Despite published reports of inter‐colony aggression and invasion in the laboratory, direct aggressive competition for resources has not previously been considered as a driving force for the large colony size in naked mole‐rats (Heterocephalus glaber). We report evidence that wild colonies of naked mole‐rats invade neighbouring colonies and thus expand their territories. Furthermore, as has been observed in laboratory colonies, invading colonies may kidnap un‐weaned pups which can subsequently be incorporated into the workforce. This is convergent with the slave‐making ants and suggests that intergroup aggression between naked mole‐rat colonies may be a strong selective pressure for group living and extreme colony size.

中文翻译：

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野生裸mole鼠种群之间的殖民地入侵

尽管在实验室中发表了关于殖民地之间的侵略和入侵的报道，但是直接的资源竞争并未被认为是裸mole鼠（Heterocephalus glaber）大菌落规模的驱动力。我们报告的证据表明，裸露的mole鼠的野生殖民地入侵了邻近的殖民地，从而扩大了其领土。此外，正如在实验室菌落中观察到的那样，入侵的菌落可能会绑扎未断奶的幼仔，随后可将其纳入劳动力队伍。这与奴隶制蚂蚁趋同，表明裸naked鼠种群之间的群体间侵略可能是群体生活和极端种群规模的强大选择压力。