A continental-scale test of the climate hypothesis for the evolution of altruism in insects

This multidisciplinary fellowship will address a key emerging enigma in evolutionary biology: does variation in climate shape the evolution of animal ‘altruism’ (costly cooperation in the service of others)?

Recent speculation has suggested that climate influences the power of kin selection (a central mechanism in the evolution of altruism). I will test this hypothesis in four work packages. First, I will provide an analysis of variation in the power of kin selection on an unprecedented latitudinal scale.

The African wasp Belonogaster juncea ranges from the equatorial tropics to temperate South Africa, permitting an intraspecific test of the link between climate and altruism.

Second, I will conduct extensive behavioural experiments over this latitudinal range to dissect variation in the motivations for cooperation.

Third, I will undertake a global comparative analysis of the effects of climate on cooperation in simple eusocial wasps and bees, synthesising decades of published data to parameterise a mathematical model of the evolution of cooperation under different climate regimes.

Fourth, I will develop a novel citizen science approach in Sub-Saharan Africa to collect fundamental data on variation in cooperation in wasps, engaging local populations in the practice of ecology at large scales.

By providing a multidisciplinary synthesis to test the link between climate and kin selection, WaspCLIM will significantly advance our understanding of the ultimate drivers of altruism – one of the top 25 outstanding scientific questions identified by the journal Science.