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Human and ant social behavior should be compared in a very careful way to draw valid parallels

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 June 2016

Ewa Joanna Godzińska
Ewa Joanna Godzińska*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Ethology, Department of Neurophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, PL 02–093 Warsaw, Poland. e.godzinska@nencki.gov.plhttp://en.nencki.gov.pl/laboratory-of-ethology
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Abstract

Gowdy & Krall provide an interesting discussion of evolutionary origins and consequences of ultrasociality. However, some of their statements concerning various features of ant and human social behavior do not adequately reflect present knowledge about the discussed issues, which include, among others, polyethism, cultural information transfer, within-group conflicts and resistance in ant societies, and reproductive division of labor in humans.

Gowdy & Krall (G&K) provide an interesting discussion of evolutionary origins and consequences of ultrasociality, an advanced form of social behavior that evolved independently in both social insects and humans. Their reflections are thought-provoking, but some statements concerning various features of ant and human social behavior do not reflect adequately the present knowledge about the discussed issues.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 39 , 2016 , e98
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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