This research will test the hypothesis that genetic variation increases efficiency and leads to higher performance within social groups. The study will use the seed harvesting ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis as a model system. Genetic variability among social groups (colonies) in this species is generated by the mating behavior of queens, which may mate with as few as two or as many as eleven males, producing colonies that differ considerably in the genetic variation among colony members (workers). This variation is correlated with the amount of time that colonies have to search for food. Colonies with high levels of genetic variation are able to spend more time searching for food. The research will determine 1) whether the amount of time available for collecting food corresponds to the amount of food or the quality of food that the colony acquires; 2) how differences in genetic variation among colonies lead to differences in the duration of activity; and 3) whether differences in genetic variability result in differences in survival and reproduction among colonies. This study will begin to answer fundamental questions about the role of genetic variation in determining efficiency in a social organism.
