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Dolai A, Soltani S, Smarr B, Das A. Divergent Circadian Foraging Strategies in Response to Diurnal Predation Versus Persistent Rain in Asian Weaver Ant, Oecophylla smaragdina, Suggest Possible Energetic Trade-offs. J Biol Rhythms 2024; 39:295-307. [PMID: 38459718 PMCID: PMC11139593 DOI: 10.1177/07487304241233778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
The study of chronobiology of foraging behavior in social insects offers valuable models for the investigation of circadian rhythms. We scored hourly nest entries and exits of Oecophylla smaragdina (Asian weaver ant) workers in 9 active non-polydomous nests on days with and without rain and with and without a primarily diurnal predator present. After determining that Oecophylla display a high nest fidelity, we focused exclusively on analyzing nest entry counts: we found a significant decrease in overall entry counts of individual ants on rainy days compared with non-rainy days (p < 0.0001). They usually maintain a typical diurnal pattern of foraging activity; however, that regularity was often distorted during rainy periods but appeared to quickly revert to typical patterns following rain. This lack of compensatory foraging activity following a period of rain supports the hypothesis that these ants have enough food reserves to withstand a pure masking-induced suppression of foraging activity. Predation through bird anting, too, decreased foraging activity but appeared to cause a reversal in foraging activity timing from diurnal to nocturnal foraging. Daily periodicity of foraging was significantly disrupted in most nests during rain; however, daily foraging periodicity was disrupted in only one nest due to presence of predators. Thus, rain and predation both exert significant impacts on the overall foraging activity of Asian weaver ants, but while persistent pressure from rain seemed to primarily cause masking (diminution) of circadian foraging activity, predation restricted to the daytime resulted in phase-inversion to nocturnal foraging activity, with little diminution. This is consistent with different energetic strategies being used in response to different pressures by this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avishek Dolai
- Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, Ballygunge, Kolkata, 700019, West Bengal, India
| | - Severine Soltani
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Graduate Program, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Shu Chien-Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Benjamin Smarr
- Shu Chien-Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
- Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Amlan Das
- Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, Ballygunge, Kolkata, 700019, West Bengal, India
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Exélis MP, Ramli R, Abdul Latif SA, Idris AH, Clemente-Orta G, Kermorvant C. Elucidating the daily foraging activity pattern of Oecophylla smaragdina to minimize bite nuisances in Asia large agro-system plantations. Heliyon 2024; 10:e26105. [PMID: 38434038 PMCID: PMC10906178 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Oecophylla smaragdina F., the Asian weaver ant, is one of the oil palm plantation's (Elaeis guineensis) potential predators, for the invasive bagworm species Metisa plana Walker, but this ant is a nuisance species that irritates plantation workers with their sharp bites. Here we assess the foraging activities (FA) of O. smaragdina's major workers, identify its inactive times and the existence of supervision, a novelty for social insects. Between 2018 and 2022, the pattern of trunk foraging activity was used as a mitigation measure. The relationship between trunk FA and air temperature (AT), relative humidity (RH), air pressure (AP), and rainfall interception (RI) was also investigated. Our results showed that, O. smaragdina is a strictly diurnal ant species, has little to no crepuscular activity, and stopped foraging during darkness. Moreover, veteran bigger workers systematically acted as supervisors by monitoring trails, intercepting, and bringing back to nests smaller individuals during heat peaks. In relation to population size relative abundance, all colonies displayed greater intensity during the warmest daily periods with higher mean forager density among the bigger colony, regardless of the dry-rainy intervals corresponded to minimal activity from late scotophase to early photophase and showed a bimodal pattern. Thus, forager activity peaked between 1100-1530 h and 1745-1845 h, and an average two-fold daily sudden decrease in intensity between 1620 and 1650 h as a partial cut-off period (first report). Furthermore, foraging activity, AT, AP showed a significant positive correlation while RH was negative. Finally, we found that from the base palm trunks, defensive territorial layers extended to 5 m on average with different spatial configurations indicating greater foraging density within the first 2 m. Our study shows O. smaragdina daily low activity periods, before 1000 h, being the most suitable to avoid forager attacks to facilitate pruning and harvesting tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moïse Pierre Exélis
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Lembah Pantai, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Direction de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche, Hôtel de la Collectivité Territoriale de la Martinique (CTM), Rue Gaston Defferre - Cluny - CS 30137, 97201, Fort-de-France, Martinique
| | - Rosli Ramli
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Lembah Pantai, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Samshul Amry Abdul Latif
- Research & Innovation - Kulliyyah of Languages and Management, International Islamic University Malaysia, KM 1, Jalan Panchor, 84600, Pagoh, Muar, Johor, Malaysia
