Negative feedback in ants: crowding results in less trail pheromone deposition
Negative feedback in ants: crowding results in less trail pheromone deposition
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DOI：
10.1098/rsif.2012.1009
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发表时间：
2013-04-06
影响因子：
3.9
通讯作者：
Ratnieks, Francis L. W.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Czaczkes, Tomer J.;Grueter, Christoph;Ratnieks, Francis L. W.
人类交通网络的拥挤降低了效率。通过适当的控制机制可以提高效率，这些机制通常是外部施加的。蚁群还拥有通往巢穴外觅食地点的分配网络，并且可能会出现拥挤的情况。然而，蚂蚁没有外部控制者或领导者。在这里，我们报告了一种基于本地信息的自组织负反馈机制，该机制可以下调黑蚁在网络拥挤部分产生的招募信号。我们通过控制步道宽度和步道上蚂蚁的数量来控制拥挤，并观察到从最拥挤的条件到最拥挤的条件，沉积步道信息素的蚂蚁数量减少了 5.6 倍。我们还通过在步道上放置覆盖有巢伴侣角质层碳氢化合物的玻璃珠来模拟拥挤。在 20 厘米以上的珠子遭遇 10 次后，觅食蚂蚁沉积信息素的可能性降低了 45%。这里报道的负反馈机制是不寻常的，因为它通过下调正反馈信号的产生来起作用，而不是通过直接抑制或抑制信号的产生来起作用。
Crowding in human transport networks reduces efficiency. Efficiency can be increased by appropriate control mechanisms, which are often imposed externally. Ant colonies also have distribution networks to feeding sites outside the nest and can experience crowding. However, ants do not have external controllers or leaders. Here, we report a self-organized negative feedback mechanism, based on local information, which downregulates the production of recruitment signals in crowded parts of a network by Lasius niger ants. We controlled crowding by manipulating trail width and the number of ants on a trail, and observed a 5.6-fold reduction in the number of ants depositing trail pheromone from least to most crowded conditions. We also simulated crowding by placing glass beads covered in nest-mate cuticular hydrocarbons on the trail. After 10 bead encounters over 20 cm, forager ants were 45 per cent less likely to deposit pheromone. The mechanism of negative feedback reported here is unusual in that it acts by downregulating the production of a positive feedback signal, rather than by direct inhibition or the production of an inhibitory signal.