Definitions
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- noun The presence of different
work activities among different members of aninsect community, or at different times in an insect's life
Etymologies
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Examples
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Concerning the active reaction to cold stress by endothermy, age polyethism is reduced to only two physiologically predetermined task divisions, 0 to ~2 days and older.
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Concerning the active reaction to cold stress by endothermy, age polyethism is reduced to only two physiologically predetermined task divisions, 0 to ~2 days and older.
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Thus, the circadian clock pathway may represent a conserved 'genetic toolkit' that has facilitated the parallel evolution of age-related polyethism and task allocation in social insects.
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Age-related polyethism, a derived form of division of labor in ants and bees where colony tasks are allocated among distinct behavioral phenotypes, has traditionally been assumed to be a product of convergent evolution.
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Calderone NW, Page RE (1996) Temporal polyethism and behavioural canalization in the honey bee,
PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles Jennifer M. Tsuruda et al. 2008
Prolagus commented on the word polyethism
"Functional specialization in different members of a colony of social insects, which leads to a division of labour within the colony. The various functions may be carried out by individuals of different morphology (caste polyethism) or of different ages (age polyethism)."
(MICHAEL ALLABY. "polyethism." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved April 19, 2010 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-polyethism.html)
April 19, 2010