Groups Of Ants Research Articles

Diversity and Abundance of Ants from Tehsil Nerwa of District Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

The present study focused on diversity, abundance and functional groups of ants from Tehsil Nerwa of District Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. A total of 693 ant specimens representing 33 species belonging to 22 genera of 4 subfamilies were collected. Myrmicinae is the most diverse and abundant subfamily. Dolichoderinae is the least diverse subfamily while Ponerinae is the least abundant subfamily. During this study also reports range extension of 3 invasive species. 2 Species are endemic to the region. In this study seven functional groups of ants were identified. These are: “Generalized Myrmicinae”, “Opportunists”, “Subordinate Camponotini”, “Hot climate Specialists”, “Cold climate Specialists”, “Cryptic Species”, and “Specialist Predators”. The area is very susceptible to anthropogenic activity, as indicated by the prevalence of invasive species there. Therefore, some stringent measures should be taken to preserve the deteriorating ecosystem of the study area.

The Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Leaf-Litter Dwelling Ants in the Tropical Dry Forest of the Colombian Caribbean

There have been few advances in understanding the organization and dynamics of ants in tropical dry forests. The latter are a seriously threatened ecosystem, and ants are important indicators of diversity, disturbance, and restoration in forest ecosystems. Using diversity data and morphofunctional traits, we evaluated the spatial and temporal variation of taxonomic and functional ant groups; in addition, we explored the variation in functional traits and diversity among communities. Ants were sampled during the dry and rainy seasons using mini-Winkler bags. A total of 9 subfamilies, 57 genera, and 146 species were collected. Ant species composition and richness varied both spatially (75 to 119 species) and temporally (121 and 127 species). The fragments from N2 and N3 showed higher diversity than those from N1. The dissimilarity among all areas was moderate (50–60%), mainly attributable to species turnover processes (77%). Twenty functional groups were identified. The N3 fragments had the highest functional diversity, with lower resistance to species loss, while the N1 and N2 fragments reduced functional diversity and increased similarity among species. Our results highlight the importance of integrating a functional analysis with the taxonomic assessment of ants as an important contribution to understanding the organization and dynamics of this community of insects that inhabit the tropical dry forest.

Leaderless consensus decision-making determines cooperative transport direction in weaver ants.

Animal groups need to achieve and maintain consensus to minimize conflict among individuals and prevent group fragmentation. An excellent example of a consensus challenge is cooperative transport, where multiple individuals cooperate to move a large item together. This behaviour, regularly displayed by ants and humans only, requires individuals to agree on which direction to move in. Unlike humans, ants cannot use verbal communication but most likely rely on private information and/or mechanical forces sensed through the carried item to coordinate their behaviour. Here, we investigated how groups of weaver ants achieve consensus during cooperative transport using a tethered-object protocol, where ants had to transport a prey item that was tethered in place with a thin string. This protocol allows the decoupling of the movement of informed ants from that of uninformed individuals. We showed that weaver ants pool together the opinions of all group members to increase their navigational accuracy. We confirmed this result using a symmetry-breaking task, in which we challenged ants with navigating an open-ended corridor. Weaver ants are the first reported ant species to use a 'wisdom-of-the-crowd' strategy for cooperative transport, demonstrating that consensus mechanisms may differ according to the ecology of each species.

Foraging trail traffic rules: a new study method of trajectories of the harvester ants.

