共查询到20条相似文献,搜索用时 171 毫秒
1.
Ebensperger LA Hurtado MJ Soto-Gamboa M Lacey EA Chang AT 《Die Naturwissenschaften》2004,91(8):391-395
Communal nesting is a fundamental component of many animal societies. Because the fitness consequences of this behavior vary with the relatedness among nest mates, understanding the kin structure of communally nesting groups is critical to understanding why such groups form. Observations of captive degus (Octodon degus) indicate that multiple females nest together, even when supplied with several nest boxes. To determine whether free-living degus also engage in communal nesting, we used radiotelemetry to monitor spatial relationships among adult females in a population of O. degus in central Chile. These analyses revealed that females formed stable associations of > 2–4 individuals, all of whom shared the same nest site at night. During the daytime, spatial overlap and frequency of social interactions were greatest among co-nesting females, suggesting that nesting associations represent distinct social units. To assess kinship among co-nesting females, we examined genotypic variation in our study animals at six microsatellite loci. These analyses indicated that mean pairwise relatedness among members of a nesting association (r=0.25) was significantly greater than that among randomly selected females (r=–0.03). Thus, communally nesting groups of degus are composed of female kin, making it possible for indirect as well as direct fitness benefits to contribute to sociality in this species. 相似文献
2.
The queenless ant Pristomyrmex punctatus (Hymenoptera: Myrmicinae) has a unique society that differs from those of other typical ants. This species does not have
a queen, and the workers lay eggs and produce their clones parthenogenetically. However, a colony of these ants does not always
comprise members derived from a single clonal line. In this study, we examined whether P. punctatus changes its “assembling behavior” based on colony genetic structure. We prepared two subcolonies—a larger one comprising
200 individuals and a smaller one comprising 100 individuals; these subcolonies were established from a single stock colony.
We investigated whether these subcolonies assemble into a single nest. The genetically monomorphic subcolonies (single clonal
line) always fused into a single nest; however, the genetically polymorphic subcolonies (multiple clonal lines) did not tend
to form a single colony. The present study is the first to demonstrate that the colony genetic structure significantly affects
social viscosity in social insects. 相似文献
3.
Here we show that trying to rob prey (cleptobiosis) from a highly specialized predatory ant species is risky. To capture prey,
Allomerus decemarticulatus workers build gallery-shaped traps on the stems of their associated myrmecophyte, Hirtella physophora. We wondered whether the frequent presence of immobilized prey on the trap attracted flying cleptoparasites. Nine social
wasp species nest in the H. physophora foliage; of the six species studied, only Angiopolybia pallens rob prey from Allomerus colonies. For those H. physophora not sheltering wasps, we noted cleptobiosis by stingless bees (Trigona), social wasps (A. pallens and five Agelaia species), assassin bugs (Reduviidae), and flies. A relationship between the size of the robbers and their rate of capture
by ambushing Allomerus workers was established for social wasps; small wasps were easily captured, while the largest never were. Reduviids, which
are slow to extract their rostrum from prey, were always captured, while Trigona and flies often escaped. The balance sheet for the ants was positive vis-à-vis the reduviids and four out of the six social
wasp species. For the latter, wasps began by cutting up parts of the prey’s abdomen and were captured (or abandoned the prey)
before the entire abdomen was retrieved so that the total weight of the captured wasps exceeded that of the prey abdomens.
For A. pallens, we show that the number of individuals captured during attempts at cleptobiosis increases with the size of the Allomerus’ prey. 相似文献
4.
Miniaturized queens, microgynes, are regarded as an alternative reproductive strategy sparsely present through the ant world.
The described roles of miniaturized queens include alternative short-distance dispersal morphs, an adaptation to polygyny
and inquiline parasites. Some of these inquiline parasite microgynes have been described as a separate species from their
host. In the poneromorph group, miniaturized queens are only reported in two Mexican populations of two Ectatomminae: Ectatomma tuberculatum, in which small queens represent an inquiline species (Ectatomma parasiticum) and Ectatomma ruidum. E. ruidum presents apparently facultative polygyny with microgynes. We used mitochondrial DNA markers and newly developed microsatellite
loci to investigate the status as well as the role of microgynes in E. ruidum. We confirmed that microgynes and macrogynes are from the same species. This species is almost exclusively monogynous and
monoandrous, supernumerary dealate queens of both types being actually daughters of the mother queen. An apparently polygynous
nest was more often headed by a macrogyne than a microgyne. We didn't find any inbreeding or isolation by distance in the
studied population, indicating that new gynes are inseminated by unrelated males and can establish a new nest far from their
natal nest. However, re-adoption of daughter queens seems to be the rule and rate of microgyny appears to be linked to nest
density and environmental factors. 相似文献
5.
