Research Topics
| Heikki HelanteraSummaryAffiliation: University of Helsinki Country: Finland Publications
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Detail Information
Publications
Unicolonial ants: where do they come from, what are they and where are they going?Heikki Helantera
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, PO Box 65 Viikinkaari 1, University of Helsinki, FI 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Trends Ecol Evol 24:341-9. 2009..However, at extreme sizes, kin selection theory predicts that these behaviors are maladapted and evolutionarily unstable, a prediction that is supported by their twiggy phylogenetic distribution...
Worker reproduction in the ant Formica fuscaH Helantera
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
J Evol Biol 18:162-71. 2005..Our results suggest that worker reproduction in F. fusca is ultimately an interplay of conflicts over male parentage and sex allocation and that both worker and self policing have roles as proximate mechanisms of resolution...
Geometry explains the benefits of division of labour in a leafcutter antHeikki Helantera
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, University of Helsinki, Finland
Proc Biol Sci 275:1255-60. 2008..Third, the size of fruit pieces cut increases approximately in proportion to the cube of mandible length. Our results are a novel mechanistic example of how size variation among worker ants enhances division of labour...
Sex allocation conflict in insect societies: who wins?Heikki Helantera
Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
Biol Lett 5:700-4. 2009..We suggest future work for analysing power in the conflict between queen and workers over sex allocation and discuss the extent of male power...
Do unicolonial wood ants favor kin?Heikki Helantera
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
J Biol 8:56. 2009..Surprisingly, the families coexist peacefully, even though they seem to recognize each other as non-kin...
Alarm pheromones do not mediate rapid shifts in honey bee guard acceptance thresholdMargaret J Couvillon
Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, UK
J Chem Ecol 36:1306-8. 2010..Therefore, we reject the hypothesis that the presence of IPA or 2H causes a rapid shift of guard acceptance threshold...
The evolution of extreme altruism and inequality in insect societiesFrancis L W Ratnieks
Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 364:3169-79. 2009..The recognition that altruism is an evolutionary puzzle, and the solution was to wait another 100 years for William Hamilton...
Flower constancy in honey bee workers (Apis mellifera) depends on ecologically realistic rewardsChristoph Grüter
Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, School of Life Sciences, John Maynard Smith Building, University of Sussex, Falmer BN1 9QG, UK
J Exp Biol 214:1397-402. 2011..This explains why previous studies comparing large rewards found no effect of reward on constancy...
Chemical basis of nest-mate discrimination in the ant Formica exsectaStephen J Martin
Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
Proc Biol Sci 275:1271-8. 2008..Our data suggest that nest-mate discrimination in the social insects has evolved to rely upon highly sensitive responses to relatively few compounds...
Worker reproduction in Formica antsHeikki Helantera
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Am Nat 170:E14-25. 2007..We conclude that careful quantification of the costs of worker reproduction and policing is essential for inferences about the tragedy of the commons...
Are mistakes inevitable? Sex allocation specialization by workers can reduce the genetic information needed to assess queen mating frequencyFrancis L W Ratnieks
Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
J Theor Biol 244:470-7. 2007..Our model is an example where an explicit treatment of underlying genetics and mechanisms of behaviour, such as information use, is necessary to fully understand the evolution of an adaptive behavioural strategy...
Habitat age, breeding system and kinship in the ant Formica fuscaMinttumaaria Hannonen
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, PO.Box 65, FIN - 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
Mol Ecol 13:1579-88. 2004..The observed differences in dispersal and mating behaviour are discussed in the light of a potential connection between population age and habitat saturation...
