Body Size of the Monomorphic Ant<i>Lasius niger</i>: Young Colonies along a Metal Pollution Gradient

Grześ, Irena M.; Okrutniak, Mateusz; Antosik, Gracjan

doi:10.1155/2015/873415

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 29 publications

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“…Head size variation is significantly higher within colonies than between colonies (Grześ et al . 2015a,b). Lasius niger is strictly monogynous; relatedness among workers is relatively high (Boomsma & Van der Have 1998; Czechowski et al .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ant Lasius niger shows no relationship between task efficiency and body size variation among workers

Okrutniak,

Grześ,

Kucharska

et al. 2023

Entomological Science

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In ants, workers of different sizes may perform various tasks, even in so‐called monomorphic species with relatively low body size variation. However, it is unclear if the body size diversity of monomorphic workers correlates with task efficiency, especially in stressful contingencies. Here we tested if the body size variation of workers corresponds with its efficiency in transferring pupae. Transferring brood is a pre‐set behavioral response to stress, e.g. suboptimal temperature. Here we applied a laboratory experiment simulating nest damage. The study was performed on the common garden ant (Lasius niger (Linnaeus, 1758)) – a species with no distinct worker subcastes. The efficiency of workers was measured as the latency of transferring pupae from a lit part of the experimental colony to a darkened part, while the body size diversity was expressed as the within‐colony coefficient of variation in head width. We did not find any significant correlation between efficiency and body size variation. Summarizing the existing studies and the present results, we propose the hypothesis that the body size diversity of L. niger may have implications for workers’ division of labor but not for their task efficiency in a stressful contingency.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ant Lasius niger shows no relationship between task efficiency and body size variation among workers

Okrutniak,

Grześ,

Kucharska

et al. 2023

Entomological Science

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Body size variation of the ant Lasius niger along a metal pollution gradient

Grześ

Okrutniak

Gorzałczany

et al. 2019

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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The phenotypic diversity of ant workers plays a fundamental role in their biology. In this study, we asked if the body size variation of monomorphic workers of the ant Lasius niger (Formicidae) responds adaptively to metal pollution in a post-mining metal-polluted area. Nest samples of workers were collected along a pollution gradient to calculate the within-colony variance in body size (expressed as maximum head width, HW). The results showed that the body size variation of L. niger was unrelated to the pollution index but demonstrated considerable variation between colonies even within the same study site. We suggest that the differences in morphological diversity between the colonies of L. niger could be shaped by colony personality traits, i.e., by colony-specific foraging and/or the feeding efficiency of nursing workers. The study supports previous findings, showing that morphological traits in Lasius ants are weakly related to environmental metal pollution.

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