Tolerating an infection: an indirect benefit of co-founding queen associations in the ant Lasius niger

Christopher D. Pull; William O. H. Hughes; Mark J. F. Brown

doi:10.1007/s00114-013-1115-5

Fecundity determines the outcome of founding queen associations in ants

10.1101/2020.11.20.391359 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Eva-Maria Teggers ◽

Falk Deegener ◽

Romain Libbrecht

Keyword(s):

Colony Growth ◽

Typical Case ◽

Lasius Niger ◽

Offspring Production ◽

Queen Associations

AbstractAnimal cooperation evolved because of its benefits to the cooperators. Pleometrosis in ants - the cooperation of queens to found a colony - benefits colony growth, but also incurs costs for some of the cooperators because only one queen usually survives the association. While several traits are associated with queen survival, they tend to be confounded and it is unclear which factor specifically determines the outcome of pleometrosis. In this study, we used the ant Lasius niger to monitor offspring production in colonies founded by one or two queens. Then, we experimentally paired queens that differed in fecundity but not in size, and vice versa, to disentangle the effect of these factors on queen survival. Finally, we investigated how fecundity and size differed between queens depending on whether they were chosen as pleometrotic partners. Our results indicate that pleometrosis increased and accelerated worker production via a nutritional boost to the larvae. The most fecund queens more frequently survived the associations, even when controlling for size and worker parentage, and queens selected as pleometrotic partners were less fecund. Our results are consistent with fecundity being central to the onset and outcome of pleometrosis, a typical case of cooperation among unrelated animals.

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Fecundity determines the outcome of founding queen associations in ants

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-82559-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Eva-Maria Teggers ◽

Falk Deegener ◽

Romain Libbrecht

Keyword(s):

Colony Growth ◽

Lasius Niger ◽

Offspring Production ◽

Queen Associations

AbstractAnimal cooperation evolved because of its benefits to the cooperators. Pleometrosis in ants—the cooperation of queens to found a colony—benefits colony growth, but also incurs costs for some of the cooperators because only one queen usually survives the association. While several traits in queens influence queen survival, they tend to be confounded and it is unclear which factor specifically determines the outcome of pleometrosis. In this study, we used the ant Lasius niger to monitor offspring production in colonies founded by one or two queens. Then, we experimentally paired queens that differed in fecundity but not in size, and vice versa, to disentangle the effect of these factors on queen survival. Finally, we investigated how fecundity and size differed between queens depending on whether they were chosen as pleometrotic partners. Our results indicate that pleometrosis increased and accelerated worker production via a nutritional boost to the larvae. The most fecund queens more frequently survived the associations, even when controlling for size and worker parentage, and queens selected as pleometrotic partners were less fecund. Our results are consistent with fecundity being central to the onset and outcome of pleometrosis, a classic example of cooperation among unrelated animals.

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Interactions of ants with native and invasive lady beetles and the role of chemical cues in intraguild interference

Chemoecology ◽

10.1007/s00049-021-00354-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Roman Bucher ◽

Laura M. Japke ◽

Ayse Gül Ünlü ◽

Florian Menzel

Keyword(s):

Chemical Cues ◽

Harmonia Axyridis ◽

Species Recognition ◽

Lady Beetle ◽

Lasius Niger ◽

Beetle Species ◽

Beetle Elytra ◽

Lady Beetles ◽

Ant Aggression

AbstractThe predator-predator naïveté hypothesis suggests that non-native predators benefit from being unknown to native predators, resulting in reduced intraguild interference with native predators. This novelty advantage should depend on the ability of native predators to recognize cues of non-native predators. Here, we compared ant aggression and lady beetle reaction in four native and the invasive lady beetle species Harmonia axyridis. In addition, we tested whether lady beetle cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are involved in species recognition, which might explain naïveté if the invasive species has a specific CHC profile. To this end, we conducted behavioral assays confronting two native ant species with both living lady beetles and lady beetle elytra bearing or lacking CHCs of different lady beetle species. Finally, we characterized CHC profiles of the lady beetles using GC–MS. In general, the aggression of Lasius niger was more frequent than that of Myrmica rubra and L. niger aggression was more frequent towards most native lady beetle species compared to H. axyridis. The removal of CHCs from lady beetle elytra reduced aggression of both ant species. If CHCs of respective lady beetle species were added on cue-free elytra, natural strength of L. niger aggression could be restored. CHC analyses revealed a distinct cue composition for each lady beetle species. Our experiments demonstrate that the presence of chemical cues on the surface of lady beetles contribute to the strength of ant aggression against lady beetles. Reduced aggression of L. niger towards H. axyridis and reduced avoidance behavior in H. axyridis compared to the equally voracious C. septempunctata might improve the invasive lady beetle’s access to ant-tended aphids.

