Is phenotypic plasticity a key mechanism for responding to thermal stress in ants?

Abstract

Unlike natural selection, phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to respond quickly to changing environmental conditions. However, plasticity may not always be adaptive. In insects, body size and other morphological measurements have been shown to decrease as temperature increases. This relationship may lead to a physiological conflict in ants, where larger body size and longer legs often confer better thermal resistance. Here, we tested the effect of developmental temperature (20, 24, 28 or 32°C) on adult thermal resistance in the thermophilic ant species Aphaenogaster senilis. We found that no larval development occurred at 20°C. However, at higher temperatures, developmental speed increased as expected and smaller adults were produced. In thermal resistance tests, we found that ants reared at 28 and 32°C had half-lethal temperatures that were 2°C higher than those of ants reared at 24°C. Thus, although ants reared at higher temperatures were smaller in size, they were nonetheless more thermoresistant. These results show that A. senilis can exploit phenotypic plasticity to quickly adjust its thermal resistance to local conditions and that this process is independent of morphological adaptations. This mechanism may be particularly relevant given current rapid climate warming.