Helms Ken R, Fournier Denis, Keller Laurent, Passera Luc, Aron Serge
Department of Entomology, Entomology Research Laboratory, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-2475, USA.
Evolution. 2004 May;58(5):1141-2. doi: 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2004.tb00448.x.
A recent study by Fournier et al. (2003) provides important new information on sex allocation in the ant Pheidole pallidula, and proposes a new scenario for sex-ratio evolution in P. pallidula and similar species. However, Helms proposed to the authors that two important conclusions of the study were questionable because of potential problems with the analyses. Here we provide new data and a reanalysis that strengthens the conclusion that colony sex ratio is associated with breeding system (i.e., polygyny or monogyny). However, the proposal that colonies shift from monogyny to polygyny when they become larger and more productive is weakened because there is substantial overlap in productivity between monogynous and polygynous colonies.
富尼耶等人（2003年）最近的一项研究提供了关于苍白刻纹蚁性别分配的重要新信息，并提出了苍白刻纹蚁及类似物种性别比例进化的新设想。然而，赫尔姆斯向作者提出，该研究的两个重要结论存在疑问，因为分析可能存在问题。在此，我们提供新的数据并重新进行分析，强化了蚁群性别比例与繁殖系统（即多雌制或单雌制）相关的结论。然而，关于蚁群在变得更大且生产力更高时从单雌制转变为多雌制的说法被削弱了，因为单雌制蚁群和多雌制蚁群在生产力方面有很大重叠。
