies generate female reproductive individuals (gynes) to maintain queen numbers and ensure colony success, especially when existing queens are few.
- Research indicates that excess gynes produced may serve to limit the acceptance of unrelated gynes into the colony due to poor nestmate recognition, with findings showing low aggression levels between different colonies and selective execution of introduced gynes in male-only colonies.