R. B. Rosengaus C. Jordan M. L. Lefebvre J. F. A. Traniello 《Die Naturwissenschaften》1999,86(11):544-548
Dampwood termites, Zootermopsis angusticollis, show an alarm response after detecting the presence of spores of the pathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. Termites in direct contact with a high concentration of spores (107 spores/ml) show a striking vibratory display which appears to convey information about the presence of pathogens to nearby
unexposed nestmates through substrate vibration. Nestmates not directly in contact with spores that perceive the vibrational
signal increase significantly their distance from the spore-exposed vibrating termites, apparently to escape from the source
of infection. The fleeing response is not induced by the presence of the spores alone or by pheromones, and requires the perception
of the vibrations propagated through the substrate. This "pathogen alarm behavior" appears to be a previously unrecognized
communication mechanism that allows termites to reduce disease risks within the nest.
Received: 12 May 1999 / Accepted in revised form: 26 August 1999 相似文献
6.
The behavioral response of the obligate bamboo-nesting ant Cataulacus muticus to nest flooding was studied in a perhumid tropical rainforest in Malaysia and in the laboratory. The hollow internodes of
giant bamboo, in which C. muticus exclusively nests, are prone to flooding by heavy rains. The ants showed a two-graded response to flooding. During heavy
rain workers block the nest entrances with their heads to reduce water influx. However, rainwater may still intrude into the
nest chamber. The ants respond by drinking the water, leaving the nest and excreting water droplets on the outer stem surface.
This cooperative 'peeing' behavior is a new survival mechanism adaptive to the ants' nesting ecology. Laboratory experiments
conducted with two other Cataulacus species, C. catuvolcus colonizing small dead twigs and C. horridus inhabiting rotten wood, did not reveal any form of water-bailing behavior.
Received: 3 August 2000 / Accepted in revised form: 6 November 2000 相似文献
7.
Honey bees have a highly developed nest homeostasis, for example, maintaining low CO2 levels and stable nest temperatures at 35°C.We investigate the role of nest homeostasis in deactivating phenolic compounds present in the nectar of Aloe littoralis. We show that the phenolic content in nectar was reduced (from 0.65% to 0.49%) after nectar was incubated in a nest of Apis cerana, and that it was reduced still more (from 0.65% to 0.37%) if nectar was mixed with hypopharyngeal gland proteins (HGP) of worker bees before being placed inside a nest. HGP had little effect on samples outside a nest, indicating that nest conditions are necessary for HGP to deactivate phenolics in nectar. Consequently, the highly controlled nest homeostasis of honey bees facilitates direct deactivation of phenolics in nectar, and plays a role in the action of HGP as well. 相似文献
8.
The mating behaviour of the ant Rossomyrmex minuchae, a rare, protected slave-making species in Spain, seems to be significantly affected by its particular life history and patchy habitat. The mating behaviour of the entire genus Rossomyrmex is virtually unknown. We present here the results of a 3-year study of mating behaviour in R. minuchae.Behavioural observations and limited nest excavations revealed that R. minuchae does not produce sexuals every year, the number of sexuals is low, and the sex ratio tends to be female biased. Females typically exhibit two distinct activity periods. The first, the mating period, takes place in early afternoon: the ants call near the natal nest, mate and then return to their nest. The second, the dispersal period takes place in late afternoon: the mated females exit their nest and fly in search of a new, non-parasitized Proformica longiseta host nest. Males are highly active during the mating period, but will remain inactive in the dispersal period even if experimentally presented with virgin females. It appears that females are monogamous, while males are polygamous. When males are late arriving at the female calling site, the females will frequently congregate presumably calling in chorus.The low reproductive efficiency exhibited by R. minuchae, coupled with the postulated low genetic variation in the population, as sisters may mate with the same male, could result in a low survival rate and risk of eventual extinction. The observed decrease in nest density we observed during the 2004 season may be indicative of such a process. 相似文献
9.
