Garden sharing and garden stealing in fungus-growing ants |
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Authors: | Rachelle M M Adams U G Mueller Alisha K Holloway Abigail M Green Joanie Narozniak |
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Institution: | (1) Section of Integrative Biology, Patterson Laboratories, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA e-mail: umueller@mail.utexas.edu, US;(2) Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA, US |
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Abstract: | Fungi cultivated by fungus-growing ants (Attini: Formicidae) are passed on between generations by transfer from maternal
to offspring nest (vertical transmission within ant species). However, recent phylogenetic analyses revealed that cultivars
are occasionally also transferred between attine species. The reasons for such lateral cultivar transfers are unknown. To
investigate whether garden loss may induce ants to obtain a replacement cultivar from a neighboring colony (lateral cultivar
transfer), pairs of queenright colonies of two Cyphomyrmex species were set up in two conjoined chambers; the garden of one colony was then removed to simulate the total crop loss
that occurs naturally when pathogens devastate gardens. Garden-deprived colonies regained cultivars through one of three mechanisms:
joining of a neighboring colony and cooperation in a common garden; stealing of a neighbor's garden; or aggressive usurpation
of a neighbor's garden. Because pathogens frequently devastate attine gardens under natural conditions, garden joining, stealing
and usurpation emerge as critical behavioral adaptations to survive garden catastrophes.
Received: 16 June 2000 / Accepted in revised form: 14 September 2000 |
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