The dear enemy effect drives conspecific aggressiveness in an Azteca-Cecropia system.

ABSTRACT: Territoriality is costly, and the accurate identification of intruders and the decision to perform aggressive responses are key behavioral traits in social animals. We studied aggression among individuals belonging to close and distant nests of the plant-ant Azteca muelleri, which lives in stems of the pioneer tree Cecropia glaziovii. More specifically, we aim to investigate if the DE (dear-enemy effect-less aggression towards neighbors than strangers) or NN (nasty-neighbor effect-less aggression to strangers than neighbors) effects or even none of them apply for this iconic Azteca-Cecropia system. We further checked if ant aggression towards conspecifics is related to cuticular hydrocarbon profiles (CHCs), which provide chemical cues for nestmate recognition. Therefore, we sampled 46 nest

SUBMITTER: Zorzal G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7970830 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature