Social Recognition in Invertebrates

Aquiloni, Laura; Tricarico, Elena

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-17599-7

Cited by 17 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 327 publications

(418 reference statements)

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“…In many species, chemicals are used as recognition cues/signals in various contexts, and constitute part of the body odor and/or are emitted by specific glands. Examples range from insects and other invertebrates (d 'Ettorre and Moore, 2008;Aquiloni and Tricarico, 2015) to birds (Bonadonna and Sanz-Aguilar, 2012), reptiles (Mason and Parker, 2010;Heathcote et al, 2014) and mammals, including humans (reviewed in Wyatt, 2014). Social insects discriminate nestmates from non-nestmates on the basis of both qualitative and quantitative differences in their cuticular chemical profiles, which are primarily composed of long-chain hydrocarbons (Hefetz, 2007;Bagnères and Lorenzi, 2010;van Zweden and d'Ettorre, 2010;Esponda and Gordon, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ants Discriminate Between Different Hydrocarbon Concentrations

et al. 2015

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Social insects typically discriminate nestmates from non-nestmates using colony-specific blends of cuticular hydrocarbons, which may be considered as a chemical label. Within a species, the cuticular profile shows approximately the same qualitative set of compounds, although these differ quantitatively among colonies. Thus, the relative proportions of particular hydrocarbons may be higher in individuals of one colony compared to those of another (conspecific) colony. Social insects must perceive these differences in ratios in order to efficiently recognize non-nestmates. However, little is known about the underlying perceptual mechanisms. Here we investigated whether ants can discriminate between different doses of individual linear or methyl-branched hydrocarbons. We used the ant Camponotus aethiops as our study organism and differential conditioning of the maxilla-labium extension response as the experimental procedure, to test olfactory discrimination between two concentrations of the same compound (one rewarded and the other punished), using large (wide range, 1:100) and small differences (narrow range, 1:10) in hydrocarbon concentrations. Ants discriminated well between wide-range concentrations of the same compound, but showed asymmetric generalization between narrow-range concentrations. These results indicate that a certain differential in hydrocarbon concentration is essential for efficient discrimination.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ants Discriminate Between Different Hydrocarbon Concentrations

et al. 2015

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“…Social organization relies upon social recognition, which is the ability of individuals to distinguish among the individuals they encounter and to bias their behavior accordingly, i.e., responding with an adaptive behavior toward the appropriate individual (Ward and Webster, 2016). Social recognition thus plays a crucial role in regulation of social interactions within animal groups, by shaping parent-offspring interactions, competitive aggression, mate choice, and cooperative behaviors (Waldman, 1988;Gherardi et al, 2012;Aquiloni and Tricarico, 2015). Eusocial insects, such as ants, wasps, termites, and bees, live in complex societies that represent pinnacles of social evolution and whose organization relies on sophisticated forms of social recognition, such as the ability to recognize caste, dominance and fertility status, gender, and nestmates from non-nestmates (Wilson, 1971;van Zweden and d'Ettorre, 2010;Cervo et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%