Dissertation Research: Nutritional Ecology of Social Insects

[论文研究：社会昆虫的营养生态学]joan M. Herbers和Timothy M. judd季节变化对动物觅食策略的影响。先前的实验表明，蚁群的觅食行为会随季节变化。当同时提供糖和蛋白质时，当蚁群中有更多的幼虫时，蚂蚁会增加蛋白质的摄入量。在这个提议的研究中，将检验两个解释这种增加的假设。首先，将探讨工蜂评估幼虫需求的方式。蜂群将被分成四个亚单位，每个亚单位都有不同的饮食，然后雏鸟将在它们之间交换；在整个实验过程中提供蛋白质和糖之间的选择将显示治疗如何影响蚂蚁的觅食决定。其次，将通过测量全年收集的单个蚂蚁的总蛋白质和总脂肪来评估蚂蚁储存的营养物质类型。最后，蚂蚁的觅食行为将与它们储存的营养物质类型进行比较。总之，这些实验将为了解蚁群如何满足营养需求提供洞见。

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.