Abstract
Social insects provide an intriguing model system in chronobiology. Typically, an egg-laying queen exhibits arrhythmicity in activity while foraging worker has clear rhythmicity. In the queenless ant, Diacamma sp., from Japan, colony members lack morphological caste, and reproductive differentiation occurs as a consequence of dominance hierarchy formation. Their specialized dominance interaction “gemmae mutilation”, provide us a fascinating model system to investigate the effect of social dominance on rhythmic ontogeny. Measurement of individual rhythms revealed that they have clear circadian rhythm at eclosion but it is diminished by social mutilation of gemmae. Moreover, unlike highly eusocial species, mated egg-layer (i.e., gamergate) possessed a circadian rhythm even after mating in Diacamma. Measurement of colony-level rhythms revealed that gemmae mutilations are performed in the limited time of the day, but foraging occurs around-the-clock. The above finding is a novel form of temporal organization in social insects, providing a new insight in morphologically casteless species. We discuss the causes and consequences of rhythmic variability in social organization.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1843-1850 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
| Volume | 68 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
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Keywords
- Diacamma
- Primitively eusocial
- Queenless ant
- Temporal organization
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Animal Science and Zoology
Cite this
Social dominance modifies behavioral rhythm in a queenless ant. / Fuchikawa, Taro; Okada, Yasukazu; Miyatake, Takahisa; Tsuji, Kazuki.
In: Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, Vol. 68, No. 11, 2014, p. 1843-1850.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Social dominance modifies behavioral rhythm in a queenless ant
AU - Fuchikawa, Taro
AU - Okada, Yasukazu
AU - Miyatake, Takahisa
AU - Tsuji, Kazuki
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Social insects provide an intriguing model system in chronobiology. Typically, an egg-laying queen exhibits arrhythmicity in activity while foraging worker has clear rhythmicity. In the queenless ant, Diacamma sp., from Japan, colony members lack morphological caste, and reproductive differentiation occurs as a consequence of dominance hierarchy formation. Their specialized dominance interaction “gemmae mutilation”, provide us a fascinating model system to investigate the effect of social dominance on rhythmic ontogeny. Measurement of individual rhythms revealed that they have clear circadian rhythm at eclosion but it is diminished by social mutilation of gemmae. Moreover, unlike highly eusocial species, mated egg-layer (i.e., gamergate) possessed a circadian rhythm even after mating in Diacamma. Measurement of colony-level rhythms revealed that gemmae mutilations are performed in the limited time of the day, but foraging occurs around-the-clock. The above finding is a novel form of temporal organization in social insects, providing a new insight in morphologically casteless species. We discuss the causes and consequences of rhythmic variability in social organization.
AB - Social insects provide an intriguing model system in chronobiology. Typically, an egg-laying queen exhibits arrhythmicity in activity while foraging worker has clear rhythmicity. In the queenless ant, Diacamma sp., from Japan, colony members lack morphological caste, and reproductive differentiation occurs as a consequence of dominance hierarchy formation. Their specialized dominance interaction “gemmae mutilation”, provide us a fascinating model system to investigate the effect of social dominance on rhythmic ontogeny. Measurement of individual rhythms revealed that they have clear circadian rhythm at eclosion but it is diminished by social mutilation of gemmae. Moreover, unlike highly eusocial species, mated egg-layer (i.e., gamergate) possessed a circadian rhythm even after mating in Diacamma. Measurement of colony-level rhythms revealed that gemmae mutilations are performed in the limited time of the day, but foraging occurs around-the-clock. The above finding is a novel form of temporal organization in social insects, providing a new insight in morphologically casteless species. We discuss the causes and consequences of rhythmic variability in social organization.
KW - Diacamma
KW - Primitively eusocial
KW - Queenless ant
KW - Temporal organization
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85027934738&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00265-014-1793-9
DO - 10.1007/s00265-014-1793-9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85027934738
VL - 68
SP - 1843
EP - 1850
JO - Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
JF - Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
SN - 0340-5443
IS - 11
ER -