Dataset Information

Influence of the Number of Queens on Nest Establishment: Native and Invasive Ant Species.

ABSTRACT: As a critical stage in the life cycle of ant colonies, nest establishment depends on external and internal factors. This study investigates the effect of the number of queens on queen and worker behavior during nest establishment in invasive Argentine ants (Linepitema humile) and native Mediterranean Tapinoma nigerrimum. We set up experimental colonies with the same number of workers but with one or six queens. At different time points, we recorded the positions of queens and workers inside and outside the nest. Our results highlight the influence of the number of queens on the position of queens and workers with between-species differences. Queens of both species entered the nests more quickly when there were six queens. During nest establishment, more workers were inside nests with six queens for both species, with this effect being greater for T. nigerrimum. Once nests were established, fewer workers of both species were engaged in nest maintenance and feeding in nests with six queens; T. nigerrimum had fewer workers engaged in patrolling. These results suggest that the number of queens is a key factor driving queen and worker behavior during and after nest establishment with different species responses.

SUBMITTER: Castaneda I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7996303 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Influence of the Number of Queens on Nest Establishment: Native and Invasive Ant Species.

Castañeda Irene I Bonnaud Elsa E Courchamp Franck F Luque Gloria G

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI 20210224 3

As a critical stage in the life cycle of ant colonies, nest establishment depends on external and internal factors. This study investigates the effect of the number of queens on queen and worker behavior during nest establishment in invasive Argentine ants (<i>Linepitema humile</i>) and native Mediterranean <i>Tapinoma nigerrimum</i>. We set up experimental colonies with the same number of workers but with one or six queens. At different time points, we recorded the positions of queens and worke ...[more]

PMID: 33668251

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Project description:The paper integrates two independent studies of numeric morphology-based alpha-taxonomy of the cryptic ant species Temnothoraxcrassispinus (Karavajev, 1926) and Temnothoraxcrasecundus sp. n. conducted by different investigators, using different equipment, considering different character combinations and evaluating different samples. Samples investigated included 603 individual workers from 203 nests - thereof 104 nest samples measured by Seifert and 99 by Csösz. The material originated from Europe, Asia Minor and Caucasia. There was a very strong interspecific overlap in any of the 29 shape characters recorded and subjective expert determination failed in many cases. Primary classification hypotheses were formed by the exploratory data analysis Nest Centroid (NC) clustering and corrected to final species hypotheses by an iterative linear discriminant analysis algorithm. The evaluation of Seifert's and Csösz's data sets arrived at fully congruent conclusions. NC-Ward and NC-K-means clustering disagreed from the final species hypothesis in only 1.9 and 1.9% of the samples in Seifert's data set and by 1.1 and 2.1% in Csösz's data set which is a strong argument for heterospecificity. The type series of Temnothoraxcrassispinus and Temnothoraxcrasecundus sp. n. were allocated to different clusters with p = 0.9851 and p = 0.9912 respectively. The type series of the junior synonym Temnothoraxslavonicus (Seifert, 1995) was allocated to the Temnothoraxcrassispinus cluster with p = 0.9927. Temnothoraxcrasecundus sp. n. and Temnothoraxcrassispinus are parapatric species with a long contact zone stretching from the Peloponnisos peninsula across Bulgaria northeast to the southern Ukraine. There is no indication for occurrence of interspecifically mixed nests or intraspecific polymorphism. However, a significant reduction of interspecific morphological distance at sites with syntopic occurrence of both species indicates local hybridization. The results are discussed within the context of the Pragmatic Species Concept of Seifert (2014). The taxonomic description and a differential diagnosis of Temnothoraxcrasecundus sp. n. are given.

Dataset Information

Influence of the Number of Queens on Nest Establishment: Native and Invasive Ant Species.

Publications

Influence of the Number of Queens on Nest Establishment: Native and Invasive Ant Species.

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