| | - Azarae Hj Idris
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Lembah Pantai, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Gemma Clemente-Orta
- Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ICA-CSIC), C/ Serrano 115 dpdo., 28006, Madrid, Spain
- Departament de Producció Vegetal i Ciència Forestal, AGROTECNIO Center, Universitat de Lleida, Rovira Roure 191, 25198, Lleida, Spain
| | - Claire Kermorvant
- Applied Mathematics Consultancy for Environmental Data Analysis - StatEnCo, Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, Pays Basque, France
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Goko H, Yamanaka O, Shiraishi M, Nishimori H. Characteristics of daily foraging activity of Camponotus japonicus via time series analysis. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0293455. [PMID: 37971994 PMCID: PMC10653500 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Social insects often share tasks among individuals. In this study, we analyzed the foraging activity of ants (Camponotus japonicus) and recorded the daily passage event counts of individual workers between a nest chamber and a foraging arena in five monodomous colonies. We proposed two hypotheses on the time series of foraging frequency by individual worker ants as follows: (i) for the time series of foraging frequency by individual worker ants, the foraging frequency on a certain day could be expressed by the product of the foraging frequency on the previous day and the exponential of a random number. (ii) The random numbers are correlated between some pairs of worker ants. The results for the five tested ant colonies showed that the probability of total daily passage counts (the sum of an individual's passage count) followed a log-normal distribution. The worker ants behaved differently in terms of active days and foraging frequency. However, for > 54% of the worker ants, the probability of the daily passage count was characterized by a log-normal distribution, and these worker ants performed > 72% of the tasks in each colony. Furthermore, for > 73% of the worker ants, the time development of the passage count was mathematically modeled; the logarithmic first difference between the passage counts on a certain day and those on the previous day was a random normal variable. These results support hypothesis (i). Additionally, the random numbers that were equivalent to the logarithmic first difference were correlated for some pairs of worker ants. These results support hypothesis (ii).
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiromichi Goko
- Frontier Research Center, Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota, Aichi, Japan
| | - Osamu Yamanaka
- Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences, Meiji University, Nakano, Tokyo Japan
| | - Masashi Shiraishi
- Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences, Meiji University, Nakano, Tokyo Japan
| | - Hiraku Nishimori
- Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences, Meiji University, Nakano, Tokyo Japan
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Koto A, Tamura M, Wong PS, Aburatani S, Privman E, Stoffel C, Crespi A, McKenzie SK, La Mendola C, Kay T, Keller L. Social isolation shortens lifespan through oxidative stress in ants. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5493. [PMID: 37758727 PMCID: PMC10533837 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41140-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Social isolation negatively affects health, induces detrimental behaviors, and shortens lifespan in social species. Little is known about the mechanisms underpinning these effects because model species are typically short-lived and non-social. Using colonies of the carpenter ant Camponotus fellah, we show that social isolation induces hyperactivity, alters space-use, and reduces lifespan via changes in the expression of genes with key roles in oxidation-reduction and an associated accumulation of reactive oxygen species. These physiological effects are localized to the fat body and oenocytes, which perform liver-like functions in insects. We use pharmacological manipulations to demonstrate that the oxidation-reduction pathway causally underpins the detrimental effects of social isolation on behavior and lifespan. These findings have important implications for our understanding of how social isolation affects behavior and lifespan in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akiko Koto
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, 305-8566, Ibaraki, Japan.
- Computational Bio Big Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, 305-8566, Ibaraki, Japan.
| | - Makoto Tamura
- NeuroDiscovery Lab, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Pui Shan Wong
- Computational Bio Big Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, 305-8566, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Sachiyo Aburatani
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, 305-8566, Ibaraki, Japan
- Computational Bio Big Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, 305-8566, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Eyal Privman
- University of Haifa, Institute of Evolution, Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, Haifa, 3498838, Israel
| | - Céline Stoffel
- University of Lausanne, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Alessandro Crespi
- Biorobotics Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Sean Keane McKenzie
- University of Lausanne, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Christine La Mendola
- University of Lausanne, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Tomas Kay
- University of Lausanne, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Laurent Keller
- University of Lausanne, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Lausanne, CH-1015, Switzerland.