Harvester ants are one of the most extensively studied groups of ants, especially the group foraging ants, Messor barbarus (Linnaeus, 1767), which construct long-lasting trunk trails. Limited laboratory investigations have delved into head-on encounters along foraging trails involving workers moving in opposing directions, with fewer corresponding studies conducted in the natural environment. To address this gap, we devised an in-field experimental design to induce lane segregation on the foraging trunk trail of M. barbarus. Using an image-based tracking method, we analyzed the foraging behavior of this species to assess the costs associated with head-on encounters and to figure out the natural coexistence of outgoing and returning workers on a bidirectional route. Our results consistently reveal heightened straightness and speed in unidirectional test lanes, accompanied by an elevated foraging rate compared to bidirectional lanes. This suggests a potential impact of head-on collisions on foraging behavior, especially on foraging efficiency. Additionally, Kinematic analysis revealed distinct movement patterns between outbound and inbound flows, particularly low speed and sinuous trajectories of inbounding unladen workers. The study of encounter rates in two traffic systems hints at the plausible utilization of individual memory by workers within trails, underscoring the pivotal role of encounters in information exchange and load transfer.

Battles between ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): a review.

With their unique colony structure, competition between ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) can be particularly intense, with colonies potentially willing to sacrifice large number of individuals to obtain resources or territory under the right circumstances. In this review, we cover circumstances in which ant competition escalates into combat, battle strategies and tactics, and analysis methods for these battles. The trends for when colonies choose to fight can vary greatly dependent on the species and situation, which we review in detail. Because of their large group sizes, ant conflicts can follow different patterns than many other species, with a variety of specialist adaptations and battle strategies, such as specialized worker classes and the need to rapidly recruit large number of compatriots. These same large group sizes also can make ant fighting amenable to mathematical analysis, particularly in the context of Lanchester's laws that consider how total numbers influence the outcome of a confrontation. Yet, dynamic behavior can often disrupt idealized mathematical predictions in real-world scenarios, even though these can still shed light on the explanations for such behavior. We also systematically cover the literature on battles between groups of ants, presenting several other interesting studies on species with unique colony organization, such as army ants and leafcutter ants.

Lonicera flos and Curcuma longa L. extracts improve growth performance, antioxidant capacity and immune response in broiler chickens.

Alternatives to antibiotics are urgently needed to maintain broiler growth and health. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of Lonicera flos and Curcuma longa L. extracts (LCE) as antibiotic substitutes on growth performance, antioxidant capacity and immune response in broilers. A total of 480 one-day-old female broilers (WOD168) were allocated to 3 treatments with 5 replicates of 32 birds for 35 days. The 3 treatments were: an antibiotic-free basal diet (control, CON), CON +50 mg/kg spectinomycin hydrochloride and 25 mg/kg lincomycin hydrochloride (ANT), CON +500 mg/kg LCE (LCE). During the entire experimental period, supplementation of ANT and LCE increased (p < 0.01) average daily gain (ADG) and decreased (p < 0.05) feed conversion ratio (FCR), thereby resulting in greater final body weight (BW) compared with CON. Dietary LCE supplementation increased (p < 0.05) serum (glutathione peroxidase) GSH-Px, (superoxide dismutase) SOD and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) activities, and decreased (p < 0.05) serum malonaldehyde (MDA) concentration at day 35 compared with CON. There was no significant difference in serum catalase (CAT) activity among treatments. Birds in LCE group had lower (p < 0.05) MDA concentration and higher SOD activity in liver than those in CON and ANT groups at day 35. Birds in LCE group had higher (p < 0.05) phagocytic index and serum antibody titers to Newcastle disease virus (NDV) than those in CON group. Lower (p < 0.05) concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines and higher (p < 0.05) concentrations of anti-inflammatory cytokines in serum and liver were observed in birds fed LCE diet than those fed CON diet. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of LCE improved growth performance by enhancing antioxidant capacity, strengthening immune system and alleviating inflammation, which has potential as antibiotic alternatives.

