D'Ettorre, P. and Mondy, N. and Lenoir, A. and Errard, C. (2002) Blending in with the crowd: social parasites integrate into their host colonies using a flexible chemical signature. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, 269 (1503). pp. 1911-1918. ISSN 0962-8452
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
Social parasites are able to exploit their host's communication code and achieve social integration. For colony foundation, a newly mated slave-making ant queen must usurp a host colony. The parasite's brood is cared for by the hosts and newly eclosed slave-making workers integrate to form a mixed ant colony. To elucidate the social integration strategy of the slave-making workers, Polyergus rufescens, behavioural and chemical analyses were carried out. Cocoons of P. rufescens were introduced into subcolonies of four potential host species: Formica subgenus Serviformica (Formica cunicularia and F. rufibarbis, usual host species; E gagates, rare host; F. selysi, non-natural host). Slave-making broods were cared for and newly emerged workers showed several social interactions with adult Formica. We recorded the occurrence of abdominal trophallaxis, in which P. rufescens, the parasite, was the donor. Social integration of P. rufescens workers into host colonies appears to rely on the ability of the parasite to modify its cuticular hydrocarbon profile to match that of the rearing species. To study the specific P. rufescens chemical profile, newly emerged callows were reared in isolation from the mother colony (without any contact with adult ants). The isolated P. rufescens workers exhibited a chemical profile closely matching that of the primary host species, indicating the occurrence of local host adaptation in the slave-maker population. However, the high flexibility in the ontogeny of the parasite's chemical signature could allow for host switching.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | SLAVE-MAKING ANT; POLYERGUS-RUFESCENS LATR; CUTICULAR HYDROCARBON PROFILES; EUROPEAN AMAZON ANT; BREVICEPS HYMENOPTERA; FORMICA-RUFIBARBIS; SELECTION BEHAVIOR; REED WARBLERS; DUFOURS GLAND; COMMON CUCKOO; social parasitism; chemical integration; mimicry; host specificity; Polyergus rufescens |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 590 Zoological sciences |
| Divisions: | Biology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Zoologie |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 27 Aug 2021 07:45 |
| Last Modified: | 27 Aug 2021 07:45 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/39868 |
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