Effect of Temperature on Nestmate Recognition in the Ant Odontomachus chelifer
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v71i3.9944Keywords:
behavior, communication, cuticle, hydrocarbons, Odontomachus, waterproofingAbstract
Cuticular hydrocarbons play multiple roles in social insects. Their primary function is to waterproof the external surface of the body of individuals in order to prevent desiccation, however, they also act as a chemical signature in social insects, unique to each colony, through which individuals recognize themselves as nestmates. These compounds may undergo changes due to exogenous factors, aiming to maintain the integrity of the cuticle. However, changes in cuticular chemical composition may impair recognition among nestmates. Thus, this study tested the hypothesis that nestmates of the ant Odontomachus chelifer, when submitted to different temperature conditions, may undergo changes in their normal pattern of recognition. To do this, groups of workers were kept under two different temperatures, 15 and 30 °C, during a period of 24 hours, and then submitted to induced encounters with workers who remained for this same period at a temperature of 25 °C. As a form of control, the same type of encounter was performed between ants that remained isolated, but at the same temperature and also between ants from different colonies. The results show that ants that remain for 24 hours under different temperature conditions, present some level of difficulty in recognizing themselves as nestmates, performing more aggressive behaviors and taking longer touching themselves (antennation) than in the control condition.
Downloads
References
Blomquist GJ, Bagnères AG (2010). Insect hydrocarbons: biology, biochemistry, and chemical ecology. Cambridge University Press, New York
Blomquist GJ, Tittiger C, Jurenka R (2020). Cuticular Hydrocarbons and Pheromones of Arthropods. In: Wilkes, H (ed) Hydrocarbons, Oils and Lipids: Diversity, Origin, Chemistry and Fate. Springer, Switzerland, pp 213-244.
Bonavita-Cougourdan A, Theraulaz G, Bagnères AG, Roux M, Pratte M, Provost E, Clément JL (1991). Cuticular hydrocarbons, social organization and ovarian development in a polistine wasp: Polistes dominulus christ. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Comparative Biochemistry, 100: 667-680. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-0491(91)90272-F
Boulay R, Hefetz A, Soroker V, Lenoir A (2000). Camponotus fellah colony integration: worker individuality necessitates frequent hydrocarbon exchanges. Animal Behavior, 59: 1127-1133. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2000.1408
Brown WL (2000). Diversity of ants. In: Agosti D, Majer JD, Alonso LE, Schultz TR (ed) Ants: standard methods for measuring and monitoring biodiversity. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, pp 45-79
Brown WV, Spradbery JP, Lacey MJ (1991). Changes in the cuticular hydrocarbon composition during development of the social wasp, Vespula germanica (F.) (hymenoptera: vespidae). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Comparative Biochemistry, 99: 553-562. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-0491(91)90337-D
Burchill AT, Moreau CS (2016). Colony size evolution in ants: macroevolutionary trends. Insectes Sociaux, 63: 291-298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-016-0465-3
Carlin NF, Gladstein DS (1989) The “bouncer” defense of Odontomachus ruginodis and other odontomachine ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche, 96: 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1155/1989/96595
Chung H, Carroll SB (2015). Wax, sex and the origin of species: Dual roles of insect cuticular hydrocarbons in adaptation and mating. BioEssays, 37: 822-830. https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.201500014
Crall J (2021). Social insects: Stochastic switches and behavioral maturation in ants. Current Biology, 31: 481-483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.076
Dani FR, Jones GR, Destri S, Spencer SH, Turillazzi S (2001). Deciphering the recognition signature within the cuticular chemical profile of paper wasps. Animal Behavior, 62: 165-171. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2001.1714
Duarte BF, Michelutti KB, Antonialli-Junior WF, Cardoso CAL (2019). Effect of temperature on survival and cuticular composition of three different ant species. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 80: 178-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2019.02.005
Fowler HG (1980). Populations, prey capture and sharing, and foraging of the paraguayan ponerine Odontomachus chelifer latreille. Journal of Natural History, 14: 79-84. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222938000770081
Gibbs A (1995). Physical properties of insect cuticular hydrocarbons: Model mixtures and lipid interactions. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Comparative Biochemistry, 112: 667-672. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-0491(95)00119-0
Gibbs AG (1998). Water-proofing properties of cuticular lipids. American Zoologist, 38: 471-482. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/38.3.471
Gibbs AG, Rajpurohit S (2010). Cuticular lipids and water balance. In: Blomquist GJ, Bagnères AG (ed) Insect hydrocarbons: biology, biochemistry, and chemical ecology. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 100-120
Gibbs AG, Chippindale AK, Rose MR (1997). Physiological mechanisms of evolved desiccation resistance in Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Experimental Biology, 200: 1821-1832. https://doi.org/10.1142/9789812567222_0010
Gibbs A, Pomonis JG (1995). Physical properties of insect cuticular hydrocarbons: The effects of chain length, methyl-branching and unsaturation. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Comparative Biochemistry, 112: 243-249. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-0491(95)00081-X
Guimarães IDC, Pereira MC, Batista NR, Rodrigues CAP, Antonialli-Junior WF (2018). The complex nest architecture of the Ponerinae ant Odontomachus chelifer. PLoS One, 13: e0189896. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189896
Hefetz A (2007). The evolution of hydrocarbon pheromone parsimony in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) – interplay of colony odor uniformity and odor idiosyncrasy. A review. Myrmecol News, 10: 59-68.
