Garden sharing and garden stealing in fungus-growing ants

被引:53
作者
Adams, RMM
Mueller, UG [1 ]
Holloway, AK
Green, AM
Narozniak, J
机构
[1] Univ Texas, Patterson Labs, Sect Integrat Biol, Austin, TX 78712 USA
[2] Univ Maryland, Dept Biol, College Pk, MD 20742 USA
基金
美国国家科学基金会;
关键词
D O I
10.1007/s001140050765
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
Fungi cultivated by fungus-growing ants (Attini: Formicidae) are passed on between generations by transfer from maternal to offspring nest (vertical transmission within ant species). However, recent phylogenetic analyses revealed that cultivars are occasionally also transferred between attine species. The reasons for such lateral cultivar transfers are unknown. To investigate whether garden loss may induce ants to obtain a replacement cultivar from a neighboring colony (lateral cultivar transfer), pairs of queenright colonies of two Cyphomyrmex species were set up in two conjoined chambers; the garden of one colony was then removed to simulate the total crop loss that occurs naturally when pathogens devastate gardens. Garden-deprived colonies regained cultivars through one of three mechanisms: joining of a neighboring colony and cooperation in a common garden; stealing of a neighbor's garden; or aggressive usurpation of a neighbor's garden. Because pathogens frequently devastate attine gardens under natural conditions, garden joining, stealing and usurpation emerge as critical behavioral adaptations to survive garden catastrophes.
引用
收藏
页码:491 / 493
页数:3
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