Ant mound as an optimal shape in constructal design: Solar irradiation and circadian brood/fungi-warming sorties

Kasimova, Rouzalia; Tishin, Denis V.; Dlussky, G. M.; Baksht, F.B.; Kacimov, A. R.

doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2014.01.038

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The physical structure of the ant mound is supposed to work as a solar collector [19–21]. Moreover, solar energy may increase the metabolism of ant workers because of the increase in body temperature [22, 23], and it also helps to keep the nest material dry [2], thus increasing nest insulation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sun Basking in Red Wood Ants Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): Individual Behaviour and Temperature-Dependent Respiration Rates

2017

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In early spring, red wood ants Formica polyctena are often observed clustering on the nest surface in large numbers basking in the sun. It has been hypothesized that sun-basking behaviour may contribute to nest heating because of both heat carriage into the nest by sun-basking workers, and catabolic heat production from the mobilization of the workers’ lipid reserves. We investigated sun-basking behaviour in laboratory colonies of F. polyctena exposed to an artificial heat source. Observations on identified individuals revealed that not all ants bask in the sun. Sun-basking and non-sun-basking workers did not differ in body size nor in respiration rates. The number of sun-basking ants and the number of their visits to the hot spot depended on the temperature of both the air and the hot spot. To investigate whether sun basking leads to a physiological activation linked with increased lipolysis, we measured respiration rates of individual workers as a function of temperature, and compared respiration rates of sun-basking workers before and two days after they were allowed to expose themselves to a heat source over 10 days, at self-determined intervals. As expected for ectothermic animals, respiration rates increased with increasing temperatures in the range 5 to 35°C. However, the respiration rates of sun-basking workers measured two days after a long-term exposure to the heat source were similar to those before sun basking, providing no evidence for a sustained increase of the basal metabolic rates after prolonged sun basking. Based on our measurements, we argue that self-heating of the nest mound in early spring has therefore to rely on alternative heat sources, and speculate that physical transport of heat in the ant bodies may have a significant effect.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sun Basking in Red Wood Ants Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): Individual Behaviour and Temperature-Dependent Respiration Rates

2017

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“…Applications span multiple domains [20][21][22][23][24], mainly in thermal science [25][26][27][28], including energy storage (sensible, latent [29,30] and TES [31,32]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fishbone structures for thermochemical energy storage in porous systems

Malley-Ernewein

Lorente

2022

Journal of Energy Storage

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“…In addition, site conditions such as insolation [19], aspect [20], altitude [21], and even presence of degassing tectonic faults [22] were shown to be relevant to their distribution and survival. Among the habitat features mentioned above, access to solar radiation plays a major role [23][24][25]. However, solar radiation is directly influenced by other stand features like tree species, stand age/height, crown cover/density, and site parameters like slope and aspect.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Monitoring with Spy Satellite Images—The Case of Red Wood Ants in Romania

et al. 2021

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Dynamics of habitat conditions drive important changes in distribution and abundance of animal species making monitoring an important but also a challenging task when data from the past are scarce. We compared the distribution of ant mounds in the 1960s with recent inventories (2018), looking at changes in canopy cover over time, in a managed forest. Both historical and recent sources of information were used. Habitat suitability at present was determined using a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) image as a proxy for stand canopy cover. The NDVI product was obtained using Google Earth Engine and Sentinel 2 repository. For past conditions (no spectral information available), presence of edges and more open canopies was assessed on a Corona spy-satellite image and based on information from old forest management plans. A threshold distance of 30 m was used to assess location of ant nests compared to favorable habitats. Both old and new information sources showed that ants prefer intermediate canopy cover conditions in their vicinity. Nests remained clustered because of the heterogeneous habitat conditions, but spatial distribution has changed due to canopy alteration along time. The analysis on the NDVI was effective for 82% of cases (i.e., nests occurred within 30 m from favorable habitats). For all the remaining nests (18%), the Google Earth high resolution satellite image revealed in their vicinity the presence of small canopy gaps (undetected by the NDVI). These results show that historical satellite images are very useful for explaining the long-term dynamics of ant colonies. In addition, the use of modern remote sensing techniques provides a reliable and expedite method in determining the presence of favorable small-scale habitat, offering a very useful tool for ecological monitoring across large landscapes and in very different areas, especially in the context of ecosystem dynamics driven and exacerbated by climate change.

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Ant mound as an optimal shape in constructal design: Solar irradiation and circadian brood/fungi-warming sorties

Cited by 10 publications

References 46 publications

Sun Basking in Red Wood Ants Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): Individual Behaviour and Temperature-Dependent Respiration Rates

Sun Basking in Red Wood Ants Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): Individual Behaviour and Temperature-Dependent Respiration Rates

Fishbone structures for thermochemical energy storage in porous systems

Ecological Monitoring with Spy Satellite Images—The Case of Red Wood Ants in Romania

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