- Social Evolution Unit, Cornuit 8, BP 855, Chesières, CH-1885, Switzerland.
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Das B, Gordon DM. Biological rhythms and task allocation in ant colonies. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2023:101062. [PMID: 37247773 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Task allocation in ant colonies, mediated by social interactions, regulates which individuals perform each task, and when they are active, in response to the current situation. Many tasks are performed in a daily temporal pattern. An ant's biological clock depends on patterns of gene expression that are regulated using a negative feedback loop which is synchronized to earth's rotation by external cues. An individual's biological clock can shift in response to social cues, and this plasticity contributes to task switching. Daily rhythms in individual ant behavior combine, via interactions within and across task groups, to adjust the collective behavior of colonies. Further work is needed to elucidate how the social cues that lead to task switching influence the molecular mechanisms that generate clock outputs associated with each task, and to investigate the evolution of temporal patterns in task allocation in relation to ecological factors.
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Vaes O, Detrain C. Colony specificity and starvation-driven changes in activity patterns of the red ant Myrmica rubra. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0273087. [PMID: 35960741 PMCID: PMC9374231 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the activity levels of insect societies are assumed to contribute to their ergonomic efficiency, most studies of the temporal organization of ant colony activity have focused on only a few species. Little is known about the variation in activity patterns across colonies and species, and in different environmental contexts. In this study, the activity patterns of colonies of the red ant Myrmica rubra were characterized over 15 consecutive days. The main goals were to evaluate the colony specificity of the activity patterns and the impact of food deprivation on these patterns. We found that the average activity level varied across colonies and remained consistent over 1 week, providing evidence that the activity level is a colony-specific life trait. Furthermore, all colonies applied an energy-saving strategy, decreasing their average levels of activity inside the nest, when starved. Starvation induced no consistent change in the activity level outside of the nest. An analysis of activity time series revealed activity bursts, with nestmates being active (or inactive) together, the amplitudes of which reflected the ants’ degree of synchronization. Food deprivation increased the amplitude and number of these activity bursts. Finally, wavelet analyses of daily activity patterns revealed no evidence of any periodicity of activity bouts occurring inside or outside of the nest. This study showed that M. rubra ant colonies are characterized by specific activity levels that decrease in response to starvation with the adoption of an energy-saving strategy. In addition, our results help to understand the functional value associated with synchronized and/or periodic fluctuation in activity, which has been debated for years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oscar Vaes
- Unit of Social Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- * E-mail:
| | - Claire Detrain
- Unit of Social Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
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de Bekker C, Das B. Hijacking time: How Ophiocordyceps fungi could be using ant host clocks to manipulate behavior. Parasite Immunol 2022; 44:e12909. [PMID: 35103986 PMCID: PMC9287076 DOI: 10.1111/pim.12909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Ophiocordyceps fungi manipulate ant behaviour as a transmission strategy. Conspicuous changes in the daily timing of disease phenotypes suggest that Ophiocordyceps and other manipulators could be hijacking the host clock. We discuss the available data that support the notion that Ophiocordyceps fungi could be hijacking ant host clocks and consider how altering daily behavioural rhythms could benefit the fungal infection cycle. By reviewing time‐course transcriptomics data for the parasite and the host, we argue that Ophiocordyceps has a light‐entrainable clock that might drive daily expression of candidate manipulation genes. Moreover, ant rhythms are seemingly highly plastic and involved in behavioural division of labour, which could make them susceptible to parasite hijacking. To provisionally test whether the expression of ant behavioural plasticity and rhythmicity genes could be affected by fungal manipulation, we performed a gene co‐expression network analysis on ant time‐course data and linked it to available behavioural manipulation data. We found that behavioural plasticity genes reside in the same modules as those affected during fungal manipulation. These modules showed significant connectivity with rhythmic gene modules, suggesting that Ophiocordyceps could be indirectly affecting the expression of those genes as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charissa de Bekker
- Department of Biology and Genomics and Bioinformatics Cluster, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Biplabendu Das
- Department of Biology and Genomics and Bioinformatics Cluster, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