Indirect effects of low-impact thinning on insect communities in forest floor of coniferous plantations

ABSTRACT To reveal the effects of low-impact thinning of coniferous planted forests on insects’ diversity, we investigated the relationship among cover degree and the number of plant species and the number of insect species in eight functional groups of herbivorous beetles, ants and carabid beetles at 63 sites of Japanese cedar and cypress which were thinned or unthinned and located in the middle of Japan. We found that when low thinning was applied to approximately 30% of the stand density, the number of plant species increased from the following year, and cover degree moderately increased in the years following thinning, although canopy openness did not significantly change. Using structural equation modeling, we found that the number of herbivorous beetle species increased with the cover degree increment of feeding-intended plants (woody-plants and herbs/vines) in the 4–8 years after thinning. The number of species of woody-plant feeding beetles also increased with an increase in the number of herb/vine plant species. For ant species, the number of habitat generalist species increased in the 4–8 years after thinning or with cover degree increment, although no response was observed in woodland specialist and open-habitat specialist species. For carabid beetle species, only the number of large-size species, not including open-habitat specialists, increased with cover degree increment. It was considered that there were moderate, and yet sustainable, positive effects of low-impact thinning on species diversity of forest-floor-inhabiting insects via understory vegetation increment with a lag-time, and no promotion of migration of non-forest-habitat ant and carabid beetle species.

Effects of Different Feed Additives on Intestinal Metabolite Composition of Weaned Piglets.

To study the effects of different feed additives on the weaning stress of Tibetan piglets, we selected 28 healthy, 30-day-old Tibetan weaned piglets and divided them into four groups, namely, the control group (basal feed without any antibiotic additions) (Nor), the group with the addition of the antibiotic lincomycin (Ant), the group with the addition of fifteen-flavor black pills of Tibetan medicine (Tib), and the group with the addition of fecal bacterial supernatant (Fec). We measured growth performance, blood physiological indexes, and metabolomics. The results showed that the Ant, Tib, and Fec groups significantly reduced the ratio of diarrhea to feed/weight (F/G) and increased the average daily gain (ADG) compared with the Nor group (p < 0.01). The Nor group had significantly lower leukocyte counts, hemoglobin levels, and erythrocyte counts compared with the other three groups at 21 d (p < 0.05). These physiological indexes tended to stabilize at 42 d. We found that there were beneficial metabolites and metabolic pathways for gastrointestinal function. Specifically, the porphyrin metabolic pathway was elevated in the Ant group, and the tryptophan metabolic pathway was significantly elevated in the Tib and Fec groups compared with the Nor group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, adding fecal bacterial supernatant and fifteen-flavor black pills of Tibetan medicine to the feed reduced the rate of diarrhea and improved the growth performance of the piglets. Moreover, it had an effect on the microorganisms and their metabolites and pathways in the gastrointestinal tract of the animals, which might be the main reason for influencing the diarrhea rate of weaned Tibetan piglets and the growth and development of the piglets. This study provides a new approach for anti-stress applications in weaned Tibetan piglets and the development of substitute anti-products.

Effects of Probiotic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HJLP-1 on Growth Performance, Selected Antioxidant Capacity, Immune Function Indices in the Serum, and Cecal Microbiota in Broiler Chicken.

This research study aimed to investigate the effects of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) on growth performance, oxidation resistance, immunity, and cecal microbiota in broilers. This work classed three hundred and sixty 1-day-old male broilers into three groups randomly, including a control group (CON, basal diet) and antibiotic (ANT, 75 mg kg-1 chlortetracycline added into basal diet) and probiotic groups (LP, 5 × 108 CFU kg-1Lactiplantibacillus plantarum HJLP-1 contained within basal diet). Animals were then fed for 42 days, and each group comprised eight replicates with 15 broilers. Compared with CON, L. plantarum supplementation significantly improved the average daily weight gain (AWDG) (p < 0.05) while reducing the feed-gain ratio over the entire supplemental period (p < 0.05). Birds fed L. plantarum had markedly lower serum ammonia and xanthine oxidase levels (p < 0.05) than those in the ANT and CON groups. Significant improvements (p < 0.05) in superoxide dismutase, catalase, and serum IgM and IgY contents in broilers fed L. plantarum were also observed when compared with those in the CON and ANT groups. Both L. plantarum and antibiotics decreased pro-inflammatory factor IL-1β levels significantly (p < 0.05), while only L. plantarum promoted anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 levels in the serum (p < 0.05) compared with CON. L. plantarum (p < 0.05) increased acetic acid and butyric acid concentrations in cecal contents when compared to those in CON and ANT. Among the differences revealed via 16S rRNA analysis, L. plantarum markedly improved the community richness of the cecal microbiota. At the genus level, the butyric acid-producing bacteria Ruminococcus and Lachnospiraceae were found in higher relative abundance in samples of L. plantarum-treated birds. In conclusion, dietary L. plantarum supplementation promoted the growth and health of broilers, likely by inducing a shift in broiler gut microbiota toward short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria. Therefore, L. plantarum has potential as an alternative to antibiotics in poultry breeding.

