Skip to main content
Entomology 2024 Main banner
Bayer Crop Science
Icon Legend
 
Oral Presentation
Oral Presentation
Poster Display
Poster Display
Student Competition
Student Competition
Ticketed Event
Ticketed Event
Back

Student 10-Minute Presentation

Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity

Student

Student Competition

Grad 10-min Competition: SysEB, Behavior 2

Collective nest-site selection, excavation and emigration of a neotropical ant, Ectatomma ruidum

Monday, November 11, 2024
10:42 AM – 10:54 AM MST
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 222 B, PCC
Oral Presentation Student Competition
Collective behavior in social species like ants involves complex decision-making, particularly during tasks such as colony emigration and nest construction. While studies have examined ant nest architecture and collective nest site choice, the decision-making process behind the dual tasks of nest excavation and emigration in subterranean ants remains enigmatic. Simultaneous emigration and excavation pose considerable risks to ant colonies, which they are expected to minimize through effective site selection, task distribution, and optimal task scheduling. This study investigates this process in the monodomous subterranean ant Ectatomma ruidum. Colonies were provided with four identical nest sites where they could initiate digging, allowing us to observe their decision-making and nest construction in a controlled yet naturalistic setting.

Initially, the ants dug simultaneously at all sites, and the colony emigrated to multiple sites within two days. Over the next 30 days, further migration resulted in reunification at a single site. We measured nest architecture parameters of the constructed nests at all sites and compared them to casts of natural nests, finding general similarities between lab-built and natural nests.
Detailed examination of the emigration behavior, through observations of colonies with individually marked ants emigrating from one artificial nest to another, provided insights into temporal organization, work distribution, and recruitment strategies. Our study aims to illuminate the work organization of ant colonies, their emigration decisions, and selection of a single site, contributing to the broader understanding of natural collective behavior where colonies must simultaneously address multiple challenges and make optimal choices.