All Outputs (64)

Conditional helping and evolutionary transitions to eusociality and cooperative breeding (2014)
Journal Article
Holman, L. (2014). Conditional helping and evolutionary transitions to eusociality and cooperative breeding. Behavioral Ecology, 25(5), 1173-1182. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/aru100

The nonreproductive helpers of many arthropod, bird and mammal species are a perennial puzzle for evolutionary biologists. Theory and evidence suggests that helping is favored by high relatedness between social partners and by certain ecological fact... Read More about Conditional helping and evolutionary transitions to eusociality and cooperative breeding.

Conserved class of queen pheromones stops social insect workers from reproducing (2014)
Journal Article
Van Oystaeyen, A., Caliari Oliveira, R., Holman, L., van Zweden, J. S., Romero, C., Oi, C. A., …Wenseleers, T. (2014). Conserved class of queen pheromones stops social insect workers from reproducing. Science, 343(6168), 287-290. https://doi.org/10.1126

A major evolutionary transition to eusociality with reproductive division of labor between queens and workers has arisen independently at least 10 times in the ants, bees, and wasps. Pheromones produced by queens are thought to play a key role in reg... Read More about Conserved class of queen pheromones stops social insect workers from reproducing.

Fiddlers on the roof: elevation muddles mate choice in fiddler crabs (2014)
Journal Article
Holman, L., Kahn, A. T., & Backwell, P. R. (2014). Fiddlers on the roof: elevation muddles mate choice in fiddler crabs. Behavioral Ecology, 25(2), 271-275. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/art125

Biological signaling usually occurs in complex environments, yet signals are most often studied in controlled experiments that strip away this complexity. Male fiddler crabs possess one enlarged claw that is waved during courtship displays, and femal... Read More about Fiddlers on the roof: elevation muddles mate choice in fiddler crabs.

Caste load and the evolution of reproductive skew (2013)
Journal Article
Holman, L. (2014). Caste load and the evolution of reproductive skew. American Naturalist, 183(1), 84-95. https://doi.org/10.1086/674052

Reproductive skew theory seeks to explain how reproduction is divided among group members in animal societies. Existing theory is framed almost entirely in terms of selection, though nonadaptive processes must also play some role in the evolution of... Read More about Caste load and the evolution of reproductive skew.

The evolution of genomic imprinting: costs, benefits and long-term consequences (2013)
Journal Article
Holman, L., & Kokko, . H. (2014). The evolution of genomic imprinting: costs, benefits and long-term consequences. Biological Reviews, 89(3), 568-587. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12069

Genomic imprinting refers to a pattern of gene expression in which a specific parent's allele is either under‐expressed or completely silenced. Imprinting is an evolutionary conundrum because it appears to incur the costs of diploidy (e.g. presenting... Read More about The evolution of genomic imprinting: costs, benefits and long-term consequences.

Crozier’s paradox revisited: maintenance of genetic recognition systems by disassortative mating (2013)
Journal Article
Holman, L., van Zweden, J. S., Linksvayer, T. A., & d’Ettorre, P. (2013). Crozier’s paradox revisited: maintenance of genetic recognition systems by disassortative mating. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 13, 211. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-13-211

Background Organisms are predicted to behave more favourably towards relatives, and kin-biased cooperation has been found in all domains of life from bacteria to vertebrates. Cooperation based on genetic recognition cues is paradoxical because it... Read More about Crozier’s paradox revisited: maintenance of genetic recognition systems by disassortative mating.

The evolution of queen pheromones in the ant genus Lasius (2013)
Journal Article
Holman, L., Lanfear, R., & d'Ettorre, P. (2013). The evolution of queen pheromones in the ant genus Lasius. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 26(7), 1549-1558. https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.12162

Queen pheromones are among the most important chemical messages regulating insect societies yet they remain largely undiscovered, hindering research into interesting proximate and ultimate questions. Identifying queen pheromones in multiple species w... Read More about The evolution of queen pheromones in the ant genus Lasius.

The consequences of polyandry for population viability, extinction risk and conservation (2013)
Journal Article
Holman, L., & Kokko, H. (2013). The consequences of polyandry for population viability, extinction risk and conservation. Philosophical Transactions B: Biological Sciences, 368(1613), https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0053

Polyandry, by elevating sexual conflict and selecting for reduced male care relative to monandry, may exacerbate the cost of sex and thereby seriously impact population fitness. On the other hand, polyandry has a number of possible population-level b... Read More about The consequences of polyandry for population viability, extinction risk and conservation.

Genetic constraints on dishonesty and caste dimorphism in an ant (2013)
Journal Article
Holman, L., Linksvayer, T. A., & d’Ettorre, P. (2013). Genetic constraints on dishonesty and caste dimorphism in an ant. American Naturalist, 181(2), 161-170. https://doi.org/10.1086/668828

The ultimate causes of honest signaling remain a subject of debate, with questions remaining over the relative importance of costs and constraints. Signal costs may make dishonesty prohibitively expensive, while genetic constraints could make it impo... Read More about Genetic constraints on dishonesty and caste dimorphism in an ant.

Cuticular chemistry of males and females in the ant Formica fusca (2012)
Journal Article
Chernenko, A., Holman, L., Helanterä, H., & Sundström, L. (2012). Cuticular chemistry of males and females in the ant Formica fusca. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 38, 1474-1482. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-012-0217-4

Communication between organisms involves visual, auditory, and olfactory pathways. In solitary insects, chemical recognition cues are influenced mainly by selection regimes related to species recognition and sexual selection. In social insects, chemi... Read More about Cuticular chemistry of males and females in the ant Formica fusca.

