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Szczuka A, Sochacka-Marlowe A, Korczyńska J, Mazurkiewicz PJ, Symonowicz B, Kukina O, Godzińska EJ. Do They Know What They Are Doing? Cognitive Aspects of Rescue Behaviour Directed by Workers of the Red Wood Ant Formica polyctena to Nestmate Victims Entrapped in Artificial Snares. Life (Basel) 2024; 14:515. [PMID: 38672785 PMCID: PMC11051173 DOI: 10.3390/life14040515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2024] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Ant rescue behaviour belongs to the most interesting subcategories of prosocial and altruistic behaviour encountered in the animal world. Several studies suggested that ants are able to identify what exactly restrains the movements of another individual and to direct their rescue behaviour precisely to that object. To shed more light on the question of how precise the identification of the source of restraint of another ant is, we investigated rescue behaviour of red wood ant Formica polyctena workers, using a new version of an artificial snare bioassay in which a nestmate victim bore two wire loops on its body, one (acting as a snare) placed on its petiole and an additional one on its leg. The tested ants did not preferentially direct their rescue behaviour towards the snare. Moreover, the overall strategy adopted by the most active rescuers was not limited to precisely targeted rescue attempts directed towards the snare, but consisted of frequent switching between various subcategories of rescue behaviour. These findings highlight the importance of precise identification of cognitive processes and overall behavioural strategies for better understanding of causal factors underlying animal helping behaviour in light of new facts discovered by testing of various successive research hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Szczuka
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (A.S.); (A.S.-M.); (J.K.); (P.J.M.); (B.S.); (O.K.)
| | - Alicja Sochacka-Marlowe
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (A.S.); (A.S.-M.); (J.K.); (P.J.M.); (B.S.); (O.K.)
- Department of Biology and Integrated Bioscience Program, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA
| | - Julita Korczyńska
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (A.S.); (A.S.-M.); (J.K.); (P.J.M.); (B.S.); (O.K.)
| | - Paweł Jarosław Mazurkiewicz
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (A.S.); (A.S.-M.); (J.K.); (P.J.M.); (B.S.); (O.K.)
- College of Inter-Faculty Individual Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MISMaP), University of Warsaw, Stefana Banacha St. 2c, PL 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Beata Symonowicz
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (A.S.); (A.S.-M.); (J.K.); (P.J.M.); (B.S.); (O.K.)
| | - Olga Kukina
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (A.S.); (A.S.-M.); (J.K.); (P.J.M.); (B.S.); (O.K.)
- Department of Entomology, Phytopathology and Physiology, Ukrainian Research Institute of Forestry and Forest Melioration, Pushkinska St. 86, 61024 Kharkiv, Ukraine
| | - Ewa Joanna Godzińska
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (A.S.); (A.S.-M.); (J.K.); (P.J.M.); (B.S.); (O.K.)
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Rissanen J, Helanterä H, Will T, Freitak D. Lack of Self-Medication by Fungus Infected Lasius platythorax (Formicidae, Formicinae) Ants in a Multitrophic Experiment. ANN ZOOL FENN 2022. [DOI: 10.5735/086.059.0117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jason Rissanen
- Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, AT-8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Heikki Helanterä
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, P.O. Box 3000, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland
| | - Torsten Will
- Institute for Resistance Research and Stress Tolerance, Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) — Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Erwin-Baur-Str. 2, DE-06484 Quedlinburg, Germany
| | - Dalial Freitak
- Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, AT-8010 Graz, Austria
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3
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Cc S, Anusri A, Levna C, Pm A, Lekha D. MoS 2 nanoparticles induce behavioral alteration and oxidative stress mediated cellular toxicity in the social insect Oecophylla smaragdina (Asian weaver ant). JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2020; 385:121624. [PMID: 31806446 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2019] [Revised: 10/19/2019] [Accepted: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The study evaluates molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanoparticles (NPs) induced oxidative stress during cellular toxicity in an invertebrate in vivo system, the weaver ant. The lethal concentration was checked and LC50 was obtained as 50 µg/mL. Feeding assay and the photoluminescence activity confirmed the ingestion of MoS2 NPs by the organism. Behavioral assays showed altered grooming behavior in the MoS2 NP fed ants. A drastic decrease in the hemocyte count in the MoS2 NP fed ants revealed the anti-proliferative role of MoS2. This was further confirmed by 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling assay. MoS2 NPs induced apoptotic activity was also observed in the hemocytes by acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) staining. The level of oxidative stress during cellular toxicity was observed. An increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was observed in the MoS2 NP fed ants when compared to the control group. The increased activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the lipid peroxidation (LPO) product were observed. While, the activities of catalase (CAT) and glutathione-s-transferase (GST) and the glutathione content (GSH) were decreased by MoS2 NPs. The transcript levels of SODs, CAT and GST were up regulated in the treated group. Our results suggest that MoS2 NPs induced oxidative stress mediates the cellular toxicity in the foragers of the weaver ant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheeja Cc
- Department of Zoology, Central University of Kerala, India
| | - Ambali Anusri
- Department of Zoology, Central University of Kerala, India
| | - Chacko Levna
- Department of Physics, Central University of Kerala, India
| | - Aneesh Pm
- Department of Physics, Central University of Kerala, India.
