Migration control: a distance compensation strategy in ants
Migration control: a distance compensation strategy in ants
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迁移控制：蚂蚁的距离补偿策略
DOI：
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发表时间：
2016
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影响因子：
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通讯作者：
N. Franks
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作者：
Thomas A. O'Shea;A. Sendova;N. Franks
迁徙行为是许多生物生命史的固有组成部分，但往往是一个高风险的过程。因此，人们制定了各种战略来消除这种风险，但有关其运作的经验数据有限。在这项研究中，我们使用的模式系统的房屋狩猎蚂蚁Temnothorax albipennis证明了一个关键的策略，可以缩短迁移暴露时间在一组社会昆虫。这些蚂蚁的殖民地经常迁移到新的巢址，由于其栖息地的性质，他们这样做的距离是可变的，导致波动的潜在成本取决于迁移参数。我们发现，这一物种的殖民地facultimate改变动态的迁移，因此补偿的距离，在给定的迁移发生。具体来说，它们通过调节“串联运行”的速度来实现这一目标，在这种情况下，工人们会互相教授通往新巢穴的路线。使用这种方法，殖民地能够从事大量的个人在迁移过程中，当要穿越的距离更大，此外，该系统似乎是基于在个人层面上的感知相遇率。这种形式的分散控制突出了生态重要性行为的适应性，并表明其鲁棒性的关键在于使用简单的规则。此外，我们的研究结果表明，这种协调的群体反应是核心，以实现高水平的生态成功，在许多真社会生物。
Migratory behaviour forms an intrinsic part of the life histories of many organisms but is often a high-risk process. Consequently, varied strategies have evolved to negate such risks, but empirical data relating to their functioning are limited. In this study, we use the model system of the house-hunting ant Temnothorax albipennis to demonstrate a key strategy that can shorten migration exposure times in a group of social insects. Colonies of these ants frequently migrate to new nest sites, and due to the nature of their habitat, the distances over which they do so are variable, leading to fluctuating potential costs dependent on migration parameters. We show that colonies of this species facultatively alter the dynamics of a migration and so compensate for the distance over which a given migration occurs. Specifically, they achieve this by modulating the rate of ‘tandem running’, in which workers teach each other the route to a new nest site. Using this method, colonies are able to engage a larger number of individuals in the migration process when the distance to be traversed is greater, and furthermore, the system appears to be based on perceived encounter rate at the individual level. This form of decentralised control highlights the adaptive nature of a behaviour of ecological importance, and indicates that the key to its robustness lies in the use of simple rules. Additionally, our results suggest that such coordinated group reactions are central to achieving the high levels of ecological success seen in many eusocial organisms.