Vibrational Communication Outside and Inside the Nest in Leaf-Cutting Ants

Roces, Flavio

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-97419-0_17

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Our study adds strong quantitative evidence in support of the hypothesis that size-polymorphism and the associated variation in shape broadens a colony’s access to food plants [2, 5, 82, 135, 136]. However, we acknowledge that the exact relationship between worker size, food plants and cutting behaviour is complex, and is influenced by nest distance [13], mandibular wear [38], and stridulation of the ant gaster, which can reduce force fluctuations during cutting [37, 137]. To fully integrate the mechanical results of this study with foraging behaviour, direct measurements of cutting forces with differently-sized mandibles as well as behavioural assays with materials of varying mechanical properties are needed; both are currently under way in our laboratory.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Strong positive allometry of bite force in leaf-cutter ants increases the range of cuttable plant tissues

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Roces

Labonte

2022

Preprint

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Atta leaf-cutter ants are the prime herbivore in the Neotropics: polymorphic foragers harvest plant material from the nest surroundings to grow a fungus as crop. Efficient foraging involves complex interactions between worker-polymorphism, task-preferences and plant-fungus-suitability; it is, however, ultimately constrained by the ability of differently-sized workers to generate forces large enough to cut vegetation. In order to quantify this ability, we measured bite forces of A. vollenweideri leaf-cutter ants spanning more than one order of magnitude in body mass. Maximum bite force scaled almost in direct proportion to mass; the largest workers generated peak bite forces 2.5 times higher than expected from isometry. This remarkable positive allometry can be explained via a biomechanical model that links bite forces with substantial size-specific changes in the morphology of the musculoskeletal bite apparatus. In addition to these morphological changes, we show that bite forces of smaller ants peak at larger mandibular opening angles, suggesting a size-dependent physiological adaptation, likely reflecting the need to cut leaves with a thickness that corresponds to a larger fraction of the maximum possible gape. Via direct comparison of maximum bite forces with leaf-mechanical properties, we demonstrate (i) that bite forces in leaf-cutter ants need to be exceptionally large compared to body mass to enable them to cut leaves; and (ii), that the positive allometry enables colonies to forage on a wider range of plant species without the need for extreme investment into larger workers. Our results thus provide strong quantitative arguments for the adaptive value of a positively allometric bite force.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Strong positive allometry of bite force in leaf-cutter ants increases the range of cuttable plant tissues

Püffel

Roces

Labonte

2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our study adds strong quantitative evidence in support of the hypothesis that size polymorphism and the associated variation in shape broaden a colony's access to plant matter ( Wilson, 1980a ; Waller, 1989 ; Wetterer, 1999 ; Clark, 2006 ; Hölldobler and Wilson, 2010 ). However, we acknowledge that the exact relationship between worker size, food plants and cutting performance is complex, and is influenced by nest distance ( Roces, 1990 ), mandibular wear ( Schofield et al, 2011 ) and stridulation of the ant gaster, which can reduce force fluctuations during cutting ( Tautz et al, 1995 ; Roces, 2022 ). To fully integrate the mechanical results of this study with foraging behaviour, direct measurement of cutting forces with differently sized mandibles as well as behavioural assays with materials of varying mechanical properties are needed; both are currently underway in our laboratory.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strong positive allometry of bite force in leaf-cutter ants increases the range of cuttable plant tissues

Püffel

Roces

Labonte

2023

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Atta leaf-cutter ants are the prime herbivore in the Neotropics: differently-sized foragers harvest plant material to grow a fungus as crop. Efficient foraging involves complex interactions between worker-size, task-preferences and plant-fungus-suitability; it is, however, ultimately constrained by the ability of differently-sized workers to generate forces large enough to cut vegetation. In order to quantify this ability, we measured bite forces of A. vollenweideri leaf-cutter ants spanning more than one order of magnitude in body mass. Maximum bite force scaled almost in direct proportion to mass; the largest workers generated peak bite forces 2.5 times higher than expected from isometry. This remarkable positive allometry can be explained via a biomechanical model that links bite forces with substantial size-specific changes in the morphology of the musculoskeletal bite apparatus. In addition to these morphological changes, we show that bite forces of smaller ants peak at larger mandibular opening angles, suggesting a size-dependent physiological adaptation, likely reflecting the need to cut leaves with a thickness that corresponds to a larger fraction of the maximum possible gape. Via direct comparison of maximum bite forces with leaf-mechanical properties, we demonstrate (i) that bite forces in leaf-cutter ants need to be exceptionally large compared to body mass to enable them to cut leaves; and (ii), that the positive allometry enables colonies to forage on a wider range of plant species without the need for extreme investment into even larger workers. Our results thus provide strong quantitative arguments for the adaptive value of a positively allometric bite force.

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Vibrational Communication Outside and Inside the Nest in Leaf-Cutting Ants

Cited by 2 publications

References 70 publications

Strong positive allometry of bite force in leaf-cutter ants increases the range of cuttable plant tissues

Strong positive allometry of bite force in leaf-cutter ants increases the range of cuttable plant tissues

Strong positive allometry of bite force in leaf-cutter ants increases the range of cuttable plant tissues

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