Mizumoto Nobuaki, Bourguignon Thomas
School of Life Sciences Arizona State University ISTB1, 423, East Mall Tempe AZ 85287-9425 USA.
Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Graduate University 1919-1 Tancha Onna-son Okinawa 904-0495 Japan.
Ecol Evol. 2020 Jun 2;10(13):6775-6784. doi: 10.1002/ece3.6381. eCollection 2020 Jul.
Animal collective behaviors give rise to various spatial patterns, such as the nests of social insects. These structures are built by individuals following a simple set of rules, slightly varying within and among species, to produce a large diversity of shapes. However, little is known about the origin and evolution of the behavioral mechanisms regulating nest structures. In this study, we discuss the perspective of inferring the evolution of collective behaviors behind pattern formations using a phylogenetic framework. We review the collective behaviors that can be described by a single set of behavioral rules, and for which variations of the environmental and behavioral parameter values produce diverse patterns. We propose that this mechanism could be at the origin of the pattern diversity observed among related species, and that, when they are placed in the proper conditions, species have the behavioral potential to form patterns observed in related species. The comparative analysis of shelter tube construction by lower termites is consistent with this hypothesis. Although the use of shelter tubes in natural conditions is variable among species, most modern species have the potential to build them, suggesting that the behavioral rules for shelter tube construction evolved once in the common ancestor of modern termites. Our study emphasizes that comparative studies of behavioral rules have the potential to shed light on the evolution of collective behaviors.
动物的集体行为会产生各种空间模式，比如群居昆虫的巢穴。这些结构是由个体遵循一组简单规则构建而成的，这些规则在物种内部和物种之间略有不同，从而产生了多种多样的形状。然而，对于调节巢穴结构的行为机制的起源和进化，我们却知之甚少。在本研究中，我们探讨了利用系统发育框架推断模式形成背后集体行为进化的观点。我们回顾了能用单一行为规则集描述的集体行为，以及环境和行为参数值的变化会产生多样模式的集体行为。我们提出，这种机制可能是相关物种间观察到的模式多样性的起源，并且当处于适当条件下时，物种具有形成在相关物种中观察到的模式的行为潜力。对低等白蚁建造遮蔽管的比较分析与这一假设相符。尽管在自然条件下不同物种对遮蔽管的使用情况各不相同，但大多数现代物种都有建造遮蔽管的潜力，这表明建造遮蔽管的行为规则在现代白蚁的共同祖先中只进化了一次。我们的研究强调，对行为规则的比较研究有潜力揭示集体行为的进化。
