Colony dehydration and water collection by specialized caste in the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa

Autor(es)

Ribeiro, Pedro Leite ^[1] ; Navas, Carlos A. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Fisiol, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Journal of Insect Behavior; v. 21, n. 6, p. 549-558, NOV 2008.
• Citações Web of Science: 5

Resumo

Social organization enables leaf-cutting ants to keep appropriate micro-ecological nest conditions for the fungus garden (their main food), eggs, larvae and adults. To maintain stability while facing changing conditions, individual ants must perceive destabilising factors and produce a proper behavioral response. We investigated behavioral responses to experimental dehydration in leaf-cutting ants to verify if task specialization exists, and to quantify the ability of ant sub-colonies for water management. Our setup consisted of fourteen sub-colonies, ten of which were randomly assigned to different levels of experimental dehydration with silica gel, whereas the remaining four were controls. The ten experimental sub-colonies were split into two groups, so that five of them had access to water. Diverse ant morphs searched for water in dehydrated colonies, but mainly a caste of small ants collected water after sources had been discovered. Size specialization for water collection was replicable in shorter experiments with three additional colonies. Ants of dehydrated colonies accumulated leaf-fragments on the nest entrance, and covering the fungus garden. Behaviors that may enhance humidity within the nests were common to all dehydration treatments. Water availability increased the life span of dehydrated colonies. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 03/01577-8 - Causas e correlações da variação fisiológica: papel dos gradientes ambientais e comportamentais em diferentes níveis de organização
• Beneficiário: Carlos Arturo Navas Iannini
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático
• Processo FAPESP: 04/07171-6 - Limites de tolerância ao estresse hídrico de colônias de Atta sexdens rubropilosa criadas em laboratório
• Beneficiário: Pedro Leite Ribeiro
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica