Does Distance Among Colonies and Resource Availability Explain the Intercolonial Aggressiveness in Nasutitermes aff. coxipoensis?

Abstract

Aggressive behaviour can ensure animal access to local resources. To reduce constant costs in the defence of territories, species could save energy with conflicts avoiding aggression with neighbour or in situations with abundance of resources. In the present study, we analysed the effect of distance among colonies and resource availability on the aggression level and responses to chemical cues of Nasutitermes aff. coxipoensis (Holmgren) (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae). Manipulation of resource offer was conducted in the field, where nests with different distances were kept without addition of baits (control), with addition of three or 16 sugarcane baits/nest. After 3 months, aggressiveness, linear and Y-shaped trail-following bioassays were carried out with all pairwise combinations of colonies in each treatment. Our results showed that aggressive index of N. aff. coxipoensis was affected by the resource availability. However, individuals from colonies with 0 and 3 baits/nest showed a higher number of fighting with neighbours than those from non-neighbours colonies. Termite workers from colonies without baits (control) followed shorter distance in the linear trails compared to those from colonies with addition of baits. In all treatments, there was no preference of workers in relation to the choice of chemical cues from own or other colonies. The response of intercolonial aggressiveness in N. aff. coxipoensis seems to be resource-dependent. These results may contribute to the comprehension of the use of space by N. aff. coxipoensis and could be useful to explain patterns of termite co-occurrence at different spatial scales, from local (inside the nest-e.g. cohabitation of nests by inquilines) to regional (e.g. around the nest).

Nonaggressive behavior: A strategy employed by an obligate nest invader to avoid conflict with its host species

“…Behaviors preventing conflict escalation are widespread across taxa (e.g., Akino, Knapp, Thomas, & Elmes, 1999;Aureli, Cords, & van Schaik, 2002;Baan, Bergmüller, Smith, & Molnar, 2014;Gobush & Wasser, 2009;Lhomme, Ayasse, Valterová, Lecocq, & Rasmont, 2012;Nehring, Dani, Turillazzi, Boomsma, & d'Ettorre, 2015;Pierce et al, 2002;Thierry et al, 2008). In termites specifically, aggressiveness depends on a range of ecological factors such as diet (Florane, Bland, Husseneder, & Raina, 2004), caste ratios (Roisin, Everaerts, Pasteels, & Bonnard, 1990), nestmate recognition (Delphia, Copren, & Haverty, 2003;Haverty & Thorne, 1989), group composition (Haverty & Thorne, 1989), territoriality (Adams & Levings, 1987;Ferreira et al, 2018;Levings & Adams, 1984), and resource availability (Cristaldo, Araújo, et al, 2016). In addition, aggression between termite colonies of the same species, which would be presumably less predictable due to a higher relatedness, may be inconsistent (Binder, 1987).…”

Attraction and vibration: Effects of previous exposure and type of food resource in the perception of allocolonial odors in termites

“…aff. coxipoensis perform more fighting among individuals from neighboring colonies compared to those from distant one, especially when the local supply of resources is reduced (Ferreira et al, ). These results, together, allow us to infer that in natural conditions of food scarcity (e.g., where neighboring colonies are more likely to consume similar resources), individuals of N .…”

“…In termites, it is common to observe the simultaneous use of same food source by several species (Roisin et al, 2006;Schuurman, 2006) or even the nest-sharing among different termite species (e.g., inquiline; Costa, De, Lima-Filho, & Brandão, 2009;Cristaldo, Rosa, Florencio, Marins, & DeSouza, 2012). On the other hand, termite species also exhibit defense of their territories (Adams & Levings, 1987;Levings & Adams, 1984) and a greater number of conflicts with neighboring colonies than distant ones (Dunn & Messier, 1999;Ferreira et al, 2018). In addition, some studies have been shown that colony fusion of neighboring colonies, with reduction of agonistic behaviors, is an adaptive strategy based in the cost/benefit balance of local conditions (e.g., food resource offer; Deheer & Vargo, 2004;Korb & Roux, 2012;Matsuura & Nishida, 2001).…”

“…We carried out three repetitions per paired combination (three combination/treatment), each using different individuals per nest, totalizing 36 tests and 12 true replicates. To analyze the effect of previous exposure to allocolonial odors on the choice of chemical cues and intercolonial aggressiveness, cuticular compounds of 50 workers/colony were extracted using hexane, following the procedure described in Ferreira et al (). Then, five workers were placed in Petri dishes (5.5 cm diameter and 1.5 cm high) covered with filter paper.…”

“…Colonies of this species forage through trails that are converted into galleries when food is found (Almeida et al, ), which minimizes their foraging costs (Almeida et al, ). The intercolonial aggressiveness between neighboring colonies of this species is modulated mainly by the resource offer (Ferreira et al, ).…”