Are queen ants inhibited by their own pheromone? Regulation of productivity via negative feedback (2012)
Journal Article
Holman, L., Leroy, C., Jørgensen, C., Nielsen, J., & d’Ettorre, P. (2013). Are queen ants inhibited by their own pheromone? Regulation of productivity via negative feedback. Behavioral Ecology, 24(2), 380-385. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ars174

Social organisms have evolved diverse and complex regulatory mechanisms that allow them to coordinate group-level functions. Signals and cues produced by other group members facilitate assessment of the group’s current state, allowing the receiver to... Read More about Are queen ants inhibited by their own pheromone? Regulation of productivity via negative feedback.

Costs and constraints conspire to produce honest signaling: insights from an ant queen pheromone (2012)
Journal Article
Holman, L. (2012). Costs and constraints conspire to produce honest signaling: insights from an ant queen pheromone. Evolution, 66(7), 2094-2105. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2012.01603.x

Signal costs and evolutionary constraints have both been proposed as ultimate explanations for the ubiquity of honest signaling, but the interface between these two factors is unclear. Here, I propose a pluralistic interpretation, and use game theory... Read More about Costs and constraints conspire to produce honest signaling: insights from an ant queen pheromone.

Random sperm use and genetic effects on worker caste fate in Atta colombica leaf‐cutting ants (2011)
Journal Article
Holman, L., Stürup, M., Trontti, K., & Boomsma, J. J. (2011). Random sperm use and genetic effects on worker caste fate in Atta colombica leaf‐cutting ants. Molecular Ecology, 20(23), 5092-5102. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.2011.05338.x

Sperm competition can produce fascinating adaptations with far‐reaching evolutionary consequences. Social taxa make particularly interesting models, because the outcome of sexual selection determines the genetic composition of groups, with attendant... Read More about Random sperm use and genetic effects on worker caste fate in Atta colombica leaf‐cutting ants.

Terminal investment in multiple sexual signals: immune-challenged males produce more attractive pheromones (2011)
Journal Article
Nielsen, M. L., & Holman, L. (2012). Terminal investment in multiple sexual signals: immune-challenged males produce more attractive pheromones. Functional Ecology, 26(1), 20-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2011.01914.x

Trade‐offs between current and future resource allocation can select for elevated reproductive effort in individuals facing mortality. Males are predicted to benefit from increasing investment in costly sexually selected signals after experiencing an... Read More about Terminal investment in multiple sexual signals: immune-challenged males produce more attractive pheromones.

Wax on, wax off: nest soil facilitates indirect transfer of recognition cues between ant nestmates (2011)
Journal Article
Bos, N., Grinsted, L., & Holman, L. (2011). Wax on, wax off: nest soil facilitates indirect transfer of recognition cues between ant nestmates. PLOS ONE, 6(4), Article e19435. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0019435

Social animals use recognition cues to discriminate between group members and non-members. These recognition cues may be conceptualized as a label, which is compared to a neural representation of acceptable cue combinations termed the template. In an... Read More about Wax on, wax off: nest soil facilitates indirect transfer of recognition cues between ant nestmates.

Only full-sibling families evolved eusociality (2011)
Journal Article
Boomsma, J. J., Beekman, M., Cornwallis, C. K., Griffin, A. S., Holman, L., Hughes, W. O., …Ratnieks, F. L. (2011). Only full-sibling families evolved eusociality. Nature, 471, E4-E5. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09832

Arising from M. A. Nowak, C. E. Tarnita & E. O. Wilson Nature 466, 1057–1062 (2010)10.1038/nature09205; Nowak et al. reply The paper by Nowak et al.1 has the evolution of eusociality as its title, but it is mostly about something else. It argues a... Read More about Only full-sibling families evolved eusociality.

Queen pheromones: The chemical crown governing insect social life (2010)
Journal Article
Holman, L. (2010). Queen pheromones: The chemical crown governing insect social life. Communicative and Integrative Biology, 3(6), 558-560. https://doi.org/10.4161/cib.3.6.12976

Group-living species produce signals that alter the behavior and even the physiology of their social partners. Social insects possess especially sophisticated chemical communication systems that govern every aspect of colony life, including the defin... Read More about Queen pheromones: The chemical crown governing insect social life.

Identification of an ant queen pheromone regulating worker sterility (2010)
Journal Article
Holman, L., Jørgensen, C. G., Nielsen, J., & d'Ettorre, P. (2010). Identification of an ant queen pheromone regulating worker sterility. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277(1701), 3793-3800. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.0984

The selective forces that shape and maintain eusocial societies are an enduring puzzle in evolutionary biology. Ordinarily sterile workers can usually reproduce given the right conditions, so the factors regulating reproductive division of labour may... Read More about Identification of an ant queen pheromone regulating worker sterility.

Selfish strategies and honest signalling: reproductive conflicts in ant queen associations (2010)
Journal Article
Holman, L., Dreier, S., & d'Ettorre, P. (2010). Selfish strategies and honest signalling: reproductive conflicts in ant queen associations. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277(1690), 2007-2015. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.23

Social insects offer unique opportunities to test predictions regarding the evolution of cooperation, life histories and communication. Colony founding by groups of unrelated queens, some of which are later killed, may select for selfish reproductive... Read More about Selfish strategies and honest signalling: reproductive conflicts in ant queen associations.

Sperm viability staining in ecology and evolution: potential pitfalls (2009)
Journal Article
Holman, L. (2009). Sperm viability staining in ecology and evolution: potential pitfalls. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 63, 1679-1688. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-009-0816-4

The causes and consequences of variation in sperm quality, survival and ageing are active areas of research in ecology and evolution. In order to address these topics, many recent studies have measured sperm viability using fluorescent staining. Alth... Read More about Sperm viability staining in ecology and evolution: potential pitfalls.