Giant honeybees (Apis dorsata) nest in the open and have developed a wide array of strategies for colony defence, including the Mexican wave-like shimmering behaviour. In this collective response, the colony members perform upward flipping of their abdomens in coordinated cascades across the nest surface. The time–space properties of these emergent waves are response patterns which have become of adaptive significance for repelling enemies in the visual domain. We report for the first time that the mechanical impulse patterns provoked by these social waves and measured by laser Doppler vibrometry generate vibrations at the central comb of the nest at the basic (=‘natural’) frequency of 2.156?±?0.042 Hz which is more than double the average repetition rate of the driving shimmering waves. Analysis of the Fourier spectra of the comb vibrations under quiescence and arousal conditions provoked by mass flight activity and shimmering waves gives rise to the proposal of two possible models for the compound physical system of the bee nest: According to the elastic oscillatory plate model, the comb vibrations deliver supra-threshold cues preferentially to those colony members positioned close to the comb. The mechanical pendulum model predicts that the comb vibrations are sensed by the members of the bee curtain in general, enabling mechanoreceptive signalling across the nest, also through the comb itself. The findings show that weak and stochastic forces, such as general quiescence or diffuse mass flight activity, cause a harmonic frequency spectrum of the comb, driving the comb as an elastic plate. However, shimmering waves provide sufficiently strong forces to move the nest as a mechanical pendulum. This vibratory behaviour may support the colony-intrinsic information hypothesis herein that the mechanical vibrations of the comb provoked by shimmering do have the potential to facilitate immediate communication of the momentary defensive state of the honeybee nest to the majority of its members. 相似文献
10.
鱼类群落空间格局对于区域人为活动的干扰具有显著的指示作用.基于2014年5月-2015年8月北京市主要河流(永定河水系、大清河水系、潮白河水系和北运河水系)64个采样点的河流鱼类监测数据,采用聚类分析和非度量多维标度法,研究北京市主要河流鱼类群落的空间格局特征.结果表明:北京市鱼类在空间上形成了3个主要类型,包括分布于北京市主要河流上游山区的山溪型河流鱼类类型(组1),分布于北京市主要河流上游山区向下游城区过渡区域的山溪向城市河流过渡鱼类类型(组2),以及分布于北京市主要河流下游城区的城市河流鱼类类型(组3).鱼类优势度指数分析表明,组1优势种主要为拉氏鱥、宽鳍鱲、棒花鱼、北方须鳅和中华花鳅,组2优势种为鲫鱼、宽鳍鱲、棒花鱼、麦穗鱼、黑鳍鳈、中华花鳅和波氏吻虾虎,组3优势种为鲫鱼、麦穗鱼和泥鳅.与历史监测资料比较,北京市鱼类生物多样性总体呈下降趋势,共有12种野生鱼类未能在野外监测中发现.北京市山区和过渡区域河流中保持了较高的生物多样性,受城市化和人类活动干扰的影响,城市河流的鱼类退化明显,物种组成以高耐污类群为主,群落结构呈现单一化.研究显示,北京市城市化过程对区域鱼类生物多样性下降具有显著影响,鱼类群落的空间格局分异加剧,与区域人为活动扰动的强度密切相关. 相似文献
11.
We investigated nest odor dynamics in the common yellow jacket, Vespula vulgaris. In six isolated colonies, we tested the aggression rates toward dead nestmates that had been stored for 10 min, 10 and 19 days
outside their colonies at –76 °C. The aggression rate increased from about 12% toward recently killed nestmates up to 30%
toward nestmates killed 19 days before the experiment. Obviously, the conserved nest odor profile of the nestmates frozen
for several days did not match with that of their colony anymore. This indicates a change of the nest odor within the colony.
