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Letter
Nature 440, 795-797 (6 April 2006) | doi:10.1038/nature04578; Received 25 August 2005; Accepted 12 January 2006
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Assistant Professor and Associate Professor
- Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School
- Charlestown, MA
Gastroenterologist
- South Atlanta Medical Clinic, PC (GI Group)
- Atlanta, GA, USA
Energetics reveals physiologically distinct castes in a eusocial mammal
M. Scantlebury1, J. R. Speakman2, M. K. Oosthuizen1, T. J. Roper3 & N. C. Bennett1
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
- Aberdeen Centre for Energy Regulation and Obesity (ACERO), University of Aberdeen, School of Biological Sciences, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK
- Department of Biology & Environmental Science, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
Correspondence to: M. Scantlebury1 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to M.S. (Email: m.scantlebury@zoology.up.ac.za).
Abstract
Eusociality, which occurs among mammals only in two species of African mole-rat, is characterized by division of labour between morphologically distinct 'castes'1. In Damaraland mole-rats (Cryptomys damarensis), colony labour is divided between 'infrequent worker' and 'frequent worker' castes2. Frequent workers are active year-round and together perform more than 95% of the total work of the colony, whereas infrequent workers typically perform less than 5% of the total work3. Anecdotal evidence suggests that infrequent workers may act as dispersers, with dispersal being limited to comparatively rare periods when the soil is softened by moisture4, 5. Here we show that infrequent workers and queens increase their daily energy expenditure after rainfall whereas frequent workers do not. Infrequent workers are also fatter than frequent workers. We suggest that infrequent workers constitute a physiologically distinct dispersing caste, the members of which, instead of contributing to the work of the colony and helping the queen to reproduce, build up their own body reserves in preparation for dispersal and reproduction when environmental conditions are suitable.
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
- Aberdeen Centre for Energy Regulation and Obesity (ACERO), University of Aberdeen, School of Biological Sciences, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK
- Department of Biology & Environmental Science, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
Correspondence to: M. Scantlebury1 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to M.S. (Email: m.scantlebury@zoology.up.ac.za).
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