| | - Divya Lekha
- Department of Zoology, Central University of Kerala, India.
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4
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Affiliation(s)
- Joachim Offenberg
- Dept of Bioscience, Aarhus Univ. Vejlsøvej 25, DK‐8600 Silkeborg Aarhus 8000 Denmark
| | - Christian Damgaard
- Dept of Bioscience, Aarhus Univ. Vejlsøvej 25, DK‐8600 Silkeborg Aarhus 8000 Denmark
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5
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Comparison of Twelve Ant Species and Their Susceptibility to Fungal Infection. INSECTS 2019; 10:insects10090271. [PMID: 31454953 PMCID: PMC6780858 DOI: 10.3390/insects10090271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Revised: 08/18/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Eusocial insects, such as ants, have access to complex disease defenses both at the individual, and at the colony level. However, different species may be exposed to different diseases, and/or deploy different methods of coping with disease. Here, we studied and compared survival after fungal exposure in 12 species of ants, all of which inhabit similar habitats. We exposed the ants to two entomopathogenic fungi (Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium brunneum), and measured how exposure to these fungi influenced survival. We furthermore recorded hygienic behaviors, such as autogrooming, allogrooming and trophallaxis, during the days after exposure. We found strong differences in autogrooming behavior between the species, but none of the study species performed extensive allogrooming or trophallaxis under the experimental conditions. Furthermore, we discuss the possible importance of the metapleural gland, and how the secondary loss of this gland in the genus Camponotus could favor a stronger behavioral response against pathogen threats.
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6
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Subterranean Termite Social Alarm and Hygienic Responses to Fungal Pathogens. INSECTS 2019; 10:insects10080240. [PMID: 31387197 PMCID: PMC6723859 DOI: 10.3390/insects10080240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2019] [Revised: 08/01/2019] [Accepted: 08/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In social insects, alerting nestmates to the presence of a pathogen should be critical for limiting its spread and initiating social mechanisms of defense. Here we show that subterranean termites use elevated vibratory alarm behavior to help prevent fatal fungal infections. The elevated alarm leads to elevated social hygiene. This requires that termites coalesce so that they can groom each other’s cuticular surfaces of contaminating conidial spores. Groups of 12 Reticulitermes flavipes workers varied in their response when immersed in conidia solutions of nine different strains of Metarhizium. Pathogen alarm displays of short 2–7-second bursts of rapid longitudinal oscillatory movement (LOM), observed over 12 min following a fungal challenge, were positively correlated with the time that workers spent aggregated together grooming each other. The frequency of these LOMs was inversely correlated with fatal fungal infections. The variation in fatalities appeared to be largely attributable to a differential response to Metarhizium brunneum and Metarhizium robertsii in the time spent in aggregations and the frequency of allogrooming. Isolated workers challenged with conidia did not display LOMs, which suggests that the alarm is a conditional social response. LOMs appear to help signal the presence of fungal pathogens whose virulence depends on the level of this emergency alert.