In a second experiment, we kept two colonies each in one nest box with a complete separation of both neighbor nests by a solid
wall inside the box for 28 days. In confrontation experiments, the colony members treated dead foragers from the neighbor
nest as aggressively as dead foreign, non-neighbor workers (about 39% each) whereas only about 14% reacted aggressively toward
dead nestmates. Seventeen days after the replacement of the solid wall by a metallic grid, which allowed no physical contact
but air exchange between the two neighbor colonies, the aggression rates toward foreign workers and nestmates remained relatively
unaffected whereas it decreased significantly toward dead neighbors to about 11%. These results suggest a nest odor dynamic
caused by volatiles transferred between two adjacent colonies, resulting in an equalization of the former colony specific
nest odors. A change of nest odor dynamics influenced by volatiles was so far described only for one ant species at all. 相似文献
12.
13.
An absence of aggression between non-nestmates in the bull ant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Myrmecia nigriceps</Emphasis> 总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2
van Wilgenburg E Dang S Forti AL Koumoundouros TJ Ly A Elgar MA 《Die Naturwissenschaften》2007,94(9):787-790
The ability of social insects to discriminate against non-nestmates is vital for maintaining colony integrity, and in most
social insect species, individuals act aggressively towards non-nestmates that intrude into their nest. Our experimental field
data revealed that intra-colony aggression in the primitive bulldog ant Myrmecia nigriceps is negligible; our series of bioassays revealed no significant difference in the occurrence of aggression in trials involving
workers from the same, a close (less than 300 m) or a far (more than 1.5 km) nest. Further, non-nestmate intruders were able
to enter the nest in 60% of our trials; a similar level was observed in trials involving nestmates. These results suggest
that workers of M. nigriceps are either unable to recognize alien conspecifics or that the costs of ignoring workers from foreign colonies are sufficiently
low to favor low levels of inter-colony aggression in this species. 相似文献
14.
The fungus gardens of fungus-growing ants are a potentially valuable resource for exploitation by natural enemies, but few of these antagonistic interactions have been studied. Here we describe key aspects of the behavioral ecology of Gnamptogenys hartmani (Ponerinae: Ectatommini), a specialized agro-predator of Trachymyrmex and Sericomyrmex fungus-growing ants in Panama. Raiding columns of G. hartmani attack and usurp nests with remarkably little effort: a few intruding workers are sufficient to cause panic among the attine ants and make them abscond from the nest. Both G. hartmani larvae and adults consume the fungus and the host brood, after which the colony migrates to a new fungus-growing ant nest discovered by scouting workers. The morphology of the G. hartmani larval mouthparts is similar to that of Gnamptogenys species with a non-fungal diet. However, we suggest that the presence of long spinules on the larval mandibles in the genus Gnamptogenys, comparable to those found in attine larvae, may have pre-adapted G. hartmani to fungus eating. G. hartmani workers do not actively maintain or modify fungus gardens, which makes them less efficient exploiters than Megalomyrmex, the only other agro-predatory ant species known so far. 相似文献
15.
Orientation and navigation during adult transport between nests in the ant Cataglypis iberica 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Cataglyphis iberica is a polydomous ant species in which adult transports between nests are frequently observed. When pairs of workers were captured
and released at the same location, the transporters (Ts) fled directly towards their destination nest and reached it in most
of the cases. The transportees (Te), on the other hand, fled in the opposite direction and only a third of them eventually
reached their nest of departure. Additional experiments suggest that this result may be explained by the fact that the Ts
ants have a memory of the compass direction of the nest they are heading to and that they adjust their course by using a sequence
of memorised landmarks. As regards to the Te, the reversal of their direction of transport seems to be based essentially on
celestial cues.
Received: 20 October 1999 / Accepted in revised form: 10 May 2000 相似文献
16.
Mark K. Greco Dorothee Hoffmann Anne Dollin Michael Duncan Robert Spooner-Hart Peter Neumann 《Die Naturwissenschaften》2010,97(3):319-323
Workers from social insect colonies use different defence strategies to combat invaders. Nevertheless, some parasitic species
are able to bypass colony defences. In particular, some beetle nest invaders cannot be killed or removed by workers of social
bees, thus creating the need for alternative social defence strategies to ensure colony survival. Here we show, using diagnostic
radioentomology, that stingless bee workers (Trigona carbonaria) immediately mummify invading adult small hive beetles (Aethina tumida) alive by coating them with a mixture of resin, wax and mud, thereby preventing severe damage to the colony. In sharp contrast
to the responses of honeybee and bumblebee colonies, the rapid live mummification strategy of T. carbonaria effectively prevents beetle advancements and removes their ability to reproduce. The convergent evolution of mummification
in stingless bees and encapsulation in honeybees is another striking example of co-evolution between insect societies and
their parasites. 相似文献
17.