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Effects of the Ant, Lasius niger (L.), on the Behaviour and Reproduction of the Black Bean Aphid, Aphis fabae Scop

Bulletin of Entomological Research ◽

10.1017/s0007485300053979 ◽

1958 ◽

Vol 49 (4) ◽

pp. 701-714 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

C. J. Banks

Keyword(s):

Natural Enemies ◽

Plant Tissue ◽

Food Supply ◽

Aphis Fabae ◽

Lasius Niger ◽

Average Difference ◽

Young Plant ◽

Black Bean ◽

Bean Plants ◽

Aphid Populations

SummaryCage experiments confirmed that, in the absence of natural enemies, populations of Aphis fabae Scop., attended on bean plants (Vicia faba) by the ant, Lasius niger (L.), multiply more rapidly than otherwise similar but ant-free populations. The average difference in numbers recorded, was about one-third, the maximum being 70 per cent. No doubling or trebling of aphid numbers as claimed by an earlier worker was ever recorded.When the Aphids are attended by ants, their excretion behaviour alters and the normal dispersal of the apterae from the young apical growth of bean plants is considerably delayed.No significant differences were found between the numbers of nymphs produced by individual Aphids from ant-visited and ant-free plants, respectively, living on leaves of the same age; but the numbers were significantly affected by the age of the leaf or part of the plant on which the Aphids had developed or were then feeding.It is suggested that ant-attended aphid populations multiply more rapidly because most of the Aphids feed for a much longer time on young plant tissue where, presumably, their food supply is more nutritious.

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XXVIII. Parthenogenesis in Worker Ants, with special reference to two colonies of Lasius niger, Linn.

Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London ◽

10.1111/j.1365-2311.1912.tb02201.x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 59 (3-4) ◽

pp. 657-663 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

W. C. Crawley

Keyword(s):

Special Reference ◽

Lasius Niger

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The differential response of workers and queens of the ant Lasius niger to an environment marked by workers: Ants dislike the unknown

Behavioural Processes ◽

10.1016/j.beproc.2012.09.008 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 91 (3) ◽

pp. 275-281 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Cédric Devigne ◽

Jean-Christophe de Biseau

Keyword(s):

Differential Response ◽

Lasius Niger

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Negative feedback in ants: crowding results in less trail pheromone deposition

Journal of The Royal Society Interface ◽

10.1098/rsif.2012.1009 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (81) ◽

pp. 20121009 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Tomer J. Czaczkes ◽

Christoph Grüter ◽

Francis L. W. Ratnieks

Keyword(s):

Negative Feedback ◽

Trail Pheromone ◽

Distribution Networks ◽

Feedback Mechanism ◽

Lasius Niger ◽

Feedback Signal ◽

Control Mechanisms ◽

Negative Feedback Mechanism ◽

Self Organized ◽

Fold Reduction

Crowding in human transport networks reduces efficiency. Efficiency can be increased by appropriate control mechanisms, which are often imposed externally. Ant colonies also have distribution networks to feeding sites outside the nest and can experience crowding. However, ants do not have external controllers or leaders. Here, we report a self-organized negative feedback mechanism, based on local information, which downregulates the production of recruitment signals in crowded parts of a network by Lasius niger ants. We controlled crowding by manipulating trail width and the number of ants on a trail, and observed a 5.6-fold reduction in the number of ants depositing trail pheromone from least to most crowded conditions. We also simulated crowding by placing glass beads covered in nest-mate cuticular hydrocarbons on the trail. After 10 bead encounters over 20 cm, forager ants were 45 per cent less likely to deposit pheromone. The mechanism of negative feedback reported here is unusual in that it acts by downregulating the production of a positive feedback signal, rather than by direct inhibition or the production of an inhibitory signal.

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Ant nests as a microbial hot spots in a long-term heavy metal-contaminated soils

Environmental Science and Pollution Research ◽

10.1007/s11356-021-16384-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Beata Klimek ◽

Hanna Poliwka-Modliborek ◽

Irena M. Grześ

Keyword(s):

Microbial Biomass ◽

Microbial Activity ◽

Respiration Rate ◽

Metal Content ◽

Soil Microbial Activity ◽

Bulk Soil ◽

Lasius Niger ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Ant Nests

AbstractInteractions between soil fauna and soil microorganisms are not fully recognized, especially in extreme environments, such as long-term metal-polluted soils. The purpose of the study was to assess how the presence of Lasius niger ants affected soil microbial characteristics in a long-term metal-polluted area (Upper Silesia in Poland). Paired soil samples were taken from bulk soil and from ant nests and analysed for a range of soil physicochemical properties, including metal content (zinc, cadmium, and lead). Microbial analysis included soil microbial activity (soil respiration rate), microbial biomass (substrate-induced respiration rate), and bacteria catabolic properties (Biolog® ECO plates). Soil collected from ant nests was drier and was characterized by a lower content of organic matter, carbon and nitrogen contents, and also lower metal content than bulk soil. Soil microbial respiration rate was positively related to soil pH (p = 0.01) and negatively to water-soluble metal content, integrated into TIws index (p = 0.01). Soil microbial biomass was negatively related to TIws index (p = 0.04). Neither soil microbial activity and biomass nor bacteria catabolic activity and diversity indices differed between bulk soil and ant nests. Taken together, ant activity reduced soil contamination by metals in a microscale which support microbial community activity and biomass but did not affect Biolog® culturable bacteria.

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