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Al Toufailia H, Evison SEF, Hughes WOH, Ratnieks FLW. Both hygienic and non-hygienic honeybee, Apis mellifera, colonies remove dead and diseased larvae from open brood cells. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 373:rstb.2017.0201. [PMID: 29866914 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Hygienic behaviour is a group defence in which dead or diseased individuals are excluded. In the honeybee, Apis mellifera, hygienic behaviour refers to uncapping and removing dead and diseased larvae and pupae from sealed brood cells. We quantified removal of freeze-killed and chalkbrood-infected larvae from open cells in 20 colonies. We also measured removal of freeze-killed brood from sealed cells. Study colonies ranged from non-hygienic to fully hygienic (52-100% removal within 2 days). All larvae killed in open cells were removed. This shows that all colonies, including those with low hygienic behaviour against dead brood in sealed cells, are highly hygienic against dead brood in open cells and suggests that low hygienic behaviour against dead brood in sealed cells is a trait in its own right. This may also contribute to understanding why hygienic behaviour is uncommon in A. mellifera, which is puzzling as it reduces several diseases without detrimental effects. In particular, the result provides indirect support for the hypothesis that there are two adaptive peaks conferring disease resistance: (i) high hygienic behaviour: diseased brood are removed quickly, in some cases before becoming infective; (ii) low hygienic behaviour: diseased brood remain isolated within sealed cells.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Evolution of pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours'.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sophie E F Evison
- Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
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Sutherland TD, Sriskantha A, Rapson TD, Kaehler BD, Huttley GA. Did aculeate silk evolve as an antifouling material? PLoS One 2018; 13:e0203948. [PMID: 30240428 PMCID: PMC6150510 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2018] [Accepted: 08/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Many of the challenges we currently face as an advanced society have been solved in unique ways by biological systems. One such challenge is developing strategies to avoid microbial infection. Social aculeates (wasps, bees and ants) mitigate the risk of infection to their colonies using a wide range of adaptations and mechanisms. These adaptations and mechanisms are reliant on intricate social structures and are energetically costly for the colony. It seems likely that these species must have had alternative and simpler mechanisms in place to ensure the maintenance of hygienic domicile conditions prior to the evolution of these complex behaviours. Features of the aculeate coiled-coil silk proteins are reminiscent of those of naturally occurring α-helical antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). In this study, we demonstrate that peptides derived from the aculeate silk proteins have antimicrobial activity. We reconstruct the predicted ancestral silk sequences of an aculeate ancestor that pre-dates the evolution of sociality and demonstrate that these ancestral sequences also contained peptides with antimicrobial properties. It is possible that the silks evolved as an antifouling material and facilitated the evolution of sociality. These materials serve as model materials for consideration in future biomaterial development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara D. Sutherland
- CSIRO (The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), Health and Biosecurity, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Alagacone Sriskantha
- CSIRO (The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), Health and Biosecurity, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Trevor D. Rapson
- CSIRO (The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), Health and Biosecurity, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Benjamin D. Kaehler
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Gavin A. Huttley
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
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9
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Grüter C, Jongepier E, Foitzik S. Insect societies fight back: the evolution of defensive traits against social parasites. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 373:20170200. [PMID: 29866913 PMCID: PMC6000133 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/31/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Insect societies face many social parasites that exploit their altruistic behaviours or their resources. Due to the fitness costs these social parasites incur, hosts have evolved various behavioural, chemical, architectural and morphological defence traits. Similar to bacteria infecting multicellular hosts, social parasites have to successfully go through several steps to exploit their hosts. Here, we review how social insects try to interrupt this sequence of events. They can avoid parasite contact by choosing to nest in parasite-free locales or evade attacks by adapting their colony structure. Once social parasites attack, hosts attempt to detect them, which can be facilitated by adjustments in colony odour. If social parasites enter the nest, hosts can either aggressively defend their colony or take their young and flee. Nest structures are often shaped to prevent social parasite invasion or to safeguard host resources. Finally, if social parasites successfully establish themselves in host nests, hosts can rebel by killing the parasite brood or by reproducing in the parasites' presence. Hosts of social parasites can therefore develop multiple traits, leading to the evolution of complex defence portfolios of co-dependent traits. Social parasites can respond to these multi-level defences with counter-adaptations, potentially leading to geographical mosaics of coevolution.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Evolution of pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Grüter
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Johannes von Müller Weg 6, Mainz 55099, Germany
| | - Evelien Jongepier
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Westfälische Wilhelms University, Hüfferstrasse 1, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Susanne Foitzik
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Johannes von Müller Weg 6, Mainz 55099, Germany
