Response thresholds alone cannot explain empirical patterns of division of labor in social insects.
Response thresholds alone cannot explain empirical patterns of division of labor in social insects.
复制标题
反应阈值本身不能解释社会昆虫劳动分工的经验模式。
DOI：
10.1371/journal.pbio.3001269
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发表时间：
2021-06
期刊：
影响因子：
9.8
通讯作者：
Kronauer DJC
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Ulrich Y;Kawakatsu M;Tokita CK;Saragosti J;Chandra V;Tarnita CE;Kronauer DJC
群体构成异质性的影响仍然是我们理解跨学科集体行为的主要障碍。在群居昆虫中，劳动分工（DOL）是一种新兴的、群体水平的特征，被认为取决于群体组成。从理论上讲，行为反应阈值模型最常用于研究异质性对DOL的影响。然而，缺乏系统地测试其预测的实证研究，因为它们需要控制群体组成和监测群体中个体行为的能力，这两者都具有挑战性。在这里，我们采用自动化行为跟踪120个克隆突袭蚁的殖民地与无与伦比的控制遗传，形态和人口组成。我们发现，这些群体组成变化的每一个来源都产生了一种独特的行为组织模式，从扩大到抑制异质群体固有的行为差异。此外，幼虫调节成虫之间的相互作用，加剧了表面上的复杂性。仅基于阈值变化的模型只能部分概括这些经验模式。然而，通过结合成虫任务效率和幼虫任务需求的潜在可变性，我们解释了所有观察到的现象。我们的研究结果强调了以前被忽视的与幼虫和工蚁有关的参数的重要性，允许对不断增加的群体复杂性进行理论预测，并提出了新的实证研究途径。本研究使用克隆攻击蚁的自动跟踪和数学建模来揭示以前被忽视的幼虫和工蚁特征如何在异质蚁群中塑造社会组织。通过结合成虫任务效率和幼虫任务需求的潜在可变性，作者能够解释所有经验观察到的现象。
The effects of heterogeneity in group composition remain a major hurdle to our understanding of collective behavior across disciplines. In social insects, division of labor (DOL) is an emergent, colony-level trait thought to depend on colony composition. Theoretically, behavioral response threshold models have most commonly been employed to investigate the impact of heterogeneity on DOL. However, empirical studies that systematically test their predictions are lacking because they require control over colony composition and the ability to monitor individual behavior in groups, both of which are challenging. Here, we employ automated behavioral tracking in 120 colonies of the clonal raider ant with unparalleled control over genetic, morphological, and demographic composition. We find that each of these sources of variation in colony composition generates a distinct pattern of behavioral organization, ranging from the amplification to the dampening of inherent behavioral differences in heterogeneous colonies. Furthermore, larvae modulate interactions between adults, exacerbating the apparent complexity. Models based on threshold variation alone only partially recapitulate these empirical patterns. However, by incorporating the potential for variability in task efficiency among adults and task demand among larvae, we account for all the observed phenomena. Our findings highlight the significance of previously overlooked parameters pertaining to both larvae and workers, allow the formulation of theoretical predictions for increasing colony complexity, and suggest new avenues of empirical study. This study uses automated tracking of clonal raider ants and mathematical modeling to reveal how previously overlooked traits of larvae and workers might shape social organization in heterogeneous ant colonies. By incorporating the potential for variability in task efficiency among adults and task demand among larvae, the authors were able to account for all empirically observed phenomena.