Effect of time on colony odour stability in the ant Formica exsecta.

Die Naturwissenschaften
Stephen J MartinFalko P Drijfhout

Abstract

Among social insects, maintaining a distinct colony profile allows individuals to distinguish easily between nest mates and non-nest mates. In ants, colony-specific profiles can be encoded within their cuticular hydrocarbons, and these are influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. Using nine monogynous Formica exsecta ant colonies, we studied the stability of their colony-specific profiles at eight time points over a 4-year period. We found no significant directional change in any colony profile, suggesting that genetic factors are maintaining this stability. However, there were significant short-term effects of season that affected all colony profiles in the same direction. Despite these temporal changes, no significant change in the profile variation within colonies was detected: each colony's profile responded in similar manner between seasons, with nest mates maintaining closely similar profiles, distinct from other colonies. These findings imply that genetic factors may help maintain the long-term stability of colony profile, but environmental factors can influence the profiles over shorter time periods. However, environmental factors do not contribute significantly to the maintenance of diversity among colonie...Continue Reading

References

Sep 8, 2001·Journal of Chemical Ecology·D WagnerD Gordon
May 29, 2003·Journal of Insect Physiology·Allen G. Gibbs
Aug 28, 2003·Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution·Liselotte SundströmMichel Chapuisat
Mar 6, 2008·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Stephen J MartinFalko P Drijfhout
Jun 20, 2008·Journal of Chemical Ecology·Stephen J MartinFalko P Drijfhout
Dec 2, 2008·Journal of Insect Physiology·Jelle S van ZwedenPatrizia d'Ettorre
Jan 8, 2009·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·C Haag-LiautardL Sundström
Mar 6, 2009·Journal of Chemical Ecology·Stephen J Martin, Falko P Drijfhout
Jul 7, 2011·Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution·Emma VitikainenLiselotte Sundström

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Citations

Nov 26, 2013·Journal of Chemical Ecology·Stephen J MartinLiselotte Sundström
May 1, 2016·Journal of Chemical Ecology·Virginia J Emery, Neil D Tsutsui
Mar 24, 2017·Environmental Entomology·A B Santos, F S Nascimento
Apr 27, 2021·Journal of Chemical Ecology·Unni PulliainenLiselotte Sundström

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