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Konrad M, Pull CD, Metzler S, Seif K, Naderlinger E, Grasse AV, Cremer S. Ants avoid superinfections by performing risk-adjusted sanitary care. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:2782-2787. [PMID: 29463746 PMCID: PMC5856517 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1713501115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Being cared for when sick is a benefit of sociality that can reduce disease and improve survival of group members. However, individuals providing care risk contracting infectious diseases themselves. If they contract a low pathogen dose, they may develop low-level infections that do not cause disease but still affect host immunity by either decreasing or increasing the host's vulnerability to subsequent infections. Caring for contagious individuals can thus significantly alter the future disease susceptibility of caregivers. Using ants and their fungal pathogens as a model system, we tested if the altered disease susceptibility of experienced caregivers, in turn, affects their expression of sanitary care behavior. We found that low-level infections contracted during sanitary care had protective or neutral effects on secondary exposure to the same (homologous) pathogen but consistently caused high mortality on superinfection with a different (heterologous) pathogen. In response to this risk, the ants selectively adjusted the expression of their sanitary care. Specifically, the ants performed less grooming and more antimicrobial disinfection when caring for nestmates contaminated with heterologous pathogens compared with homologous ones. By modulating the components of sanitary care in this way the ants acquired less infectious particles of the heterologous pathogens, resulting in reduced superinfection. The performance of risk-adjusted sanitary care reveals the remarkable capacity of ants to react to changes in their disease susceptibility, according to their own infection history and to flexibly adjust collective care to individual risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Konrad
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Christopher D Pull
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Sina Metzler
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Katharina Seif
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Elisabeth Naderlinger
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Anna V Grasse
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria
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Penick CA, Halawani O, Pearson B, Mathews S, López-Uribe MM, Dunn RR, Smith AA. External immunity in ant societies: sociality and colony size do not predict investment in antimicrobials. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:171332. [PMID: 29515850 PMCID: PMC5830739 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2017] [Accepted: 01/04/2018] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Social insects live in dense groups with a high probability of disease transmission and have therefore faced strong pressures to develop defences against pathogens. For this reason, social insects have been hypothesized to invest in antimicrobial secretions as a mechanism of external immunity to prevent the spread of disease. However, empirical studies linking the evolution of sociality with increased investment in antimicrobials have been relatively few. Here we quantify the strength of antimicrobial secretions among 20 ant species that cover a broad spectrum of ant diversity and colony sizes. We extracted external compounds from ant workers to test whether they inhibited the growth of the bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis. Because all ant species are highly social, we predicted that all species would exhibit some antimicrobial activity and that species that form the largest colonies would exhibit the strongest antimicrobial response. Our comparative approach revealed that strong surface antimicrobials are common to particular ant clades, but 40% of species exhibited no antimicrobial activity at all. We also found no correlation between antimicrobial activity and colony size. Rather than relying on antimicrobial secretions as external immunity to control pathogen spread, many ant species have probably developed alternative strategies to defend against disease pressure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clint A. Penick
- The Biomimicry Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Omar Halawani
- Research & Collections, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Bria Pearson
- Research & Collections, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Stephanie Mathews
- Biological Sciences, Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC 27506, USA
| | - Margarita M. López-Uribe
- Department of Entomology, Center for Pollinator Research, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Robert R. Dunn
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 2100Denmark
| | - Adrian A. Smith
- Research & Collections, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
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Yanagawa A, Chabaud MA, Imai T, Marion-Poll F. Olfactory cues play a significant role in removing fungus from the body surface of Drosophila melanogaster. J Invertebr Pathol 2017; 151:144-150. [PMID: 29175531 DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2017.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2017] [Revised: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Many insects and Dipterans in particular are known to spend considerable time grooming, but whether these behaviors actually are able to remove pathogenic fungal conidia is less clear. In this study, we examined whether grooming serves to protect flies by reducing the risk of fungal infection in Drosophila melanogaster. First, we confirmed that fungi were removed by grooming. Entomopathogenic, opportunistic, and plant pathogenic fungi were applied on the body surface of the flies. To estimate grooming efficiency, the number of removal conidia through grooming was quantified and we successfully demonstrated that flies remove fungal conidia from their body surfaces via grooming behavior. Second, the roles of gustatory and olfactory signals in fungus removal were examined. The wildtype fly Canton-S, the taste deficiency mutant poxn 70, and the olfactory deficiency mutant orco1 were used in the tests. Comparisons between Canton-S and poxn 70 flies indicated that gustatory signals do not have a significant role in fungal removal via grooming behavior in D. melanogaster. In contrast, the efficiency of conidia removal in orco1 flies was drastically decreased. Consequently, this study indicated that flies rely on mechanical stimulus for the induction of grooming and olfaction for more detailed removal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aya Yanagawa
- RISH, Kyoto University, Uji City 611-0011, Japan.
