Dataset Information

From Parasitized to Healthy-Looking Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Morphological Reconstruction Using Algorithmic Processing.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Parasites cause predictable alternative phenotypes of host individuals. Investigating these parasitogenic phenotypes may be essential in cases where parasitism is common or taxa is described based on a parasitized individual. Ignoring them could lead to erroneous conclusions in biodiversity-focused research, taxonomy, evolution, and ecology. However, to date, integrating alternative phenotypes into a set of wild-type individuals in morphometric analysis poses extraordinary challenges to experts. This paper presents an approach for reconstructing the putative healthy morphology of parasitized ants using algorithmic processing. Our concept enables the integration of alternative parasitogenic phenotypes in morphometric analyses.

Methods

We tested the applicability of our strategy in a large pool of Cestoda-infected and healthy individuals of three Temnothorax ant species (T. nylanderi, T. sordidulus, and T. unifasciatus). We assessed the stability and convergence of morphological changes caused by parasitism across species. We used an artificial neural network-based multiclass classifier model to predict species based on morphological trait values and the presence of parasite infection.

Results

Infection causes predictable morphological changes in each species, although these changes proved to be species-specific. Therefore, integrating alternative parasitogenic phenotypes in morphometric analyses can be achieved at the species level, and a prior species hypothesis is required.

Conclusion

Despite the above limitation, the concept is appropriate. Beyond parasitogenic phenotypes, our approach can also integrate morphometric data of an array of alternative phenotypes (subcastes in social insects, alternative morphs in polyphenic species, and alternative sexes in sexually dimorphic species) whose integrability had not been resolved before.

SUBMITTER: Csosz S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9145562 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

From Parasitized to Healthy-Looking Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Morphological Reconstruction Using Algorithmic Processing.

Csősz Sándor S Báthori Ferenc F Molet Mathieu M Majoros Gábor G Rádai Zoltán Z

Life (Basel, Switzerland) 20220422 5

<h4>Background</h4>Parasites cause predictable alternative phenotypes of host individuals. Investigating these parasitogenic phenotypes may be essential in cases where parasitism is common or taxa is described based on a parasitized individual. Ignoring them could lead to erroneous conclusions in biodiversity-focused research, taxonomy, evolution, and ecology. However, to date, integrating alternative phenotypes into a set of wild-type individuals in morphometric analysis poses extraordinary cha ...[more]

PMID: 35629292

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Project description:The food-burying behavior has been reported in many mammals and birds, but was rarely observed in invertebrates. The red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, is an invasive pest in many areas of the world that usually performing food-burying during the foraging processes. However, the impacted factors and measureable patterns of this behavior is largely unknown. In the present study, food-burying vs food-transport behaviors of Solenopsis invicta were observed under laboratory and field conditions. When starved (no food was provided for 37 days) in the laboratory, food (sausage) was consumed by large numbers of ants, and few burying behaviors were observed. However, when food was provided until satiation of the colonies, food-transport was suppressed and significantly more soil particles were relocated on the food and graph paper square (where the food was placed) when compared with these colonies exposed to starved conditions. Videotapes showed that soil particles (1.47 ± 0.09 mm2) were preferentially placed adjacent to (in contact with) the food items at the beginning; and after the edges were covered, ants transported significantly smaller soil particles (1.13 ± 0.06 mm2) to cover the food. Meanwhile, larger particles (1.96 ± 0.08 mm2) were pulled/dragged around (but not in contact with) the food. Interestingly, only a small number of ants, mainly the small workers, were involved in food-burying, and the ants tended to repeatedly transport soil particles. A total of 12 patterns of particle transport were identified, and soil particles were most frequently picked from the foraging arena and subsequently placed adjacent to the food. In the field, almost all released food was actively transported by Solenopsis invicta workers, and no burying behavior was observed. Our results show that the food-burying behavior of Solenopsis invicta may be associated with the suppressed foraging activity, and the burying task may be carried out by certain groups of workers.

Dataset Information

From Parasitized to Healthy-Looking Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Morphological Reconstruction Using Algorithmic Processing.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

From Parasitized to Healthy-Looking Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Morphological Reconstruction Using Algorithmic Processing.

Similar Datasets

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