OPTIMAL TIME-ENERGY ALLOCATION AND THE EVOLUTION OF COLONY DEMOGRAPHY AMONG EUSOCIAL INSECTS

摘要

This thesis attempts to explain the evolution of certain features of social insect colony population structure by the use of optimization models. Two areas are examined in detail. First, the optimal reproductive strategies of annual eusocial insects are considered. A model is constructed for the growth of workers and reproductives as a function of the resources allocated to each. Next the allocation schedule is computed which yields the maximum number of reproductives by season's end. The results indicate that if there is constant return to scale for allocated resources the optimal strategy is to invest in colony growth until approximately one generation before season's end, whereupon worker production ceases and reproductive effort is switched entirely to producing queens and males.