Hernández JV, Goitía W, Osio A, Cabrera A, Lopez H, Sainz C, Jaffe K (2006). Leaf-cutter ant species (Hymenoptera: Atta) differ in the types of cues used to differentiate between self and others. Animal Behavior, 71: 945-952. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.09.004
Hernández JV, López H, Jaffe K (2002). Nestmate recognition signals of the leaf-cutting ant Atta laevigata. Journal of Insect Physiology, 48: 287-295. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1910(01)00173-1
Hölldobler B, Wilson EO (1990). The ants. Springer, Berlin.
Howard RW (1993) Cuticular hydrocarbons and chemical communication. In: Stanley DW, Nelson DR (ed) Insect lipids: chemistry, biochemistry and biology. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, pp 179-226
Howard RW, Blomquist GJ (1982). Chemical ecology and biochemistry of insect hydrocarbons. Annual Review of Entomology, 27: 49-172. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.27.010182.001053
Howard RW, Blomquist GJ (2005). Ecological, behavioral, and biochemical aspects of insect hydrocarbons. Annual Review of Entomology, 50: 371-393. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.50.071803.130359
Ichinose K, Lenoir A (2009). Ontogeny of hydrocarbon profiles in the ant Aphaenogaster senilis and effects of social isolation. Comptes Rendus Biologies, 332: 697-703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crvi.2009.04.002
Karlson P, Butenandt A (1959). Pheromones (ectohormones) in insects. Annual Review of Entomology, 4: 39-58. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.04.010159.000351
Karlson P, Lüscher M (1959). ‘Pheromones’: a new term for a class of biologically active substances. Nature, 183: 55-56. https://doi.org/10.1038/183055a0
Kühsel S, Brückner A, Schmelzle S, Heethoff M, Blüthgen N (2017). Surface area-volume ratios in insects. Insectes Sociaux, 24: 829-841. https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7917.12362
Le Conte Y, Hefetz A (2008). Primer pheromones in social hymenoptera. Annual Review of Entomology, 53: 523-542. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.52.110405.091434
Lenoir A, Cuisset D, Hefetz A (2001). Effects of social isolation on hydrocarbon pattern and nestmate recognition in the ant Aphaenogaster senilis (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Insectes Sociaux, 48: 101-109. https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00001751
Leonhardt SD, Brandstaetter AS, Kleineidam CJ (2007). Reformation process of the neuronal template for nestmate-recognition cues in the carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus. Journal of Comparative Physiology A, Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, 193: 993-1000. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-007-0252-8
Leonhardt SD, Menzel F, Nehring V, Schmitt T (2016). Ecology and Evolution of Communication in Social Insects. Cell, 164: 1277-1287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.01.035
Menzel F, Blaimer BB, Schmitt T (2017). How do cuticular hydrocarbons evolve? Physiological constraints and climatic and biotic selection pressures act on a complex functional trait. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 284: 17-27. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1727
Menzel F, Morsbach S, Martens JH, Räder P, Hadjaje S, Poizat M, Abou B (2019). Communication versus waterproofing: The physics of insect cuticular hydrocarbons. Journal of Experimental Biology, 22: 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.210807
Menzel F, Zumbusch M, Feldmeyer B (2018). How ants acclimate: Impact of climatic conditions on the cuticular hydrocarbon profile. Functional Ecology, 32: 657-666. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13008
Meskali M, Bonavita-Cougourdan A, Provost E, Bagnères AG, Dusticier G, Clément JL (1995). Mechanism underlying cuticular hydrocarbon homogeneity in the ant Camponotus vagus
(SCOP.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Role of postpharyngeal glands. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 21: 1127-1148. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02228316
Michelutti KB, Soares ERP, Sguarizi-Antonio D, Piva RC, Súarez YR, Cardoso CAL, Antonialli-Junior WF (2018). Influence of temperature on survival and cuticular chemical profile of social wasps. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 71: 221-231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2017.11.019
