Chemical Ecology The Chemistry of Biotic Interaction (1995) / Chapter Skim
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The Chemistry of Social Regulation: Multicomponent Signals in Ant Societies
The Chemistry of Social Regulation: Multicomponent Signals in Ant Societies
Pages 41-50
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From page 41... ...
The Chemistry of Phyletic Dominance / 39 6. Eisner, T., Meinwald, J., Monro, A
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From page 42... ...
40 / Jerrold Meinwald and Thomas Eisner A G., Eldefrawi, A., Eldefrawi, M
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From page 43... ...
The functional division into reproductive and sterile castes, the cooperation in rearing the young, gathering food, defending the nest, exploring new foraging grounds, establishing territorial borders, and discriminating and excluding foreigners from the society are regulated by the precise transmission of social signals in time and space. Probably the best-studied communication behavior in ants is chemical communication, but other sensory modalities, such as mechanical cues, also play an important role in the formation of multicomponent signals in ant communication.
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From page 44... ...
In Oecophylla, for example, the mixture of mandibular gland secretions appears to regulate a temporal sequence of orientation and aggressive reactions, as different components diffuse outward from the point of origin (71. Vander Meer and his collaborators investigated the recruitment and trail following behavior of the fire ant (Solenopsis spp.)
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From page 45... ...
A similar situation has been observed in ants of the genus Myrmica, which produce relatively anonymous recruitment signals originating in the poison gland and speciesspecific mixtures of hydrocarbons in the Dufour's glands that are used as home range markers (10, 11~. Many ponerine ant species conduct predatory raids on termites and other arthropods, and generally these are organized by powerful trail pheromones which are often composed of secretions from several glands.
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From page 46... ...
Thus, during alarm behavior undecane will be discharged together with a blend of other hydrocarbons. If, say, genetically similar colony members tend to produce similar hydrocarbon patterns, the signal may come to be modulated by this added specificity, informing workers whether nestmates or aliens are releasing the alarm.
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From page 47... ...
In fact, the evolutionary process of ritualization appears to have played an important role in the evolution of diverse modes of communication behavior in ant societies and is closely connected with the evolution of modulatory communication. Communication in complex social systems is not always characterized by a deterministic releasing process but sometimes plays a more subtle role.
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From page 48... ...
We could, in addition, demonstrate that the substrate-borne vibrations not only enhance the chemical recruitment signal, laid with poison gland secretions, but also suffice to attract nestmates to the cutting site. We therefore hypothesize that a motor pattern whose original function might have been to support the cutting process, secondarily became a modulatory signal, and subsequently has further evolved to function as an independent recruitment signal.
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From page 49... ...
However, there exists no conclusive proof yet that the implied colonyspecific hydrocarbon patterns serve as nestmate recognition labels, nor is it possible yet to develop a unified concept of the sociobiological foundations of nestmate recognition. The current results indicate that the behavioral mechanisms underlying nestmate recognition vary with the specific social organizations of the societies.
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From page 50... ...
encouraged the belief that, among insects, each behavioral response is released by a single chemical substance. By contrast, much greater population and individual variability was attributed to the chemical communication signals produced by vertebrates, particularly mammals, in which pheromones often mediate more interindividual interactions such as individual recognition, dominance ranking, and territorial marking.
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