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Das B, de Bekker C. Time-course RNASeq of Camponotus floridanus forager and nurse ant brains indicate links between plasticity in the biological clock and behavioral division of labor. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:57. [PMID: 35033027 PMCID: PMC8760764 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-08282-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Circadian clocks allow organisms to anticipate daily fluctuations in their environment by driving rhythms in physiology and behavior. Inter-organismal differences in daily rhythms, called chronotypes, exist and can shift with age. In ants, age, caste-related behavior and chronotype appear to be linked. Brood-tending nurse ants are usually younger individuals and show “around-the-clock” activity. With age or in the absence of brood, nurses transition into foraging ants that show daily rhythms in activity. Ants can adaptively shift between these behavioral castes and caste-associated chronotypes depending on social context. We investigated how changes in daily gene expression could be contributing to such behavioral plasticity in Camponotus floridanus carpenter ants by combining time-course behavioral assays and RNA-Sequencing of forager and nurse brains. Results We found that nurse brains have three times fewer 24 h oscillating genes than foragers. However, several hundred genes that oscillated every 24 h in forager brains showed robust 8 h oscillations in nurses, including the core clock genes Period and Shaggy. These differentially rhythmic genes consisted of several components of the circadian entrainment and output pathway, including genes said to be involved in regulating insect locomotory behavior. We also found that Vitellogenin, known to regulate division of labor in social insects, showed robust 24 h oscillations in nurse brains but not in foragers. Finally, we found significant overlap between genes differentially expressed between the two ant castes and genes that show ultradian rhythms in daily expression. Conclusion This study provides a first look at the chronobiological differences in gene expression between forager and nurse ant brains. This endeavor allowed us to identify a putative molecular mechanism underlying plastic timekeeping: several components of the ant circadian clock and its output can seemingly oscillate at different harmonics of the circadian rhythm. We propose that such chronobiological plasticity has evolved to allow for distinct regulatory networks that underlie behavioral castes, while supporting swift caste transitions in response to colony demands. Behavioral division of labor is common among social insects. The links between chronobiological and behavioral plasticity that we found in C. floridanus, thus, likely represent a more general phenomenon that warrants further investigation. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-08282-x.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biplabendu Das
- Department of Biology, College of Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA. .,Genomics and Bioinformatics Cluster, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA.
| | - Charissa de Bekker
- Department of Biology, College of Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA. .,Genomics and Bioinformatics Cluster, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA.
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Fisher K, Sarro E, Miranda CK, Guillen BM, Woodard SH. Worker task organization in incipient bumble bee nests. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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10
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Trinh T, Ouellette R, de Bekker C. Getting lost: the fungal hijacking of ant foraging behaviour in space and time. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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Ahronberg A, Scharf I. Social isolation interaction with the feeding regime differentially affects survival and results in a hump-shaped pattern in movement activity. Behav Processes 2021; 190:104460. [PMID: 34256142 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2021] [Revised: 06/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Eusocial insects depend on their colonies, and it is therefore clear why isolation triggers many negative effects on isolated individuals. Here, we examined the effect of social isolation on the desert ant Cataglyphis niger, asking whether isolation, either with access to food or under starvation, impairs survival, and whether isolation modifies movement activity and digging to bypass an obstacle. Social isolation led to shorter survival but only when food was provided. This effect might be due to food not being digested correctly under isolation. Although isolated ant workers were more active immediately post isolation than 2-24 hours later, their movement moderately increased two days post isolation. We suggest that the changes in movement activity are adaptive: first, the worker increases activity intended to reunite it with the lost colony. Then, when the colony is not found, it reduces activity to conserve energy. It later increases activity as a final attempt to detect the colony. We expected isolated workers to dig faster to bypass an obstacle, but we did not detect any effect on digging behavior. We demonstrate here the complex effects of isolation on survival and movement activity, in interaction with additional factors - feeding and isolation duration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariel Ahronberg
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Inon Scharf
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
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Shiraishi M, Odan T, Yamanaka O, Nishimori H. Influence of Labor Conditions and Interaction Among Individuals on Circadian Activity Rhythms in the Ant Camponotus Japonicus. JOURNAL OF ROBOTICS AND MECHATRONICS 2021. [DOI: 10.20965/jrm.2021.p0582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we investigated the relationship between the activity rhythms of Camponotus japonicus worker ants and their interactions. Specifically, one or two workers collected from either inside or outside the nest in a breeding colony were placed in a measurement system under a constant dark condition, and their activity rhythms were measured for 14 days. We thereby examined the relationship between the activity rhythm in the system and the experimental conditions, which consisted of four different combinations of working locations during breeding (in/outside the nest) and single/double workers (one ant / two ants) in the measurement system, over a total of 96 samples. A large number of the sampled ants (about 90% of the total) showed circadian activity rhythms. The proportion of circadian activity rhythm was lower and the dispersion of the period was larger in the circadian activity rhythm observed in single workers collected from within the nest than in the other three experimental conditions. In all four experimental conditions, the amplitude of the circadian activity rhythm decayed on an approximate 5-day scale. These results provide quantitative evidence that the activity rhythm of ants is determined by the location of labor and individual interactions during breeding.
