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Figure 4 | BMC Ecology

Figure 4

From: Adaptive dynamic resource allocation in annual eusocial insects: environmental variation will not necessarily promote graded control

Figure 4

Normally distributed variation in season length and corresponding strategy response. The upper row shows the frequency distribution of season length for three cases with increasing variance (a: width standard deviation σ = 2.9, b: σ = 5.8, and c: σ = 8.7, mean μ always = 50). The lower row shows the corresponding optimal strategy transitions: the fraction of sexuals produced by the colony as a function of time (d, e, and f, worker productivity rate c = 0.15, survival rate q = 0.95). A small arrow indicates the temporal position of the optimal switching point in the case of a deterministic environment (SWT det ). The vertical grey lines indicate the lower boundary of the distribution of season length at L = 1. The optimal response of the system to increasing variation in season length is initially realised solely by switching earlier from worker to sexual production, and graded strategies are realised when environmental variation increases (e, f).

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BMC Ecology

ISSN: 1472-6785

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