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Published on: November 5, 2015
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Social, spatial, and temporal organization in a complex insect society
Lauren E Quevillon1,2, Ephraim M Hanks1,3, Shweta Bansal4,5
1Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
Scientific Reports
|August 25, 2015
Summary
Carpenter ants segregate foragers to prevent disease spread, maintaining colony health. This social organization, a form of collective immunity, is crucial for high-density living in insects.
Area of Science:
- Social insect behavior
- Epidemiology
- Collective immunity
Background:
- High-density living typically increases disease risk due to density-dependent spread.
- Social insects, despite high-density living, largely avoid epidemics.
- Collective immunity, involving prophylactic and inducible defenses, is hypothesized to explain this decoupling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the segregation of carpenter ants, specifically foragers, in the absence of disease.
- To establish a baseline colony organization for future disease-related studies.
- To understand how social, spatial, and temporal organization contributes to disease prevention.
Main Methods:
- Integrated social, spatial, and temporal analyses of carpenter ant behavior.
- Behavioral and social network analyses, including trophallaxis interactions.
- Theoretical resource spread modeling.
Main Results:
- Active foragers interact more frequently via trophallaxis than nest workers or queens.
- Foragers occupy a larger spatial area within the nest.
- Temporal analysis shows foragers do not interact with the queen in ways that facilitate disease transfer.
- Resource spread analysis indicates temporal segregation does not impede food flow.
Conclusions:
- Carpenter ant colony organization, particularly forager segregation, provides a baseline understanding of collective immunity mechanisms.
- This study establishes a null model for investigating disease dynamics in social insects.
- Understanding baseline organization is critical for future research on disease introduction and spread in colonies.
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