The energetic cost of reproductive conflicts in the ant Pachycondyla obscuricornis

In a variety of social animals, individuals can secure reproductive rights through aggressive dominance. Direct individual benefits of aggression are widely recognized, but underlying costs affecting group productivity, and thus indirect benefits, are less clear. Costs of aggressive regulation of reproduction are especially important in small social insect colonies, where individual workers could potentially dominate male production. We estimated the energetic costs associated with the regulation of worker reproduction in the ponerine ant Pachycondyla obscuricornis, using the total CO2 emission of a colony as a measure. The level of CO2 emission of 12 experimental colonies varied significantly during five periods with varying levels of aggression and egg-laying. Overall, CO2 emission increased with the degree of fighting in a colony, but was not associated with differences in egg-laying. Aggressive regulation of reproduction and the formation of a dominance hierarchy thus pose an energetic cost to the colony. Furthermore, workers reduce their work-activities immediately after experimental orphaning, giving a further cost to the colony. These costs might influence the outcome of conflicts over male production in ants. This paper presents the first quantification of energetic costs of aggressive behavior regulating reproduction in ants.