The Diversity of Wolbachia across the Turtle Ants (Formicidae: Cephalotes spp.).

Wolbachia is a widespread and well-known bacterium that can induce a wide range of changes within its host. Ants specifically harbor a great deal of Wolbachia diversity and are useful systems to study endosymbiosis. The turtle ants (Cephalotes) are a widespread group of tropical ants that rely on gut microbes to support their herbivorous diet for their survival, yet little is known of the extent of this diversity. Therefore, studying their endosymbionts and categorizing the diversity of bacteria within Cephalotes hosts could help to delimit species and identify new strains and can help lead to a further understanding of how the microbiome leads to survival and speciation in the wild. In our study, 116 individual samples were initially tested for positive infection with the wsp gene. Of the initial 116 samples, 9 samples were infected with only one strain of Wolbachia, and 7 were able to be used successfully for multilocus sequence typing (MLST). We used the new MLST data to infer a phylogeny with other Formicidae samples from the MLST online database to identify new Wolbachia strains and related genes, of which only one came back as an exact match. The 18 Wolbachia-positive samples ranged across 15 different species and 7 different countries, which we further test for species identity and geographic correlation. This study is the first comprehensive look into the diversity of Wolbachia in the turtle ants, providing insight into how endosymbionts are oriented in widespread species and providing a strong foundation for further research in host-microbe interactions.

New Miocene Mexican amber ant (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) of the genus Pheidole Westwood, 1839

ABSTRACT The genus Pheidole Westwood, 1839 is considered the most species-diverse group of extant ants in the World. A new fossil species of ant Pheidole chaan sp. nov. (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) based on one worker and one soldier is described and illustrated from the Miocene of México. The type material comprises a syninclusion from Simojovel, Chiapas, México, providing the elements to recognise the new species through morphological characters of soldier and worker castes. Pheidole chaan sp. nov. is characterised by the following combination of characters: Soldier. Head longitudinally striated; median impression area between vertex of head and posterior margin of clypeus, close to the frontal carenas; dorsal surface of mandibles smooth, lateral surface of mandibles longitudinally striated; internal margin of scapes sinuous; propodeal spines well-developed with basal area as width as tall. Worker: vertex of head concave; entire head with coarse punctures; compound eyes protruding laterally from margin of head; mesonotal groove deep, forming a U-shape concavity; petiole forming a thin triangular-shaped node. Pheidole chaan sp. nov from Miocene increases the knowledge of myrmecological biodiversity of the genus Pheidole and helps elucidate the origins and history of recent past of the clade in the New World.

Spatial and temporal variation of the Formicidae assemblage in different forest types of the Chaco Seco ecoregion, Argentina