The ant Eutetramorium mocquerysi (Myrmicinae) is endemic to the island of Madagascar. During foraging and nest emigration the ants lay recruitment trails
with secretions from the poison gland. We identified three pyrazine compounds in the poison gland secretion: 2,3-dimethyl-5-(2-methylpropyl)pyrazine
1, 2,3-dimethyl-5-(3-methylbutyl)pyrazine 3, 2,3-dimethyl-5-(2-methylbutyl)pyrazine 4. Only the first component elicited trail-following behavior in the ants. We were unable to investigate whether the other
pyrazine components have a synergistic function.
Received: 21 February 2000 / Accepted in revised form: 27 June 2000 相似文献
18.
Mating behaviors of ants fall into two categories: female calling, in which a female alate releases pheromones that attract
males, and male swarming, in which large male aggregations attract females. Female calling is common in species with queens
that return to their natal nest to found colonies dependently after mating, while male swarming is common in species with
queens that disperse to found independently. In some species that display both founding strategies, a queen-size polymorphism
has evolved in which dependent-founding queens are smaller than independent-founding queens. Dependent founding is likely
difficult if gynes (virgin queens) are mating in distant swarms. Therefore, a queen may adopt one or the other mating strategy
based on its size and founding behavior. We investigated mating behaviors in the queen-polymorphic ant, Temnothorax longispinosus. Observations in laboratory mating arenas indicated that small gynes exhibited significantly lower flight activity than large
gynes. Both forms mated in male swarms, and neither form exhibited female calling. The reduced flight activity of the small
morph may facilitate returning to the natal nest after mating, provided the mating swarm is located nearby. Therefore, alternative
colony-founding behaviors may be possible without the evolution of female-calling behavior; however, the reduced flight activity
of small morphs may require that mating swarms are not distant from the natal nest. 相似文献
19.
Although mate guarding as prevention of extra-pair copulation is common among birds, evidence for aggressive behaviour involving
physical contact related to mate guarding in passerines is scarce and cases of the presence of one partner directly influencing
the aggressiveness of the other are lacking. We investigated the intra-specific territorial behaviour of male meadow pipits
(Anthus pratensis; Passeriformes: Motacillidae) at the beginning of the breeding season by placing a pipit model accompanied by an intra-specific
song playback in the territory of socially paired males and compared the responses of males whose mates were physically present
during trials with those whose females were out of sight. The level of aggression of males was significantly higher in the
presence of the female; half of the males in this group physically attacked the model (the most intense and risky aggressive
behaviour). Physical attacks did not occur among males whose female was absent during the trial; response to the playback
by most of these males was only weak. This pattern may be related to the prevention of extra-pair copulation; if the risks
involved in the conflict are outweighed by potential loss of paternity, such aggressive mate guarding may pay off. The apparently
overlooked effect on the territorial behaviour of a partner’s passive physical presence during conflict should be further
evaluated because it may be important for the design and interpretation of results of behavioural experiments. 相似文献
20.
As with many farmland bird species, the house sparrow Passer domesticus is declining in Europe, mainly due to intensification of agriculture reducing nest sites and food supplies. During 2002–2005,
we studied the population size and nest site characteristics of house sparrows breeding within white stork Ciconia ciconia nests in a large area of agricultural landscape within western Poland. To explain sparrow density within stork nests, we
examined characteristics of white stork nests (position, age, productivity) and the farm type around the nest. House sparrow
density was greatest in the longest established (and hence larger) white stork nests located on traditionally managed farms.
Two recent changes appear to have adverse effects on house sparrows. The first is the intensification of farming and the second
is active management of white stork nests on electric poles to reduce nest size and thus avoid both disruption to the electrical
supply and electrocution of white storks. Because the white stork has such a high profile in Poland, there are numerous schemes
to conserve and enhance this species. In conclusion, we clearly show that protecting one species can have valuable, although
unplanned, benefits to another species of conservation interest, the house sparrow. 相似文献