Dissertation Research: Nutritional Ecology of Social Insects

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Dissertation Research: Nutritional Ecology of Social InsectsJoan M. Herbers and Timothy M. JuddSeasonal changes affect the foraging strategies of animals. Previous experiments demonstrated that colonies of the ant Pheidole ceres change their foraging behavior seasonally. When presented with both sugars and proteins, the ants increased their intake of protein when they had more larvae in the colony. In this proposed study, two hypotheses to explain that increase will be examined. First, the way in which the workers assess the needs of the larvae will be explored. Colonies will be split into four subunits, each given a different diet, and then the brood will be exchanged between them; offering choices between proteins and sugars throughout the experiment will show how the treatments affect the ants' foraging decisions. Second, the types of nutrients stored by ants will be assessed by measuring total protein and total fat found in individual ants collected throughout the year. Finally, the ants' foraging behavior will be compared to the types of nutrients they are storing. Together, these experiments will provide insight to how ant colonies meet nutritional demands.