Ants have been widely used as bioindicators of natural and disturbed environments. In Argentine Chaco Seco, ants represent an important part of the total biodiversity and fulfil various functions in forest ecosystems. With the aim of evaluating β diversity and identifying indicator ants, surveys were carried out in three types of implanted forests: Neltuma alba (mesquite), Eucalyptus tereticornis (eucalyptus) and mixed forests without intervention for 50 years, mainly composed of Ceiba speciosa and Phoenix canariensis, located at the Fernández Experimental Station of the Catholic University of Santiago del Estero. The samplings were carried out in spring, summer and autumn, between 2019 and 2022, using pitfall traps that remained active for 24 h. The abundance and composition of Formicidae at each site and season were evaluated using the Jaccard similarity index and generalized linear mixed models. A total of 7366 individuals grouped into 28 species belonging to 6 Formicidae subfamilies were identified. Some species were present at all sites and seasons, with Solenopsis saevissima, Camponotus mus and Pheidole bergii being the most abundant in the mesquite, eucalyptus and mixed stands, respectively. In addition, three exclusive species of N. alba, two of E. tereticornis and one of the mixed stand were identified. Furthermore, it was observed that the myrmecological composition varied seasonally, mainly during autumn. These results demonstrate that due to the characteristics of each site, representative groups of ants can be found for each that could be used as indicators of each type of environment and that the temporal variation of the communities is favored by the diversification of the habitats, which offer different resources during each season of the year, increasing the turnover rate.

Social Network Analysis of Ant Group

Through constructing animal social network structures based on the relationships between individual ants of two groups of ants, this essay utilizes social network analysis methods to compare the degree of concentration and utilization power on resource and information of these two groups.

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) in different urban green areas: an analysis of their taxonomic and functional diversity

ABSTRACT In cities, habitats classified as green areas are especially important for the conservation of species. Therefore, understanding how different biological groups are influenced by differences in the structures of green areas is relevant when planning urban environments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different types of green areas to the taxonomic and functional diversities of ants and spiders and to discuss the importance of green area management for both groups. We sampled three categories of green areas: forest fragments (40 sample points), vacant lots (20) and gardens/backyards (20), where we evaluated the taxonomic and functional richness and composition of both groups of organisms. At each sample point, we used several techniques, such as: entomological umbrella, Winkler extractors and manual collection. We sampled 149 ant species and 97 spider species. Our results demonstrate that there are differences in the diversity of ants and spiders, as well as in the number of functional groups of ants between the different types of green areas. As expected, forest fragments are the ones that most contribute to the observed diversity, and our findings highlight the importance of evaluating the biotic influence of green areas at a smaller spatial scale.

Fungi as mutualistic partners in ant-plant interactions.

Associations between fungi and ants living in mutualistic relationship with plants ("plant-ants") have been known for a long time. However, only in recent years has the mutualistic nature, frequency, and geographical extent of associations between tropical arboreal ants with fungi of the ascomycete order Chaetothyriales and Capnodiales (belonging to the so-called "Black Fungi") become clear. Two groups of arboreal ants displaying different nesting strategies are associated with ascomycete fungi: carton-building ants that construct nest walls and galleries on stems, branches or below leaves which are overgrown by fungal hyphae, and plant-ants that make their nests inside living plants (myrmecophytes) in plant provided cavities (domatia) where ants cultivate fungi in small delimited "patches". In this review we summarize the current knowledge about these unsuspected plant-ant-fungus interactions. The data suggest, that at least some of these ant-associated fungi seem to have coevolved with ants over a long period of time and have developed specific adaptations to this lifestyle.

Genetic Diversity in Pioneer Ants: The Cardiocondyla shuckardi Group

The myrmicine ant genus Cardiocondyla consists of around 80 species of small, inconspicuous ants, which live mainly in subtropical and tropical Africa, Eurasia, and Australia. Several species have been accidentally introduced to America and have also invaded numerous originally ant-free islands around the world. The diversity of life histories in this genus, with lethally fighting wingless males, dominance hierarchies among queens, and considerable variation in the sociogenetic organization of colonies across species, has made it an interesting model to investigate the evolution and behavioral ecology of reproductive strategies. Taxa of the African Cardiocondyla shuckardi group are of particular interest, as in a phylogeny they lie between facultatively polygynous species with fatal male competition and monogynous species with mutually tolerant males. Studies on male behavior and sociogenetics in C. “venustula,” a widespread member of the C. shuckardi group, showed that males defend small territories inside their subterraneous nests. At the same time, they revealed a surprisingly large variability in mtDNA haplotypes both within and between populations in South Africa, Angola, and Côte d’Ivoire. As the different lineages are very similar in morphology and nuclear markers, more research is needed to clarify the very confused taxonomic situation in this fascinating group of ants.

