The Bivouac or Temporary Nest as an Adaptive Factor in Certain Terrestrial Species of Army Ants

Schneirla, T. C.; Brown, Robert Z.; Brown, Frances C.

doi:10.2307/1948466

Cited by 40 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The bivouac in the statary phase is more frequently sheltered (i.e., entirely hidden within a hollow log, mammal burrow, etc.) than in the nomadic phase (Schneirla et al, 1954).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…Instead, army ants use their bodies to form a living nest or bivouac without the manipulation of foreign materials (Schneirla et al, 1954). Most army ant species are hypogaeic, nesting and foraging underground, but the swarm-raiding army ant Eciton burchellii forages above ground (Hölldobler and Wilson, 1990;Gotwald, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Army ant colonies are able to shift the bivouac position to avoid direct sunlight or precipitation (Schneirla et al, 1954;Rettenmeyer, 1963;Schneirla, 1971), and can regulate brood temperatures within the bivouac by opening and closing air passages (Jackson, 1957;Franks, 1989). However, the choice of the bivouac site may protect the colony from extreme environmental conditions, for example, during the local dry season in lowland Panama (Rettenmeyer, 1963;Schneirla, 1971).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Choice of nest site protects army ant colonies from environmental extremes in tropical montane forest

et al. 2010

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Unlike most social insects, Eciton burchellii army ants cannot thermoregulate through nest construction. Instead, army ants thermoregulate behaviorally by creating a living nest (bivouac), shifting its position and structure, and potentially through nest site selection. We hypothesized that bivouac site selection is critical to E. burchellii colony survival. We predicted elevation above sea level, with associated variation in local abiotic environments, would affect bivouac site selection by E. burchellii colonies. We also expected nest sites to buffer against ambient variation in abiotic conditions. We recorded bivouac site choice by E. burchellii colonies at sites ranging from lowland wet forests to montane forests and reviewed previously published data. We measured microclimatic variables associated with nest sites in high-elevation montane forests: temperature, relative humidity, and light levels. Bivouac site selection varied with elevation: as elevation increased, fewer bivouac sites were exposed, more were underground, and fewer were elevated (in trees). High-elevation bivouac sites moderated diurnal temperature variation and had higher relative humidity levels and lower light levels than ambient conditions. The buffering of ambient temperature and humidity decreased with elevation in montane forests, suggesting that abiotic extremes in bivouac sites at the highest elevations may contribute to the upper elevational range limits of E. burchellii.

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“…The bivouac in the statary phase is more frequently sheltered (i.e., entirely hidden within a hollow log, mammal burrow, etc.) than in the nomadic phase (Schneirla et al, 1954).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Choice of nest site protects army ant colonies from environmental extremes in tropical montane forest

et al. 2010

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“…A third possibility is that ant-following birds may simply choose areas where ants are active. Army ants are particularly sensitive to low humidity and high temperatures (Schneirla et al 1954) and this may generate correlations between physical factors and ant bird activity, independent of physiological limitation on the birds themselves, but still determined on a very local scale. The scale of measurement of temperature and canopy cover in this study suggests a scale on the order of 35 m. Multiple mechanisms may operate to influence habitat use by ant-following birds, as suggested by the statistical relationship of both local environmental factors and primary forest cover to the species richness of ant followers.…”

Section: Potential Influences On Avian Species Richness Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Scale of Community Structure: Habitat Variation and Avian Guilds in Tropical Forest Understory

Pearman¹

2002

Ecological Monographs

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The scale of community structure: habitat variation and avian guilds in tropical forest understory The scale of community structure: habitat variation and avian guilds in tropical forest understory AbstractBoth local and regional habitat characteristics influence species richness and community structure. The scale at which communities are studied, however, affects the detection of relationships between habitat characteristics and patterns of habitat selection, species diversity, and species composition, and may obscure observation of differences in how species perceive the scale of environmental variation. To determine how environmental variation at different scales is related to species occurrence and richness, I analyze mist net sampling data on several guilds of forest understory birds. Bird capture, vegetation, and physical environment data come from 23 0.5-ha study sites in primary and secondary forest in Amazonian Ecuador. The percentages of primary forest within concentric circles around each site form forest imbeddedness measures (FIMs), which are evaluated using satellite imagery. Variation in FIM size represents different measurement scales for determining forest cover. Primary forest cover is also analyzed in successively larger tori surrounding sites and is used, after variable reduction with Principal Components Analysis, to summarize variation in forest cover around sites. Linear regression, surface trend analysis, and ordination help to quantify how variation in guild composition and species richness is explained by forest cover, vegetation structure, and physical environment. Species composition is related to variation in primary forest cover, primarily within 200-600 m of study sites. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicates that nectarivores, shrub-layer frugivores, and ant-following birds are captured in areas with relatively low primary forest cover. In contrast, shrub-layer insectivores, shrub-layer omnivores, and birds probing dead foliage for large insects tend to be captured in areas of relatively high primary forest cover. The species richness of insect gleaners, ant followers, and omnivores is statistically related to the percent cover of primary forest within hundreds of meters from the study sites. This suggests that some mechanisms that influence guild composition act over substantial distances. Nonetheless, the small radii of FIMs related to the species richness of dead-leaf probers suggests that local conditions and variation in forest cover over short (<200 m) distances directly or indirectly influence species richness of some primary forest birds. The significant relationship between temperature variation among capture sites and species richness of ant-following birds suggests that these species choose among habitats in a temperature range at which physiological constraints operate, either directly on the birds themselves or on the ants they follow. Species richness within the nectarivores, in contrast, shows no relationship with large-scale variation in primary forest c...

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“…Likewise, colony attributes such as nest form, the way of its construction, and its internal conditions were studied mainly for army ant species which form epigaeic bivouacs (e.g. Beebe, 1919;Schneirla et al, 1954;Jackson, 1957;Rettenmeyer, 1963;Chapman, 1964;Schneirla and Reyes, 1969;Schneirla, 1971). Such epigaeic bivouacs, which are formed by a variety of Ecitoninae and Aenictinae species, are constructed wholly of the bodies of colony members.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nesting habits and colony composition of the hypogaeic army ant Dorylus (Dichthadia) laevigatus Fr. Smith

Berghoff¹,

Weissflog²,

Linsenmair³

et al. 2002

Insectes soc.

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The Bivouac or Temporary Nest as an Adaptive Factor in Certain Terrestrial Species of Army Ants

Cited by 40 publications

References 34 publications

Choice of nest site protects army ant colonies from environmental extremes in tropical montane forest

Choice of nest site protects army ant colonies from environmental extremes in tropical montane forest

The Scale of Community Structure: Habitat Variation and Avian Guilds in Tropical Forest Understory

Nesting habits and colony composition of the hypogaeic army ant Dorylus (Dichthadia) laevigatus Fr. Smith

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