Summary
The statistical moments of skewness and kurtosis were used to evaluate the selection history of field collected colonies of the carpenter ants,Camponotus ferrugineus andC. pennsylvanicus. Approximately 10% of all colonies demonstrated joint significance in departure from normality in two head measurements normally used to evaluate worker polymorphism. These results suggest that care must be taken when extrapolating worker polymorphism curves in behavioral research. These results also suggest that the colony histories of carpnter ants may be marked by stochastic selection processes. The application of this method is recommended for studies in which worker caste composition is manipulated.
Resume
Les coefficients deFisher (mesure de l'asymétrie et d'aplatissement) sont utilisés pour évaluer les forces sélectives agissant sur les colonies de fourmis charpentièresCamponotus ferrugineus etC. pennsylvanicus. Approximativement 10% des colonies montrent un écart significatif, à la normale pour deux mesures de la tête qui sont utilisées habituellement pour quantifier le polymorphisme des ouvrières. Ces résultats montrent le soin particulier qui doit être apporté dans l'extrapolation des courbes de polymorphisme aux analyses comportementales. Ils. suggèrent ègalement que l'histoire d'une colonie de fourmis charpentières peut être marquée par des événements sélectifs alátoires. La présente méthode doit s'avérer particulièrement utile dans les expériences portant sur la composition des colonies en différents types d'ouvrières.
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Fowler, H.G. Worker polymorphims in field colonies of carpenter ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae:Camponotus): Stochastic selection?. Ins. Soc 34, 204–210 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02224085
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02224085