Learning Causal Biological Networks with Parallel Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm.

A wealth of causal relationships exists in biological systems, both causal brain networks and causal protein signaling networks are very classical causal biological networks (CBNs). Learning CBNs from biological signal data reliably is a critical problem today. However, most of the existing methods are not excellent enough in terms of accuracy and time performance, and tend to fall into local optima because they do not take full advantage of global information. In this paper, we propose a parallel ant colony optimization algorithm to learn causal biological networks from biological signal data, called PACO. Specifically, PACO first maps the construction of CBNs to ants, then searches for CBNs in parallel by simulating multiple groups of ants foraging, and finally obtains the optimal CBN through pheromone fusion and CBNs fusion between different ant colonies. Extensive experimental results on simulation data sets as well as two real-world data sets, the fMRI signal data set and the Single-cell data set, show that PACO can accurately and efficiently learn CBNs from biological signal data.

Ant Colony Optimization for Resistor Color Code Detection

In the early stages of learning resistors, introducing color-based values is needed. Moreover, some combinations require a resistor trip analysis to identify. Unfortunately, a resistor body color is considered a local solution, which often confuses resistor coloration. Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is a heuristic algorithm that can recognize problems with traveling a group of ants. ACO is proposed to select commercial matrix values to be computed without preventing local solutions. In this study, each explores the matrix based on pheromones and heuristic information to generate local solutions. Global solutions are selected based on their high degree of similarity with other local solutions. The first stage of testing focuses on exploring variations of parameter values. Applying the best parameters resulted in 85% accuracy and 43 seconds for 20 resistor images. This method is expected to prevent local solutions without wasteful computation of the matrix.

Management of ant pests in urban environments

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are social insects and important pests in the urban environment. The main groups of pest ants in the urban environment are leafcutter and house ants. Leaf-cutter ants cause crescent-shaped defoliation of plants, where in the urban environment it causes problems in gardens and ornamental plants. Domestic ants cause human health problems, contaminate food and cause problems in equipment and buildings. In this work, we propose an integrated ant management program in urban environments. For that, a bibliographic review was carried out addressing the following topics: life cycle of ants, main groups of pest ants, factors that influence their attack, decision-making systems, management strategies and tactics. It is observed that ants are pests that are difficult to control, and successful control is related to the correct execution of the various components of integrated pest management. Regarding control tactics, chemical control is the main method used to control ants in urban environments because the effectiveness of other methods (ie, biological and behavioral control) is poor.

Agitated ants: regulation and self-organization of incipient nest excavation via collisional cues.

Ants are millimetres in scale yet collectively create metre-scale nests in diverse substrates. To discover principles by which ant collectives self-organize to excavate crowded, narrow tunnels, we studied incipient excavation in small groups of fire ants in quasi-two-dimensional arenas. Excavation rates displayed three stages: initially excavation occurred at a constant rate, followed by a rapid decay, and finally a slower decay scaling in time as t-1/2. We used a cellular automata model to understand such scaling and motivate how rate modulation emerges without global control. In the model, ants estimated their collision frequency with other ants, but otherwise did not communicate. To capture early excavation rates, we introduced the concept of 'agitation'-a tendency of individuals to avoid rest if collisions are frequent. The model reproduced the observed multi-stage excavation dynamics; analysis revealed how parameters affected features of multi-stage progression. Moreover, a scaling argument without ant-ant interactions captures tunnel growth power-law at long times. Our study demonstrates how individual ants may use local collisional cues to achieve functional global self-organization. Such contact-based decisions could be leveraged by other living and non-living collectives to perform tasks in confined and crowded environments.