Nest and colony-specific spectra in the weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina |
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Authors: | P Newey S K A Robson R H Crozier |
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Institution: | (1) School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, 4870, Australia;(2) School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811, Australia |
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Abstract: | Animals in social groups need to differentiate between group members and others. In very large groups, such as those formed
by many ant species, it is not possible to rely on individually specific cues to identify colonymates. Instead, recognition
must be based on the colony-specific cues. Individual ant colonies tend to have a specific chemical gestalt that is maintained
by the continual exchange of chemicals between workers. In very large polydomous colonies, the exchange of chemicals may be
limited between nests within the colony, resulting in inter-nest variation in colony odour that might hinder identification
of colonymates or conspecific intruders. We used near-infrared spectroscopy to explore variation in the chemical profile between
and within colonies of the weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina. We found that differences between colonies were reflected in the position, amplitude and width of spectral peaks, while
differences between nests within colonies were reflected mainly in amplitude. Furthermore, in the context of colonymate recognition,
the behaviour of the ants themselves was positively correlated with colony-specific spectral characteristics, rather than
with nest-specific characteristics. Thus, colony spectra have features that are not obscured by intra-colonial variation and
may potentially encode the chemical characteristics used by workers to identify colonymates. |
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Keywords: | Recognition chemical cue Chemical cue Weaver ants Oecophylla smaragdina Colony odour Near-infrared spectroscopy |
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