Soil Moisture and Excavation Behaviour in the Chaco Leaf-Cutting Ant (Atta vollenweideri): Digging Performance and Prevention of Water Inflow into the Nest

Pielström, Steffen; Roces, Flavio

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0095658

Cited by 25 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…bisphaerica could be understood as the product of the interaction between two main factors: rainfall regime and colony growth. On the one hand, local rainfall variation (which is mainly linked to the alternation between the wet and dry season) is likely to have a direct influence on both soil resistance, and thus on tunnel excavation effort [ 51 ], and pasture development, and thus on the construction, maintenance and use of physical foraging trails. On the other hand, the growth of the colonies should imply a higher foraging effort, which could be achieved through the expansion of the foraging networks in the humid season and through the use of the network infrastructures built during the humid season in the dry season.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Foraging Networks in the Grass-Cutting Ant Atta bisphaerica Forel, 1908 (Formicidae, Attini)

et al. 2016

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Foraging networks are a key element for ant colonies because they facilitate the flow of resources from the environment to the nest and they allow the sharing of information among individuals. Here we report the results of an 8-month survey, extending from November 2009 to June 2010, of the foraging networks of four mature colonies of Atta bisphaerica, a species of grass-cutting ant which is considered as a pest in Brazil. We found that the distribution of foraging effort was strongly influenced by the landscape features around the nests, in particular by the permanently wet parts of the pasture in which the nests were located. The foraging networks consisted of underground tunnels which opened on average at 21.5m from the nests and of above-ground physical trails that reached on average 4.70m in length. The use of the foraging networks was highly dynamic, with few sections of the networks used for long periods of time. Three different phases, which could be linked to the seasonal change in the local rainfall regime, could be identified in the construction and use of the foraging networks. The first phase corresponded to the beginning of the rainy season and was characterized by a low foraging activity, as well as a low excavation and physical trail construction effort. The second phase, which began in February and extended up to the end of the humid season at the end of March, was characterized by an intense excavation and trail construction effort, resulting in an expansion of the foraging networks. Finally, in the third phase, which corresponded to the beginning of the dry season, the excavation and trail construction effort leveled off or decreased while foraging activity kept increasing. Our hypothesis is that ants could benefit from the underground tunnels and physical trails built during the humid season to maintain their foraging activity at a high level.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Foraging Networks in the Grass-Cutting Ant Atta bisphaerica Forel, 1908 (Formicidae, Attini)

et al. 2016

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“…lundii excavated more soil at temperatures between 20–30°C, with a peak performance at 25°C [41], i.e., at the most suitable temperature for fungus growth [35, 36]. The Chaco leaf-cutting ant Atta vollenweideri preferred to excavate in moist soils and avoided dry ones [82], which should lead to high humidity values in the nest air. So far, there is no information about the influence of CO 2 levels on digging behavior in leaf-cutting ants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon dioxide sensing in an obligate insect-fungus symbiosis: CO2 preferences of leaf-cutting ants to rear their mutualistic fungus

Römer¹,

Bollazzi²,

Roces³

2017

PLoS ONE

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Defense against biotic or abiotic stresses is one of the benefits of living in symbiosis. Leaf-cutting ants, which live in an obligate mutualism with a fungus, attenuate thermal and desiccation stress of their partner through behavioral responses, by choosing suitable places for fungus-rearing across the soil profile. The underground environment also presents hypoxic (low oxygen) and hypercapnic (high carbon dioxide) conditions, which can negatively influence the symbiont. Here, we investigated whether workers of the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex lundii use the CO2 concentration as an orientation cue when selecting a place to locate their fungus garden, and whether they show preferences for specific CO2 concentrations. We also evaluated whether levels preferred by workers for fungus-rearing differ from those selected for themselves. In the laboratory, CO2 preferences were assessed in binary choices between chambers with different CO2 concentrations, by quantifying number of workers in each chamber and amount of relocated fungus. Leaf-cutting ants used the CO2 concentration as a spatial cue when selecting places for fungus-rearing. A. lundii preferred intermediate CO2 levels, between 1 and 3%, as they would encounter at soil depths where their nest chambers are located. In addition, workers avoided both atmospheric and high CO2 levels as they would occur outside the nest and at deeper soil layers, respectively. In order to prevent fungus desiccation, however, workers relocated fungus to high CO2 levels, which were otherwise avoided. Workers’ CO2 preferences for themselves showed no clear-cut pattern. We suggest that workers avoid both atmospheric and high CO2 concentrations not because they are detrimental for themselves, but because of their consequences for the symbiotic partner. Whether the preferred CO2 concentrations are beneficial for symbiont growth remains to be investigated, as well as whether the observed preferences for fungus-rearing influences the ants’ decisions where to excavate new chambers across the soil profile.

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“…In this perspective, we can hypothesize that nest exposed in grassland should have deeper fungus chamber than nest under shade of trees or inside the woods, given that soil temperature is negatively correlated with soil depth (Rosenberg et al, 1983). For leaf cutting ants, is indicated that soil moisture and temperature acts together: (i) Bollazzi et al (2008) verified that workers' thermopreferences lead to the construction of superficial nests in cold soils, and subterranean ones in hot soils; and (ii) Pielström & Roces (2014) verified that soil moisture also varies according to soil depth, and demonstrably affects the digging behavior of leaf cutting ants.…”

Section: Depthmentioning

confidence: 95%

First-year nest growth in the leaf-cutting ants Atta bisphaerica and Atta sexdens rubropilosa

Cardoso¹,

Forti²,

Nagamoto³

et al. 2014

Sociobiology

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Soil Moisture and Excavation Behaviour in the Chaco Leaf-Cutting Ant (Atta vollenweideri): Digging Performance and Prevention of Water Inflow into the Nest

Cited by 25 publications

References 36 publications

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Foraging Networks in the Grass-Cutting Ant Atta bisphaerica Forel, 1908 (Formicidae, Attini)

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Foraging Networks in the Grass-Cutting Ant Atta bisphaerica Forel, 1908 (Formicidae, Attini)

Carbon dioxide sensing in an obligate insect-fungus symbiosis: CO2 preferences of leaf-cutting ants to rear their mutualistic fungus

First-year nest growth in the leaf-cutting ants Atta bisphaerica and Atta sexdens rubropilosa

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