Worker propensity affects flexible task reversion in an ant.
Worker propensity affects flexible task reversion in an ant.
复制标题
工人倾向影响蚂蚁的灵活任务回复。
DOI：
10.1007/s00265-020-02876-3
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发表时间：
2020
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
M.K. Hojo
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
H. Shimoji;N. Kasutani;S. Ogawa;M.K. Hojo
摘要群居动物在群体成员之间表现出良好的任务分配组织。在蚂蚁中，一个大的群体，真社会性的Hyattera，工人之间的劳动分工是由行为灵活性维持的，提供了对波动的环境条件的鲁棒性。在稳定的条件下，工人的任务从内部转移（例如，护士）到外部（例如，觅食者）的巢随着年龄的增加沿着这一梯度。如果殖民地的年龄结构不平衡，一些工蚁会填补空缺，而不管他们的年龄。然而，在大多数蚂蚁物种中，这种行为灵活性机制并没有被清楚地描述。在这项研究中，使用antDiacammasp。从日本，我们专注于任务回归（即，觅食者转变为护理角色，恢复护士）。通过间歇性观察，我们研究了巢外的觅食，觅食的行为倾向，检测到的试验比例，影响任务逆转时，种姓组成显着改变。我们发现，低比例的觅食者最有可能成为回归护士，这表明工人倾向与任务回归密切相关。此外，工蜂之间的任务分配在群体扰动后第2天出现，表明当殖民地的年龄结构受到外部因素的偶然改变时，工蜂的分工可以迅速重建。它还说明了行为倾向在维持社会制度方面的重要性。我们还从自组织过程的角度讨论了工作者之间灵活的任务分配机制。黄蜂、蜜蜂和蚂蚁），劳动分工是由工蜂的行为灵活性维持的，而这种灵活性本身又是由殖民地的需要驱动的。然而，蚂蚁行为灵活性背后的详细机制仍不清楚。专注于任务回归觅食转移到护理角色，无论他们的年龄依赖性分配的任务，我们发现，行为倾向强烈影响任务回归的diacammasp。由于蚁群通常具有不平衡的年龄结构和不稳定的环境，行为灵活性被认为是维持劳动分工的重要因素。此外，我们的研究可以应用于检查蚂蚁的任务逆转的分子和生理基础。
AbstractSocial animals exhibit well-organized task allocation among group members. In ants, a large group of eusocial Hymenoptera, the division of labor among workers is maintained by behavioral flexibility, providing robustness against fluctuating environmental conditions. Under stable conditions, worker tasks shift from the inside (e.g., nurses) to the outside (e.g., foragers) of the nest as age increases along this gradient. If the colony’s age structure is unbalanced, some workers compensate for vacant tasks, regardless of their age. However, such behavioral flexibility mechanisms are not clearly described in most ant species. In this study, using the antDiacammasp. from Japan, we focused on task reversion (i.e., foragers shifting to nursing roles, reverted nurses). By intermittent observation, we examined how the proportion of trials detected outside the nest of foragers, as foragers’ behavioral propensity, impacts task reversion when caste composition is significantly altered. We revealed that foragers with low proportion were the most likely to become reverted nurses, suggesting that the worker propensity is strongly correlated to task reversion. Moreover, task allocation among workers emerged on day 2 after colony disturbance, suggesting that the division of labor can promptly reconstruct when the age structure of the colony is accidentally altered by external factors. It also illustrates the importance of behavioral propensity in maintaining social systems. We also discussed the mechanisms of flexible task allocation among the workers in terms of self-organized process.Significance statementIn eusocial Hymenoptera (e.g., wasps, honeybees, and ants), the division of labor is maintained by workers’ behavioral flexibility, which is itself driven by the needs of the colony. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying ant behavioral flexibility remain unclear. Focusing on task reversion in foragers shifting to nursing roles regardless of their age-dependent assigned task, we revealed that behavioral propensity strongly affects task reversion in theDiacammasp. As ant colonies generally have an unbalanced age structure and inhabit unstable environments, behavioral flexibility is thought to be important to maintain the division of labor. Moreover, our study could be applied to examining molecular and physiological basis of task reversion in ant species.