High social density increases foraging and scouting rates and induces polydomy in Temnothorax ants

Cao, T. T.

doi:10.1007/s00265-013-1587-5

Cited by 31 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…The nest cavity size and the density of nests may impact on polydomy (cf. Debout et al, 2007;Cao, 2013). In the study by Bialas et al (2011) conducted in the same area, an average of 2.5 nests/m 2 in June and 1.6 nest/m 2 in August were found.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

The cavity-nest ant Temnothorax crassispinus prefers larger nests

Mitrus

2014

Insect. Soc.

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Colonies of the ant Temnothorax crassispinus inhabit mostly cavities in wood and hollow acorns. Typically in the field, nest sites that can be used by the ant are a limited resource. In a field experiment, it was investigated whether the ants prefer a specific size of nest, when different ones are available. In July 2011, a total of 160 artificial nests were placed in a beech-pine forest. Four artificial nests (pieces of wood with volume cavities, ca 415, 605, 730, and 980 mm 3 , respectively) were located on each square meter of the experimental plot. One year later, shortly before the emergence of new sexuals, the nests were collected. In July 2012, colonies inhabited more frequently bigger nests. Among queenright colonies, the ones which inhabited bigger nests had more workers. However, there was no relationship between volume of nest and number of workers for queenless colonies. Queenright colonies from bigger nests produced more sexual individuals, but there was no correlation between number of workers and sex allocation ratio, or between volume of nest and sex allocation ratio. In a laboratory experiment where ant colonies were kept in 470 and 860 mm 3 nests, larger colonies allocated more energy to produce sexual individuals. The results of this study show the selectivity of T. crassispinus ants regarding the size of nest cavity, and that the nest volume has an impact on life history parameters.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

The cavity-nest ant Temnothorax crassispinus prefers larger nests

Mitrus

2014

Insect. Soc.

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“…Studies of Pogonomyrmex species that vary in colony size suggest that the number of foragers does not affect the efficacy of harvesting a clumped food supply (Flanagan et al 2012). Temnothorax rugatulus colonies with low worker density have lower foraging rates than high-density colonies, indicating that group size could interact with other characteristics, such as density effects on interaction rates, to shape mechanisms of resource exploitation (Cao 2013). …”

Section: Worker Longevity and Colony Fitnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Worker senescence and the sociobiology of aging in ants

Giraldo

Traniello

2014

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Senescence, the decline in physiological and behavioral function with increasing age, has been the focus of significant theoretical and empirical research in a broad array of animal taxa. Preeminent among invertebrate social models of aging are ants, a diverse and ecologically dominant clade of eusocial insects characterized by reproductive and sterile phenotypes. In this review, we critically examine selection for worker lifespan in ants and discuss the relationship between functional senescence, longevity, task performance, and colony fitness. We did not find strong or consistent support for the hypothesis that demographic senescence in ants is programmed, or its corollary prediction that workers that do not experience extrinsic mortality die at an age approximating their lifespan in nature. We present seven hypotheses concerning how selection could favor extended worker lifespan through its positive relationship to colony size and predict that large colony size, under some conditions, should confer multiple and significant fitness advantages. Fitness benefits derived from long worker lifespan could be mediated by increased resource acquisition, efficient division of labor, accuracy of collective decision-making, enhanced allomaternal care and colony defense, lower infection risk, and decreased energetic costs of workforce maintenance. We suggest future avenues of research to examine the evolution of worker lifespan and its relationship to colony fitness, and conclude that an innovative fusion of sociobiology, senescence theory, and mechanistic studies of aging can improve our understanding of the adaptive nature of worker lifespan in ants.

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“…By contrast, aversion to bright nests in summer and autumn could be useful in preparing for the cold season, because (i) it enhances cohesion, thus favouring colony merging before winter and (ii) it allows colonies to avoid overwintering in nests that are poorly isolated from adverse exterior conditions, as can be assessed based on within-nest light levels [31]. Season-specific aversion towards bright nests could thus complement other season-specific factors (such as annual variation in intranidal density [22]) that are likely to influence splitting rates [45,46].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, colonies of the related species Temnothorax curvispinosus were shown to have lower brood populations after eight weeks in a small nest than colonies housed in larger nests [44]. Splitting in spring thus allows colonies to avoid nest overcrowding [45] and to forage more efficiently to feed developing brood [21]. By contrast, after the mating flight in early summer, space and food demands decrease and colonies reunite into a single nest [22,23]-e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonality in communication and collective decision-making in ants

et al. 2014

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The ability of animals to adjust their behaviour according to seasonal changes in their ecology is crucial for their fitness. Eusocial insects display strong collective behavioural seasonality, yet the mechanisms underlying such changes are poorly understood. We show that nest preference by emigrating Temnothorax albipennis ant colonies is influenced by a season-specific modulatory pheromone that may help tune decision-making according to seasonal constraints. The modulatory pheromone triggers aversion towards low-quality nests and enhances colony cohesion in summer and autumn, but not after overwintering-in agreement with reports that field colonies split in spring and reunite in summer. Interestingly, we show that the pheromone acts by downgrading the perceived value of marked nests by informed and naive individuals. This contrasts with theories of collective intelligence, stating that accurate collective decision-making requires independent evaluation of options by individuals. The violation of independence highlighted here was accordingly shown to increase error rate during emigrations. However, this is counterbalanced by enhanced cohesion and the transmission of valuable information through the colony. Our results support recent claims that optimal decisions are not necessarily those that maximize accuracy. Other criteria-such as cohesion or reward rate-may be more relevant in animal decision-making.

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High social density increases foraging and scouting rates and induces polydomy in Temnothorax ants

Cited by 31 publications

References 78 publications

The cavity-nest ant Temnothorax crassispinus prefers larger nests

The cavity-nest ant Temnothorax crassispinus prefers larger nests

Worker senescence and the sociobiology of aging in ants

Seasonality in communication and collective decision-making in ants

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