Morel L, Vander Meer RK, Lavine BK (1988). Ontogeny of nestmate recognition cues in the red carpenter ant (Camponotus floridanus). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 22: 175-183. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300567
Murakami ASN, Nunes TM, Desuó IC, Shima SN, Mateus S (2015). The Cuticular Hydrocarbons Profiles in the Colonial Recognition of the Neotropical Eusocial Wasp, Mischocyttarus cassununga (Hymenoptera, Vespidae). Sociobiology, 62: 109-115. https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v62i1.109-115
Nunes TM, Nascimento FS, Turatti IC, Lopes NP, Zucchi R (2008). Nestmate recognition in a stingless bee: does the similarity of chemical cues determine guard acceptance? Animal Behavior, 75: 1165-1171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.08.028
Obin MS, Vander Meer RK (1989). Mechanism of template-label matching in fire ant, Solenopsis invicta buren, nestmate recognition. Animal Behavior, 38: 430-435. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(89)80036-3
Otte T, Hilker M, Geiselhardt S (2018). Phenotypic Plasticity of Cuticular Hydrocarbon Profiles in Insects. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 44: 235-247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-018-0934-4
Poole T (1997). Happy animals make good science. Laboratory Animals, 31: 116-124. https://doi.org/10.1258/002367797780600198
R Core Team (2023). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing.
Ramsay JA (1935). The evaporation of water from the cockroach. Journal of Experimental Biology, 12: 373-383. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.12.4.373
Richard FJ, Hunt JH (2013). Intracolony chemical communication in social insects. Insectes Sociaux, 60: 275-291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-013-0306-6
Rourke BC, Gibbs AG (1999). Effects of lipid phase transitions on cuticular permeability: Model membrane and in situ studies. Journal of Experimental Biology, 202: 3255-3262. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.202.22.3255
Schneider H, Silva CA (2014). As Características Do Clima De Dourados/Ms E Adjacências A Partir Da Série Histórica De 1980 A 2009. Geografares, 16: 1-21. https://doi.org/10.7147/GEO16.5614
Singer TL (1998). Roles of hydrocarbons in the recognition systems of insects. American Zoologist, 38: 394-405. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/38.2.394
Sprenger PP, Burkert LH, Abou BR, Federle W, Menzel F (2018). Coping with the climate: Cuticular hydrocarbon acclimation of ants under constant and fluctuating conditions. Journal of Experimental Biology, 221: 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.171488
Starks PT, Fischer DJ, Watson RE, Melikian GL, Nath SD (1998). Context-dependent nestmate discrimination in the paper wasp, Polistes dominulus: A critical test of the optimal acceptance threshold model. Animal Behavior, 56: 449-458. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1998.0778
Suarez AV, Tsutsui ND, Holway DA, Case TJ (1999). Behavioral and genetic differentiation between native and introduced populations of the Argentine ant. Biological Invasions, 1: 43-53. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010038413690
Turillazzi S. (2013). The biology of hover wasps. Springer, Berlin
Valadares L, Nascimento D, Nascimento FS (2015). Foliar substrate affects cuticular hydrocarbon profiles and intraspecific aggression in the leafcutter ant Atta sexdens Insects, 6: 141-151. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects6010141
Van-Wilgenburg E, Torres CW, Tsutsui ND (2010). The global expansion of a single ant supercolony. Evolutionary Applications, 3:136-143. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-4571.2009.00114.x
Wagner D, Tissot M, Gordon D (2001). Task-related environment alters the cuticular hydrocarbon composition of harvester ants. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 27: 1805-1819. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010408725464
Wigglesworth VB (1945). Transpiration through the cuticle of insects. Journal of Experimental Biology, 21: 97-114. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.21.3-4.97
Yew JY, Chung H (2015). Insect pheromones: An overview of function, form, and discovery. Progress in Lipid Research, 59: 88-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plipres.2015.06.001
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Kleber Luna Silva, Nathan Rodrigues Batista, William Fernando Antonialli-Junior
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Sociobiology is a diamond open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
eISSN 2447-8067
