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Army ants on the move: relation between food supply and emigration frequency
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|March 7, 1980
Summary
Underfed colonies of Neivamyrmex nigrescens ants emigrate more often. This suggests that nomadic raids may not provide enough food, potentially driving emigration evolution under harsher conditions.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Animal Behavior
- Entomology
Background:
- Ant colonies, particularly nomadic species like Neivamyrmex nigrescens, exhibit complex behaviors related to resource acquisition and survival.
- Colony emigration is a critical survival strategy, often triggered by resource scarcity or environmental pressures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between colony nutritional status and emigration frequency in Neivamyrmex nigrescens.
- To infer the ecological conditions that may have shaped the evolution of emigration behavior in this species.
Main Methods:
- Laboratory experiments were conducted on Neivamyrmex nigrescens colonies.
- Colonies were subjected to different feeding regimes (underfed vs. overfed).
- Emigration frequency was monitored and compared between the treatment groups.
Main Results:
- Underfed colonies exhibited a significantly higher emigration rate (62% of nomadic days) compared to overfed colonies (28%).
- Observed emigration frequencies in laboratory settings align with field observations.
Conclusions:
- Nutritional stress, specifically insufficient food from nomadic raids to satisfy larval broods, is a likely proximate cause for emigration in Neivamyrmex nigrescens.
- The evolution of emigration behavior may have occurred under more demanding ecological conditions where food availability was consistently limited.
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