Comparative dynamics of gestalt odour formation in two ant species<i>Camponotus fellah</i>and<i>Aphaenogaster senilis</i>(Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Lenoir, Alain; Hefetz, Abraham; Simon, T.; Soroker, Victoria

doi:10.1046/j.0307-6962.2001.00244.x

Cited by 59 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Careful analysis of the variations in compositions of A. senilis PPG shows that different subsets of hydrocarbons reflect caste and, although to a lower extend, colony specificity, raising the possibility that these subsets act independently for caste communication and nestmate recognition, respectively. The lack of trophallaxis in A. senilis reduces the circulation of hydrocarbons between nestmates (Lenoir et al 2001), which may allow the queen to maintain her own identity within the colony.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Production of sexuals in a fission-performing ant: dual effects of queen pheromones and colony size

Boulay

Hefetz

Cerdá

et al. 2007

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Models based on the kin selection theory predict that in social hymenopterans, queens may favor a lower investment in the production of sexuals than workers. However, in perennial colonies, this conflict may be tuned down by colony-level selection because of the trade off between colony survival and reproductive allocation. In this study, we present a survey of sexual production in colonies of Aphaenogaster senilis, a common species of ant in the Iberian Peninsula. Similar to most species that reproduce by fission, males were found in large excess compared to gynes (172:1). Sexuals were more likely to be found in queenless than in queenright (QR) field colonies. However, we also found a few gynes and numerous males in very large QR colonies. We compared these data with those available in the literature for A. rudis, a congeneric species from North America that has independent colony founding. The sex ratio in this species was only five males for each female, and sexuals were mostly found in QR nests, irrespective of colony size. We confirmed queen inhibition of sexual production in A. senilis in laboratory experiments and provide evidence that this inhibition is mediated by a nonvolatile pheromone. To seek the potential source of such a queen pheromone, we analyzed the secretions of two conspicuous exocrine glands, the Dufour's and postpharyngeal glands (DG and PPG, respectively) in both queens and workers. Both secretions were composed of hydrocarbons, but that of DG also contained small quantities of tetradecanal and hexadecanal. The hydrocarbon profile of the DG and PPG showed notable caste specificity suggesting a role in caste-related behavior. The PPG secretions also differed between colonies suggesting its role in colonylevel recognition. We suggest that in A. senilis, there are two modes of colony fission: First, in very large colonies, gynes are produced, probably because of the dilution of the queen pheromone, and consequently one or more gynes leave the mother colony with workers and brood to found a new nest. This is beneficial at the colony level because it avoids the production of costly sexuals in small colonies. However, because the queen and workers have different optima for sexual production, we hypothesize that queens tend to overproduce the pheromone to delay their production. This in turn may drive workers to leave the mother colony during nest relocation and to produce sexuals once they are away from the queen's influence, creating a second mode of colony fission.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This suggests that caste specificity is very pronounced and may obscure colony specificity. Worker PPG content has already been described elsewhere (Lenoir et al 2001). It is copiously filled with longchain linear and methyl-branched alkanes with a carbon length ranging between 25 and 31.…”

Section: Lr Test C O L Ony S I Z E ( S O C I a L C O N D I T I On) mentioning

confidence: 99%

Production of sexuals in a fission-performing ant: dual effects of queen pheromones and colony size

Boulay

Hefetz

Cerdá

et al. 2007

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…Conventional models of nest-mate recognition signals [31] suggest that colonies acquire a distinctive gestalt colony odour, as hydrocarbons are distributed across the body parts of individuals [17,32] and among individuals within the colony [33,34] by trophallaxis, self-grooming, allogrooming and physical contact. These models predict a largely invariant chemical profile between the body parts of individuals and among individuals within the colony.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Location-specific cuticular hydrocarbon signals in a social insect

Wang¹,

Goodger²,

Woodrow³

et al. 2016

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Social insects use cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) to convey different social signals, including colony or nest identity. Despite extensive investigations, the exact source and identity of CHCs that act as nest-specific identification signals remain largely unknown. Perhaps this is because studies that identify CHC signals typically use organic solvents to extract a single sample from the entire animal, thereby analysing a cocktail of chemicals that may serve several signal functions. We took a novel approach by first identifying CHC profiles from different body parts of ants (Iridomyrmex purpureus), then used behavioural bioassays to reveal the location of specific social signals. The CHC profiles of both workers and alates varied between different body parts, and workers paid more attention to the antennae of non-nest-mate and the legs of nest-mate workers. Workers responded less aggressively to non-nest-mate workers if the CHCs on the antennae of their opponents were removed with a solvent. These data indicate that CHCs located on the antennae reveal nest-mate identity and, remarkably, that antennae both convey and receive social signals. Our approach and findings could be valuably applied to chemical signalling in other behavioural contexts, and provide insights that were otherwise obscured by including chemicals that either have no signal function or may be used in other contexts.

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“…The resistance to disease of social insects, including leaf-cutting ants, can be improved by the presence of nestmates as a result of allogrooming (Rosengaus et al 1998;Hughes et al 2002) and the enhancement of immunocompetence (Traniello et al 2002). Acromyrmex ants can actively apply the antibiotic secretions from their metapleural glands to their fungus garden (Fernández-Marin et al 2003), and it seems likely that these secretions are also transferred between nestmates by contact and grooming, as occurs with cuticular hydrocarbons (Soroker et al 1995;Lenoir et al 2001). The occurrence of a resistant genotype may therefore also benefit susceptible genotypes in the group, which could result in the greater survival of individuals in high diversity groups that was seen.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Diversity and Disease Resistance in Leaf-Cutting Ant Societies

Hughes

Boomsma

2004

Evol

112

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Abstract.•Multiple mating by females (polyandry) remains hard to explain because, while it has substantial costs, clear benefits have remained elusive. The problem is acute in the social insects because polyandry is probably particularly costly for females and most material benefits of the behavior are unlikely to apply. It has been suggested that a fitness benefit may arise from the more genetically diverse worker force that a polyandrous queen will produce. One leading hypothesis is that the increased genetic diversity of workers will improve a colony's resistance to disease. We investigated this hypothesis using a polyandrous leaf-cutting ant and a virulent fungal parasite as our model system. At high doses of the parasite most patrilines within colonies were similarly susceptible, but a few showed greater resistance. At a low dose of the parasite there was more variation between patrilines in their resistance to the parasite. Such genetic variation is a key prerequisite for polyandry to result in increased disease resistance of colonies. The relatedness of two hosts did not appear to affect the transmission of the parasite between them, but this was most likely because the parasite tested was a virulent generalist that is adapted to transmit between distantly related hosts. The resistance to the parasite was compared between small groups of ants of either high or low genetic diversity. No difference was found at high doses of the parasite, but a significant improvement in resistance in high genetic diversity groups was found at a low dose of the parasite. That there is genetic variation for disease resistance means that there is the potential for polyandry to produce more disease-resistant colonies. That this genetic variation can improve the resistance of groups even under the limited conditions tested suggests that polyandry may indeed produce colonies with improved resistance to disease.

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Comparative dynamics of gestalt odour formation in two ant speciesCamponotus fellahandAphaenogaster senilis(Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Cited by 59 publications

References 25 publications

Production of sexuals in a fission-performing ant: dual effects of queen pheromones and colony size

Production of sexuals in a fission-performing ant: dual effects of queen pheromones and colony size

Location-specific cuticular hydrocarbon signals in a social insect

Genetic Diversity and Disease Resistance in Leaf-Cutting Ant Societies

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