Tracking individuals shows spatial fidelity is a key regulator of ant social organization.

Details

Ressource 1Download: BIB_7C1026950B98.P001.pdf (2310.19 [Ko])
State: Public
Version: Final published version
Serval ID
serval:BIB_7C1026950B98
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Tracking individuals shows spatial fidelity is a key regulator of ant social organization.
Journal
Science
Author(s)
Mersch D.P., Crespi A., Keller L.
ISSN
1095-9203 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0036-8075
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2013
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
340
Number
6136
Pages
1090-1093
Language
english
Abstract
Ants live in organized societies with a marked division of labor among workers, but little is known about how this division of labor is generated. We used a tracking system to continuously monitor individually tagged workers in six colonies of the ant Camponotus fellah over 41 days. Network analyses of more than 9 million interactions revealed three distinct groups that differ in behavioral repertoires. Each group represents a functional behavioral unit with workers moving from one group to the next as they age. The rate of interactions was much higher within groups than between groups. The precise information on spatial and temporal distribution of all individuals allowed us to calculate the expected rates of within- and between-group interactions. These values suggest that the network of interaction within colonies is primarily mediated by age-induced changes in the spatial location of workers.
Keywords
Animals, Ants/physiology, Behavior, Animal, Mass Behavior, Spatial Behavior
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
23/04/2013 13:44
Last modification date
20/08/2019 14:37
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