The extension of internal humidity levels beyond the soil surface facilitates mound expansion in Macrotermes
Autor: | Justin Werfel, Nicole Carey, Paul Bardunias, Rupert Soar, J. Scott Turner, Daniel S. Calovi, Radhika Nagpal |
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Rok vydání: | 2020 |
Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
food.ingredient 030310 physiology Airflow Evaporation Soil science Isoptera Soil surface 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Pheromones General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Deposition (geology) Soil 03 medical and health sciences food Macrotermes Animals Behaviour Relative humidity General Environmental Science 0303 health sciences Behavior Animal General Immunology and Microbiology Lead (sea ice) Temperature Humidity General Medicine Environmental science General Agricultural and Biological Sciences |
Zdroj: | Proc Biol Sci |
ISSN: | 1471-2954 0962-8452 |
Popis: | Termites in the genus Macrotermes construct large-scale soil mounds above their nests. The classic explanation for how termites coordinate their labour to build the mound, based on a putative cement pheromone, has recently been called into question. Here, we present evidence for an alternate interpretation based on sensing humidity. The high humidity characteristic of the mound's internal environment extends a short distance into the low-humidity external world, in a ‘bubble’ that can be disrupted by external factors like wind. Termites transport more soil mass into on-mound reservoirs when shielded from water loss through evaporation, and into experimental arenas when relative humidity is held at a high value. These results suggest that the interface between internal and external conditions may serve as a template for mound expansion, with workers moving freely within a zone of high humidity and depositing soil at its edge. Such deposition of additional moist soil will increase local humidity, in a feedback loop allowing the ‘interior’ zone to progress further outward and lead to mound expansion. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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