| | - Marie-Ange Chabaud
- UMR Physiologie de l'Insecte: Signalisation et Communication, INRA Centre de Versailles, F-78026 Versailles Cedex, France
| | - Tomoya Imai
- RISH, Kyoto University, Uji City 611-0011, Japan
| | - Frédéric Marion-Poll
- UMR Evolution, Génomes, Comportement, Ecologie, CNRS, IRD, Univ Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France; AgroParisTech, F-75005 Paris, France
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13
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Rosa E, van Nouhuys S, Saastamoinen M. The more the merrier: Conspecific density improves performance of gregarious larvae and reduces susceptibility to a pupal parasitoid. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:10710-10720. [PMID: 29299251 PMCID: PMC5743493 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2017] [Revised: 09/14/2017] [Accepted: 09/15/2017] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Aggregation can confer advantages in animal foraging, defense, and thermoregulation. There is a tight connection between the evolution of insect sociality and a highly effective immune system, presumably to inhibit rapid disease spread in a crowded environment. This connection is less evident for animals that spend only part of their life cycle in a social environment, such as noneusocial gregarious insects. Our aim was to elucidate the effects of group living by the gregarious larvae of the Glanville fritillary butterfly with respect to individual performance, immunity, and susceptibility to a parasitoid. We were also interested in the role of family relative to common postdiapause environment in shaping life‐history traits. Larvae were reared at high or low density and then exposed to the pupal parasitoid wasp Pteromalus apum, either in presence or absence of a previous immune challenge that was used to measure the encapsulation immune response. Surviving adult butterflies were further tested for immunity. The wasp offspring from successfully parasitized butterfly pupae were counted and their brood sex ratios assessed. Larvae reared at high density grew larger and faster than those at low density. Despite high mortality due to parasitism, survival was greater among individuals with high pupal immunity in both density treatments. Moreover, butterfly pupae reared at high density were able to kill a larger fraction of individuals in the parasitoid broods, although this did not increase survival of the host. Finally, a larger proportion of variation observed in most of the traits was explained by butterfly family than by common postdiapause rearing environment, except for adult survival and immunity, for which this pattern was reversed. This gregarious butterfly clearly benefits from high conspecific density in terms of developmental performance and its ability to fight a parasitoid. These positive effects may be driven by cooperative interactions during feeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Rosa
- Department of Biosciences Metapopulation Research Centre University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - Saskya van Nouhuys
- Department of Biosciences Metapopulation Research Centre University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland.,Department of Entomology Cornell University Ithaca NY USA
| | - Marjo Saastamoinen
- Department of Biosciences Metapopulation Research Centre University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
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14
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Medley P, Doering C, Evans F, Bollhöfer A. Natural radionuclides and stable elements in weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) from tropical northern Australia. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2017; 178-179:404-410. [PMID: 28528654 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2016] [Revised: 04/04/2017] [Accepted: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Natural radionuclides and stable elements were measured in weaver ants, leaves and soils collected from three sites in tropical northern Australia. Radionuclide concentration ratios for ants relative to soil were derived from the measurements and used to refine the current environmental radiological assessment for remediation of Ranger uranium mine. Use of site-specific concentration ratios for weaver ants gave a more conservative estimate of environmental exposure to the arthropod wildlife group than use of default concentration ratios in the ERICA Tool. This was primarily because the 226Ra concentration ratio for weaver ants was more than 7 times greater than for generic arthropods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Medley
- Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist (ERISS), GPO Box 461, Darwin, NT 0801, Australia.
| | - Che Doering
- Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist (ERISS), GPO Box 461, Darwin, NT 0801, Australia
| | - Fiona Evans
- Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist (ERISS), GPO Box 461, Darwin, NT 0801, Australia
| | - Andreas Bollhöfer
- Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist (ERISS), GPO Box 461, Darwin, NT 0801, Australia; Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz, BfS), 79098 Freiburg, Germany
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Trumbo ST, Sikes DS, Philbrick PK. Parental care and competition with microbes in carrion beetles: a study of ecological adaptation. Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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16
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Tranter C, Hughes WOH. A preliminary study of nest structure and composition of the weaver antPolyrhachis(Cyrtomyrma)delecta(Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J NAT HIST 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2015.1103912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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