Ants modulate stridulatory signals depending on the behavioural context
| Autor: | Stefano Turillazzi, Luca Pietro Casacci, Alberto Masoni, Filippo Frizzi, Rachele Nieri, Valerio Mazzoni, Giacomo Santini |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine Behavioural ecology media_common.quotation_subject Science Context (language use) Insect Chemical communication 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Article 03 medical and health sciences Settore BIO/05 - ZOOLOGIA Crematogaster scutellaris ants communication stridulation Animals Food resource media_common Communication Multidisciplinary biology Behavior Animal business.industry Ants Stridulation Dominant frequency Models Theoretical Animal behaviour biology.organism_classification Eusociality Animal Communication 030104 developmental biology Medicine business |
| Zdroj: | Scientific Reports Scientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2021) |
| Popis: | Insect societies require an effective communication system to coordinate members’ activities. Although eusocial species primarily use chemical communication to convey information to conspecifics, there is increasing evidence suggesting that vibroacoustic communication plays a significant role in the behavioural contexts of colony life. In this study, we sought to determine whether stridulation can convey information in ant societies. We tested three main hypotheses using the Mediterranean ant Crematogaster scutellaris: (i) stridulation informs about the emitter’caste; (ii) workers can modulate stridulation based on specific needs, such as communicating the profitability of a food resource, or (iii) behavioural contexts. We recorded the stridulations of individuals from the three castes, restrained on a substrate, and the signals emitted by foragers workers feeding on honey drops of various sizes. Signals emitted by workers and sexuates were quantitatively and qualitatively distinct as was stridulation emitted by workers on different honey drops. Comparing across the experimental setups, we demonstrated that signals emitted in different contexts (restraining vs feeding) differed in emission patterns as well as certain parameters (dominant frequency, amplitude, duration of chirp). Our findings suggest that vibrational signaling represents a flexible communication channel paralleling the well-known chemical communication system. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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