Nest-moving by the polydomous ant Cataglyphis iberica |
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Authors: | Abdallah Dahbi Javier Retana Alain Lenoir Xim Cerdá |
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Affiliation: | 1.Faculté Poly-disciplinaire, Département des Sciences de la Vie et de la Terre,Université Caddi Ayyad,Safi,Morocco;2.Unitat d’Ecologia i CREAF, Facultat de Ciències,Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,Barcelona,Spain;3.IRBI, Institut de Recherches sur la Biologie de l’Insecte, UMR CNRS 6035,Université Fran?ois Rabelais de Tours, Faculté des Sciences,Tours,France;4.Estación Biológica de Do?ana, CSIC,Sevilla,Spain |
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Abstract: | In this paper we analyze emigration from nests by the polydomous ant Cataglyphis iberica. Social carrying of workers of this species between different nests of the colony is frequent. In Bellaterra (Barcelona, NE Spain), we monitored field emigration of C. iberica by noting for each nest the migratory behavior of C. iberica workers and, when the nests were attacked by another ant species, Camponotus foreli, we noted the number of C. foreli workers involved in the attacks. Emigration of C. iberica from nests was highly variable. We suggest the main factor determining emigration by this species was attack by workers of C. foreli, so emigration from C. iberica nests was much faster when harassment by C. foreli increased. The system of multiple nests of C. iberica enables this species to abandon attacked nests and to reinstall their population in other nests of the same colony. This reduces risk to the colonies because the route between the different nests is well known by transporter workers. |
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Keywords: | Ant Nest emigration Social carrying Polydomy Harassment Cataglyphis iberica Camponotus foreli |
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