Excavation and aggregation as organizing factors in de novo construction by mound-building termites.

ABSTRACT: Termites construct complex mounds that are orders of magnitude larger than any individual and fulfil a variety of functional roles. Yet the processes through which these mounds are built, and by which the insects organize their efforts, remain poorly understood. The traditional understanding focuses on stigmergy, a form of indirect communication in which actions that change the environment provide cues that influence future work. Termite construction has long been thought to be organized via a putative 'cement pheromone': a chemical added to deposited soil that stimulates further deposition in the same area, thus creating a positive feedback loop whereby coherent structures are built up. To investigate the detailed mechanisms and behaviours through which termites self-organize the early st

SUBMITTER: Green B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5474063 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature