Tunnelling behaviour of the Asian subterranean termite in heterogeneous soils: presence of cues in the foraging area

Lima, Juliana Toledo; Costa–Leonardo, Ana Maria

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.02.020

Cited by 26 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…temperature (Arab & Costa-Leonardo, 2005;Cornelius & Osbrink, 2011), water (Hu et al, 2012), soil (Evans, 2003;Lima & Costa-Leonardo, 2012), obstacles (Pitts-Singer & Forschler, 2000)] and intrinsic colony needs [i.e. temperature (Arab & Costa-Leonardo, 2005;Cornelius & Osbrink, 2011), water (Hu et al, 2012), soil (Evans, 2003;Lima & Costa-Leonardo, 2012), obstacles (Pitts-Singer & Forschler, 2000)] and intrinsic colony needs [i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, it is important to highlight that foraging and termite exploitation of the environment are part of a dynamic process that can be modified by other environmental factors [e.g. temperature (Arab & Costa-Leonardo, 2005;Cornelius & Osbrink, 2011), water (Hu et al, 2012), soil (Evans, 2003;Lima & Costa-Leonardo, 2012), obstacles (Pitts-Singer & Forschler, 2000)] and intrinsic colony needs [i.e. colony growth (Traniello & Leuthold, 2000), colony size (Su et al, 2017)] as well as by resource offer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Resource density regulates the foraging investment in higher termite species

Almeida

Cristaldo

DeSouza

et al. 2018

Ecological Entomology

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1. Resource density can regulate the area that animals use. At low resource density, there is a conflict in terms of balance between costs of foraging and benefits acquired. The foraging of the higher termite Nasutitermes aff. coxipoensis consists of searching throughout trails and a building galleries phase.2. In this study, a manipulative field experiment was used to test the hypothesis that colonies of N. aff. coxipoensis forage towards a more profitable balance between the establishment of trails and gallery construction at low resource density.3. The experiment was conducted in north-eastern Brazil. Seven experimental plots were established with a continuous increase in resource density (sugarcane baits). Entire colonies of N. aff. coxipoensis were transplanted from their original sites to the experimental plot, totalling 35 nests. The number, branches and total length of trails and galleries were quantified.4. The results show that N. aff. coxipoensis optimises its foraging output, intensifying the establishment of trails at the cost of gallery construction when resource density is low. The number of trails, the number of trail branches and the total length of trails decreased with increasing resource density. Interestingly, at low resource density, the search effort was concentrated on forming longer and a greater number of trails, a small proportion of which were converted into galleries. The opposite relationship was observed at high resource density. 5. These results suggest an optimisation of search efforts during foraging depending on resource density, a mechanism that may help researchers to understand the use of space by higher termite species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resource density regulates the foraging investment in higher termite species

Almeida

Cristaldo

DeSouza

et al. 2018

Ecological Entomology

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“…Neoh et al (2012) described that in G. sulphureus termite workers inspected nestmate corpses and, afterwards, avoided them. Foraging workers of Coptotermes gestroi changed their tunnelling pattern when they found soldiers corpses of Heterotermes tenuis in order to avoid confrontation and to isolate dead termites (Lima and Costa-Leonardo, 2012). Additionally, workers of Reticulitermes hesperus avoided areas where there were termites which had been killed by insecticides (Smith and Rust, 1991).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural repertoire of termites in corpse management: A comparison between one-piece and multiple-pieces nesting termite species

