Effect of temperature and social environment on worker size in the ant Temnothorax nylanderi

Molet, Mathieu; Péronnet, Romain; Couette, Sébastien; Canovas, Christophe; Doums, Claudie

doi:10.1016/j.jtherbio.2017.04.013

Cited by 20 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Thus, contrary to our initial prediction and the pattern found in previous ant studies (Bernadou et al., 2016; Cushman et al., 1993; Heinze et al., 2003; Purcell et al., 2016), Formica ants follow the converse of Bergmann's rule as they are increasingly smaller in colder environments. This result appears counter‐intuitive since, in laboratory experiments, cold temperatures cause ants to mature at a larger size (Molet, Péronnet, Couette, Canovas, & Doums, 2017; Oms, Cerdá, & Boulay, 2017). However, the pattern we find here might reflect longer term thermal dynamics playing out across seasons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature drives caste‐specific morphological clines in ants

Brassard

Francoeur

Lessard

2020

Journal of Animal Ecology

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1. The morphology of organisms relates to most aspects of their life history and autecology. As such, elucidating the drivers of morphological variation along environmental gradients might give insight into processes limiting species distributions. In eusocial organisms, the concept of morphology is more complex than in solitary organisms. Eusocial insects such as ants exhibit drastic morphological differences between reproductive and worker castes. How environmental selection

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature drives caste‐specific morphological clines in ants

Brassard

Francoeur

Lessard

2020

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…A comparison of worker size variation in species that use tandem running versus closely related species without tandem running could provide further evidence to support or challenge the hypothesis that the need for efficient recruitment communication selects for low intra-colonial worker size variation. Worker size in T. nylanderi is determined by food quantity, but also depends on rearing temperature and colony size (Molet et al 2017). The degree of worker size variation could be modified either by nurse workers providing more constant or variable conditions (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In most cases, this intra-colonial variation is an example of phenotypic plasticity, where the phenotypic differences are generated by variation in environmental factors (e.g. food quantity, temperature), rather than differences in genotype (Oster and Wilson 1978; Sumner et al 2006; Segers et al 2015; Molet et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We studied tandem running during colony emigrations in Temnothorax nylanderi , a species with moderate size variation (Molet et al 2017), and tested the hypothesis that body size differences between leaders and followers affects the efficiency of recruitment. Specifically, we tested the prediction that size differences between interacting partners have a negative effect on the success rate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Large body size variation is linked to low communication success in tandem running ants

Wagner

Bachenberg

Simone

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Large body size variation is linked to low communication 1 success in tandem running ants 2 3 4 Abstract 22Diversity in animal groups is often assumed to increase group performance. In insect colonies, 23 genetic, behavioral and morphological variation among workers can improve colony 24 functioning and resilience. However, it has been hypothesized that during communication 25 processes, differences between workers, e.g. in body size, could also have negative effects. 26Tandem running is a common recruitment strategy in ants and allows a leader to guide a 27 nestmate follower to resources. A substantial proportion of tandem runs fail because leader and 28 follower loose contact. Using the ant Temnothorax nylanderi as a model system, we tested the 29 hypothesis that tandem running success is impaired if leader and follower differ in size. Indeed, 30 we found that the success rate of tandem pairs drops considerably as size variation increases: 31 only ~7% of tandem runs were successful when the leader-follower size difference exceeded 32 10%, whereas 80% of tandem runs were successful when ants differed less than 5% in body 33 length. One possible explanation is that ant size is linked to the preferred walking speed. Ants 34 did not choose partners of similar size, but extranidal workers were larger than intranidal 35 workers, which could reduce recruitment mistakes because it reduced the chance that very large 36 and very small ants perform tandem runs together. Our results suggest that phenotypic 37 differences between interacting workers can have negative effects on the efficiency of 38 communication processes. Whether phenotypic variation has positive or negative effects is 39 likely to depend on the task and the phenotypic trait that shows variation. 40 41 42 Social groups consist of individuals that differ from each other in a number of ways. For 43 instance, people working in a company may differ in experience, training, gender, ethnicity or 44 skills and this diversity can affect group performance and success. Scientists interested in 45 organizational theory have found that group diversity often has positive effects on group 46 performance, most likely because diverse groups possess a broader range of knowledge, 47

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“…Temnothorax nylanderi, probably through reduced ability of nestmate workers to regulate larval development [41]. …”

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confidence: 99%

Plasticity in a changing world: behavioural responses to human perturbations

Baaren

Candolin

2018

Current Opinion in Insect Science

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32Most insect species are affected by Human Induced Rapid Environmental Changes (HIREC). Multiple responses to 33 HIREC are observed in insects, such as modifications of their morphology, physiology, behavioural strategies or 34 phenology. Most of the responses involve phenotypic plasticity rather than genetic evolution. Here, we review the 35 involvement of behavioural plasticity in foraging, reproduction, habitat choice and dispersal; and how behavioural 36 plasticity modifies social behavior and inter-specific interactions. Although important, behavioural plasticity is rarely 37 sufficient to cope with HIREC. An increasing number of studies find species to respond maladaptively or insufficiently 38 to various anthropogenic disturbances, and less often is large degree of plasticity linked to success. 114The reaction to thermal stress varies among species. For example, Kruse et al. (2008) [26] showed that spiders 115 increase their activity at high temperatures, whereas carabid beetles decrease their activity. Since both are predators 116 on the same prey (flies), these opposite reactions modify the predation rate on the prey. 117At the seasonal level, Tougeron et al. (2017) [27] observed a change in overwintering strategy following winter 118 warming in aphid parasitoid wasps, from diapause to active state. This plasticity allows individuals to increase their 119 progeny production. The mechanism behind the change is a decrease in responsiveness to environmental signals, 120 rather than a genetic loss of diapause. 138The loss of species can similarly alter species interactions. When large herbivores were lost from the African savanna, 139Acacia trees invested less in food and shelter rewards for mutualistic ants, which defend the trees against large

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Effect of temperature and social environment on worker size in the ant Temnothorax nylanderi

Cited by 20 publications

References 64 publications

Temperature drives caste‐specific morphological clines in ants

Temperature drives caste‐specific morphological clines in ants

Large body size variation is linked to low communication success in tandem running ants

Plasticity in a changing world: behavioural responses to human perturbations

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