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Constantino PB, Valentinuzzi VS, Helene AF. Division of labor in work shifts by leaf-cutting ants. Sci Rep 2021; 11:8737. [PMID: 33888758 PMCID: PMC8062660 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88005-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Foraging rhythms in eusocial insects are determined by the colony´s overall pattern. However, in leaf-cutting ant workers, individual rhythms are not fully synchronized with the colonies' rhythm. The colony as a whole is nocturnal, since most worker activity takes place at night; however some workers forage during the day. Previous studies in individualized ants suggest nocturnal and diurnal workers coexistence. Here observations within the colony, in leaf-cutting ants, showed that workers have differential foraging time preference, which interestingly is associated to body size and differential leaf transportation engagement. Nocturnal ants are smaller and less engaged in leaf transportation whereas diurnal ants are bigger and more engaged in leaf carriage. Mechanisms underlying division of labor in work shifts in ants are still unknown but much can be extrapolated from honeybees; another social system bearing a similar pattern. A collective organization like this favors constant exploitation of food sources while preserving natural individual rhythm patterns, which arise from individual differences, and thermal tolerance, given by the size polymorphism presented by this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro B Constantino
- Department of Physiology, Instituto de Biociências da Universidade de São Paulo (IB-USP), São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil.
| | - Veronica S Valentinuzzi
- Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (CRILAR), UNLAR, SEGEMAR, UNCa, CONICET, Anillaco, La Rioja, Argentina
| | - André F Helene
- Department of Physiology, Instituto de Biociências da Universidade de São Paulo (IB-USP), São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil
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Domingos-Melo A, Nadia TL, Leal IR, Machado IC. Nocturnal ant integrates generalist pollination system in the Caatinga dry forest. BRAZ J BIOL 2021; 82:e235508. [PMID: 33852648 DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.235508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- A Domingos-Melo
- Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE, Centro de Biociências, Departamento de Botânica, Laboratório de Biologia Floral e Reprodutiva - POLINIZAR, Recife, PE, Brasil
| | - T L Nadia
- Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE, Centro Acadêmico de Vitória, Laboratório de Biodiversidade, Núcleo de Biologia, Vitória de Santo Antão, PE, Brasil
| | - I R Leal
- Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE, Centro de Biociências, Departamento de Botânica, Laboratório de Interação Planta Aninal, Recife, PE, Brasil
| | - I C Machado
- Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE, Centro de Biociências, Departamento de Botânica, Laboratório de Biologia Floral e Reprodutiva - POLINIZAR, Recife, PE, Brasil
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Fujioka H, Abe MS, Okada Y. Individual Ants Do Not Show Activity-Rest Rhythms in Nest Conditions. J Biol Rhythms 2021; 36:297-310. [PMID: 33818189 DOI: 10.1177/07487304211002934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Circadian rhythms, which respond to the day-night cycle on the earth, arise from the endogenous timekeeping system within organisms, called the "biological clock." For accurate circadian rhythms, daily fluctuations in light and temperature are considered one of the important time cues. In social insects, both abiotic and biotic factors (i.e., social interactions) play a significant role in activity-rest rhythm regulation. However, it is challenging to monitor individual activity-rest rhythms in a colony because of the large group size and small body size. Therefore, it is unclear whether individuals in a colony exhibit activity-rest rhythms and how social interactions regulate their activity-rest rhythms in the colony. This study developed an image-based tracking system using 2D barcodes for Diacamma cf. indicum from Japan (a monomorphic ant) and measured the locomotor activities of all colony members under laboratory colony conditions. We also investigated the effect of broods on activity-rest rhythms by removing all broods under colony conditions. Activity-rest rhythms appeared only in isolated ants, not under colony conditions. In addition, workers showed arrhythmic activities after brood removal. These results suggested that a mixture of social interactions, and not light and temperature, induces the loss of activity-rest rhythms. These results contribute to the knowledge of a diverse pattern of circadian activity rhythms in social insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haruna Fujioka
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan.,Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, Japan
| | - Masato S Abe
- Advanced Intelligence Project, RIKEN, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yasukazu Okada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, Japan
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16
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Going gentle into that pathogen-induced goodnight. J Invertebr Pathol 2020; 174:107398. [PMID: 32473941 DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2020.107398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Revised: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
A diverse set of pathogens have evolved extended phenotypes that manipulate the moribund behavior of their various insect hosts. By elevating host positioning at death, a phenomenon called "summit disease", these pathogens have been shown to have higher fitness. Though a few summit disease systems have been intensively characterized, in particular the Ophiocordyceps-ant system, summit diseases lack an overarching theory for the underlying mechanisms of this complex behavioral manipulation. In this article, we combine the gamut of summiting systems into a cohesive framework: we propose two types of summit disease (juvenile and adult), which both exploit natural insect behaviors during periods of quiescence. We place this framework in the context of available literature and propose investigations that follow from this comprehensive understanding of summit disease in insects.