Silva

Costa–Leonardo

2018

Behavioural Processes

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Corpse disposal is an essential adaptation to social life. This behaviour promotes nest hygiene and prevents the spread of pathogens in the colony of social insects. The current study verified the corpse management in two termite families towards cadavers of different origins. We carried out bioassays with subcolonies of Cryptotermes brevis and colonies of Cornitermes cumulans, in which corpses of termite workers from the same colony, from another colony and from another species were introduced. The results showed that C. brevis consumed the corpses regardless of their origin, but they avoided the chitinous parts of the head. In this species, consumption of dead individuals, besides performing a hygienic function, seems to be a strategy for nitrogen and water acquisition. In the C. cumulans species, interspecific and intercolonial corpses were covered with soil and faeces after being groomed. Nestmate corpses were entombed, transported to the nest or ignored after being submitted to grooming. Our findings indicate that a one-piece nesting termite, as C. brevis, exhibited a simplified corpse management repertoire in relation to that performed by C. cumulans, a multiple-piece nesting species, whose approach was more complex and diverse. Behavioural responses are associated with the nesting of the species.

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“…S6). To avoid an effect of environmental heterogeneity arising from the wall at the boundary [42], we compared the structures of tunnels at the time when the first group in each species reached the wall (14 hours in P. simplicicornis and 5 hours in R. tibialis and H. aureus ; Fig. S6).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parameter tuning facilitates the evolution of diverse tunneling patterns in termites

Mizumoto

Pratt

2019

Preprint

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9The nest structures built by social insects are complex group-level patterns that emerge from 10 interactions among individuals following simple behavioral rules. The theory of complex systems 11 predicts that there is no simple one-to-one relationship between variations in collective patterns and 12 variation in individual behaviors; therefore, it is essential to know how actual behavior evolves to 13 change pattern formation. Here we demonstrate that the evolutionary divergence of termite tunneling 14 patterns is achieved by quantitative tuning of shared behavioral rules, rather than the acquisition of 15 novel behaviors. We compared tunnel formation between two closely related species, Reticulitermes 16 tibialis and Heterotermes aureus, and found that H. aureus builds more highly branched tunnels than 17 R. tibialis. Our behavioral analysis and data-based modeling revealed that these species share the same 18 behavioral repertoire, but a quantitative difference in the probability of sidewall excavation leads to 19 diverse tunneling patterns. In contrast, we also found that Paraneotermes simplicicornis, which 20 evolved tunneling independently, possesses a distinct behavioral repertoire, but shows convergence of 21 branching patterns with R. tibialis. These results elucidate the complex relationship between individual 22 behavior and group-level patterns; in some cases, distinct behavioral rules can produce similar group-23 level patterns, but in others, a common rule set can yield distinct patterns via parameter tuning. The 24 evolutionary process of collective behavior is flexible and much more complex than we can infer from 25 group-level patterns alone. 26 27 29 Among these, nest structures built by social insects play an important role in their ecological success 30 by providing shelter and favorable microenvironments [2,3]. A wide variety of structures has evolved, 31 adapted to each species' typical environment [4,5]. This leads to the fundamental question of what is 32 the behavioral mechanism underlying the evolution of diverse nest structures? In collective building, 33 group-level structures emerge from local interactions among individuals following simple behavioral 34 rules [1,6]. Thus, different collective outcomes may be obtained either by differentiated behavioral 35 rules or by regulation of a common set of rules to modify the interactions [7]. Theoretical studies have 36 supported the latter model; they predict that diverse nest structures can be explained by parameter 37tuning, which is the quantitative modification of a single set of behavioral rules shared among species, 38 in ants [8,9], termites [10-12] and paper wasps [13,14]. However, because of the lack of comparative 39 studies, there is no empirical evidence for the sharing of behavioral rules across species, and thus the 40 key factor creating interspecific variation in patterns remains unknown. 41Because evolutionary changes of nest structures occur through the modification of building 42 processes, it is essential to clarify the ...

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Tunnelling behaviour of the Asian subterranean termite in heterogeneous soils: presence of cues in the foraging area

Cited by 26 publications

References 15 publications

Resource density regulates the foraging investment in higher termite species

Resource density regulates the foraging investment in higher termite species

Behavioural repertoire of termites in corpse management: A comparison between one-piece and multiple-pieces nesting termite species

Parameter tuning facilitates the evolution of diverse tunneling patterns in termites

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