Development of Multiple Polymorphic Microsatellite Markers for Ceratina calcarata (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Using Genome-Wide Analysis

The small carpenter bee, Ceratina calcarata (Robertson), is a widespread native pollinator across eastern North America. The behavioral ecology and nesting biology of C. calcarata has been relatively well-studied and the species is emerging as a model organism for both native pollinator and social evolution research. C. calcarata is subsocial: reproductively mature females provide extended maternal care to their brood. As such, studies of C. calcarata may also reveal patterns of relatedness and demography unique to primitively social Hymenoptera. Here, we present 21 microsatellite loci, isolated from the recently completed C. calcarata genome. Screening in 39 individuals across their distribution revealed that no loci were in linkage disequilibrium, nor did any deviate significantly from Hardy-Weinberg following sequential Bonferroni correction. Allele count ranged from 2 to 14, and observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.08 to 0.82 (mean 0.47) and 0.26 to 0.88 (mean 0.56), respectively. These markers will enable studies of population-wide genetic structuring across C. calcarata’s distribution. Such tools will also allow for exploration of between and within-colony relatedness in this subsocial native pollinator

Sociality sculpts similar patterns of molecular evolution in two independently evolved lineages of eusocial bees

While it is well known that the genome can affect social behavior, recent models posit that social lifestyles can, in turn, influence genome evolution. Here, we perform the most phylogenetically comprehensive comparative analysis of 16 bee genomes to date: incorporating two published and four new carpenter bee genomes (Apidae: Xylocopinae) for a first-ever genomic comparison with a monophyletic clade containing solitary through advanced eusocial taxa. We find that eusocial lineages have undergone more gene family expansions, feature more signatures of positive selection, and have higher counts of taxonomically restricted genes than solitary and weakly social lineages. Transcriptomic data reveal that caste-affiliated genes are deeply-conserved; gene regulatory and functional elements are more closely tied to social phenotype than phylogenetic lineage; and regulatory complexity increases steadily with social complexity. Overall, our study provides robust empirical evidence that social evolution can act as a major and surprisingly consistent driver of macroevolutionary genomic change

Economic Analysis of Knowledge: The History of Thought and the Central Themes

Following the development of knowledge economies, there has been a rapid expansion of economic analysis of knowledge, both in the context of technological knowledge in particular and the decision theory in general. This paper surveys this literature by identifying the main themes and contributions and outlines the future prospects of the discipline. The wide scope of knowledge related questions in terms of applicability and alternative approaches has led to the fragmentation of research. Nevertheless, one can identify a continuing tradition which analyses various aspects of the generation, dissemination and use of knowledge in the economy

Data from: The price of insurance: costs and benefits of worker production in a facultatively social bee

Kin selection theory is foundational in helping to explain the evolution of sociality; however, the degree to which indirect fitness benefits may underlie helping behavior in species of early stage sociality has received relatively little empirical attention. Facultatively social bees, which demonstrate multiple forms of social organization, provide prime systems in which to empirically test hypotheses regarding the evolutionary origins of sociality. The subsocial small carpenter bee, Ceratina calcarata, may establish a social nest by manipulating brood provisions to rear a worker daughter, which then assists in critical late-season alloparental care. Here, we combine nest demographic and behavioral data with genetic relatedness estimates to calculate the relative inclusive fitness of both subsocial and social reproductive strategies in C. calcarata. Social mothers benefit from improved likelihood of brood survivorship and have higher fitness than subsocial mothers. Worker daughters have low indirect fitness on average, and will not produce their own offspring. Among-sibling relatedness is significantly higher in social nests than subsocial nests, though mothers of either reproductive strategy may mate multiply. Though this study corroborates the ultimate role of indirect fitness and assured fitness returns in the evolution of social traits, it also offers additional support for maternal manipulation as the proximate mechanism underlying evolutionary transitions in early stage insect societies

ShellRehan2017_DemographicData

Nest demographic data for Ceratina calcarata, collected during nest dissections during the 2014-2016 field seasons. Data file includes information regarding nest type, maternal body size, brood composition (e.g. clutch size; male and female counts; female:male ratio), and brood survivorship (e.g. counts of parasitism; die-off; total live brood)

ShellRehan2017_AllelicProfiles

Allelic profile data for Ceratina calcarata nestmates. Data was generated from microsatellite loci and was called manually using Peak Scanner. Data can be used for relatedness analyses

Climatic variation across a latitudinal gradient affect phenology and group size, but not social complexity in small carpenter bees

Greater social complexity at lower latitudes have been observed in a variety of arthropods from termites to spiders. Social behavior in the small carpenter bees, Ceratina, has been shown to vary widely both between species and across geographic range. Our goal was to determine how social plasticity of three populations of Ceratina species, C. calcarata and C. strenua, vary across a latitudinal gradient. The data files contain 1) Climate data for the three collection sites: New Hampshire, Missouri and Georgia. 2) The nest collection and adult measurements for the three sites 3) The brood measurements and development rates from the three sites