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17
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Libbrecht R, Nadrau D, Foitzik S. A Role of Histone Acetylation in the Regulation of Circadian Rhythm in Ants. iScience 2020; 23:100846. [PMID: 32004990 PMCID: PMC6995257 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.100846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2019] [Revised: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
In many organisms, circadian rhythms and associated oscillations in gene expression are controlled by post-translational modifications of histone proteins. Although epigenetic mechanisms influence key aspects of insect societies, their implication in regulating circadian rhythms has not been studied in social insects. Here we ask whether histone acetylation plays a role in adjusting circadian activity in the ant Temnothorax longispinosus. We characterized activity patterns in 20 colonies to reveal that these ants exhibit a diurnal rhythm in colony-level activity and can rapidly respond to changes in the light regime. Then we fed T. longispinosus colonies with C646, a chemical inhibitor of histone acetyltransferases, to show that treated colonies lost their circadian rhythmicity and failed to adjust their activity to the light regime. These findings suggest a role for histone acetylation in controlling rhythmicity in ants and implicate epigenetic processes in the regulation of circadian rhythms in a social context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romain Libbrecht
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (IOME), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Biozentrum I, Hanns Dieter Hüsch Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
| | - Dennis Nadrau
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (IOME), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Biozentrum I, Hanns Dieter Hüsch Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Susanne Foitzik
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (IOME), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Biozentrum I, Hanns Dieter Hüsch Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
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18
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19
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Andriolli FS, Ishikawa NK, Vargas-Isla R, Cabral TS, de Bekker C, Baccaro FB. Do zombie ant fungi turn their hosts into light seekers? Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Sarti Andriolli
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia / INPA-V8, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Av. André Araújo, Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Noemia Kazue Ishikawa
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia / INPA-V8, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Av. André Araújo, Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Ruby Vargas-Isla
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia / INPA-V8, Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Av. André Araújo, Manaus, AM, Brazil
| | - Tiara Sousa Cabral
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Genética, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Av. Senador Salgado Filho, Natal, RN, Brazil
| | | | - Fabricio Beggiato Baccaro
- Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Amazonas (UFAM), Av. General Rodrigo Octávio, Manaus, AM, Brazil
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20
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Liutkevičiūtė Z, Gil-Mansilla E, Eder T, Casillas-Pérez B, Di Giglio MG, Muratspahić E, Grebien F, Rattei T, Muttenthaler M, Cremer S, Gruber CW. Oxytocin-like signaling in ants influences metabolic gene expression and locomotor activity. FASEB J 2018; 32:fj201800443. [PMID: 29939785 PMCID: PMC6174076 DOI: 10.1096/fj.201800443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Ants are emerging model systems to study cellular signaling because distinct castes possess different physiologic phenotypes within the same colony. Here we studied the functionality of inotocin signaling, an insect ortholog of mammalian oxytocin (OT), which was recently discovered in ants. In Lasius ants, we determined that specialization within the colony, seasonal factors, and physiologic conditions down-regulated the expression of the OT-like signaling system. Given this natural variation, we interrogated its function using RNAi knockdowns. Next-generation RNA sequencing of OT-like precursor knock-down ants highlighted its role in the regulation of genes involved in metabolism. Knock-down ants exhibited higher walking activity and increased self-grooming in the brood chamber. We propose that OT-like signaling in ants is important for regulating metabolic processes and locomotion.-Liutkevičiūtė, Z., Gil-Mansilla, E., Eder, T., Casillas-Pérez, B., Di Giglio, M. G., Muratspahić, E., Grebien, F., Rattei, T., Muttenthaler, M., Cremer, S., Gruber, C. W. Oxytocin-like signaling in ants influences metabolic gene expression and locomotor activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zita Liutkevičiūtė
- Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Esther Gil-Mansilla
- Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Eder
- Division of Computational Systems Biology (CUBE), Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Cancer Research, Vienna, Austria
| | | | | | - Edin Muratspahić
- Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Florian Grebien
