Biological diversity comprises both species diversity (SD) and genetic diversity (GD) and it has been postulated that both levels of diversity depend on similar mechanisms. Species-genetic diversity correlations (SGDC) are, therefore, supposed to be generally positive. However, in contrast to theory, empirical data are contradictory. Furthermore, there is a pronounced lack of multispecies studies including also the ecological factors potentially driving species and genetic diversity. We analysed the relationship between the species diversity of dry...

Reproductive division of labor is a defining feature of all eusocial organisms. In the eusocial insects, non-reproductive labor is often also divided into safe tasks within the nest, such as nursing, and risky extranidal tasks, such as scouting and foraging. Within-nest (intranidal) tasks are usually performed by younger workers while older workers forage outside. This temporal specialization can be delayed, accelerated or even reversed if the need arises. Here, we studied reversion in the clonal...

Cooperation and division of labour are fundamental in the “major transitions” in evolution. While the factors regulating cell differentiation in multicellular organisms are quite well understood, we are just beginning to unveil the mechanisms underlying individual specialization in cooperative groups of animals. Clonal ants allow studying which factors influence task allocation without confounding variation in genotype and morphology. Here, we subjected larvae and freshly hatched workers of the clonal ant Platythyrea punctata to different rearing...

The high energetic demand of parental care requires parents to direct their resources towards the support of existing offspring rather than investing into the production of additional young. However, how such a resource flow is channelled appropriately is poorly understood. In this study, we provide the first comprehensive analysis of the physiological mechanisms coordinating parental and mating effort in an insect exhibiting biparental care. We show a hormone-mediated infertility in female burying beetles during the...

Crayfish can be used as model organisms in phylogeographic and divergence time studies if reliable calibrations are available. This study presents a comprehensive investigation into the phylogeography of the European stone crayfish (Austropotamobius torrentium) and includes samples from previously unstudied sites. Two mitochondrial markers were used to reveal evolutionary relationships among haplogroups throughout the species’ distributional range and to estimate the divergence time by employing both substitution rates and geological calibration methods. Our haplotype network...