英文论文摘要：关于美切叶蚁的战争 | 小飞侠 | Title: Ant wars: combat strategies, territory and nest defence in the leaf-cutting antAtta laevigata
Authors: WHITEHOUSE, MARY E. A.a; JAFFE, KLAUSa
Affiliations: a. Departamento de Biología de Organismos, Universidad Simón Bolivar, Venezuela
Abstract (English):
Two laws have been highlighted when discussing combat strategies in ants: the linear law (in a series of one-to-one conflicts, a few good fighters are better than many poor fighters) and the square law (if all individuals are vulnerable to attack, numerous fighters are more advantageous than a few good fighters). The leaf-cutting ant,Atta laevigata, responded to a simulated vertebrate threat by recruiting many soldiers (large workers), but responded to conspecific and interspecific ant threats by recruiting mainly small ants. In staged intraspecific interactions in the field between adjacent nests, ants were reluctant to fight on unmarked land and often retreated onto established marked trails, retreated to the nest entrance which they then capped or guarded, or immediately began marking the battle site with Dufour's gland secretion. These results indicate that the territorial behaviour ofA.laevigatais part of a complex system to defend resources, where the defence of one resource (food) can develop into the defence of another (the nest). During the build-up of a war, once individuals from two nests met, recruitment changed from medium and large ants to mainly small ants. It is suggested thatA.laevigatauses the soldier caste to defend the nest against large organisms and recruits numerous small ants in response to conspecific and interspecific ant threats following the square law.
Publisher: Elsevier Science
Language of Publication: English
Item Identifiers: 10.1006/anbe.1996.0126 S0003-3472(96)90126-8
Publication Type: Article
ISSN: 0003-3472
Cited by: Hernandez, J.V.; Lopez, H.; Jaffe, K., "Nestmate recognition signals of the leaf-cutting ant Atta laevigata" Journal of Insect Physiology 2002 pp. 287-2952004-3-29 8:48:42 |
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