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Cancer Research, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Rattei
- Division of Computational Systems Biology (CUBE), Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Markus Muttenthaler
- Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Biological Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institute for Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- Institute of Science and Technology (IST) Austria, Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Christian W. Gruber
- Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Kay J, Menegazzi P, Mildner S, Roces F, Helfrich-Förster C. The Circadian Clock of the Ant Camponotus floridanus Is Localized in Dorsal and Lateral Neurons of the Brain. J Biol Rhythms 2018; 33:255-271. [PMID: 29589522 DOI: 10.1177/0748730418764738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The circadian clock of social insects has become a focal point of interest for research, as social insects show complex forms of timed behavior and organization within their colonies. These behaviors include brood care, nest maintenance, foraging, swarming, defense, and many other tasks, of which several require social synchronization and accurate timing. Ants of the genus Camponotus have been shown to display a variety of daily timed behaviors such as the emergence of males from the nest, foraging, and relocation of brood. Nevertheless, circadian rhythms of isolated individuals have been studied in few ant species, and the circadian clock network in the brain that governs such behaviors remains completely uncharacterized. Here we show that isolated minor workers of Camponotus floridanus exhibit temperature overcompensated free-running locomotor activity rhythms under constant darkness. Under light-dark cycles, most animals are active during day and night, with a slight preference for the night. On the neurobiological level, we show that distinct cell groups in the lateral and dorsal brain of minor workers of C. floridanus are immunostained with an antibody against the clock protein Period (PER) and a lateral group additionally with an antibody against the neuropeptide pigment-dispersing factor (PDF). PER abundance oscillates in a daily manner, and PDF-positive neurites invade most parts of the brain, suggesting that the PER/PDF-positive neurons are bona fide clock neurons that transfer rhythmic signals into the relevant brain areas controlling rhythmic behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janina Kay
- Neurobiology and Genetics, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Pamela Menegazzi
- Neurobiology and Genetics, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Stephanie Mildner
- Department of Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Flavio Roces
- Department of Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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22
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Kadochová Š, Frouz J, Roces F. Sun Basking in Red Wood Ants Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): Individual Behaviour and Temperature-Dependent Respiration Rates. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0170570. [PMID: 28114396 PMCID: PMC5256898 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2016] [Accepted: 01/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In early spring, red wood ants Formica polyctena are often observed clustering on the nest surface in large numbers basking in the sun. It has been hypothesized that sun-basking behaviour may contribute to nest heating because of both heat carriage into the nest by sun-basking workers, and catabolic heat production from the mobilization of the workers' lipid reserves. We investigated sun-basking behaviour in laboratory colonies of F. polyctena exposed to an artificial heat source. Observations on identified individuals revealed that not all ants bask in the sun. Sun-basking and non-sun-basking workers did not differ in body size nor in respiration rates. The number of sun-basking ants and the number of their visits to the hot spot depended on the temperature of both the air and the hot spot. To investigate whether sun basking leads to a physiological activation linked with increased lipolysis, we measured respiration rates of individual workers as a function of temperature, and compared respiration rates of sun-basking workers before and two days after they were allowed to expose themselves to a heat source over 10 days, at self-determined intervals. As expected for ectothermic animals, respiration rates increased with increasing temperatures in the range 5 to 35°C. However, the respiration rates of sun-basking workers measured two days after a long-term exposure to the heat source were similar to those before sun basking, providing no evidence for a sustained increase of the basal metabolic rates after prolonged sun basking. Based on our measurements, we argue that self-heating of the nest mound in early spring has therefore to rely on alternative heat sources, and speculate that physical transport of heat in the ant bodies may have a significant effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Štěpánka Kadochová
- Department of Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
- * E-mail:
| | - Jan Frouz
- Institute for Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Flavio Roces
- Department of Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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