Characterization of recruitment through tandem running in an Indian queenless ant Diacamma indicum
Tandem running is a primitive recruitment method employed by many ant genera. This study characterizes this behaviour during the recruitment of colony mates to a new nest in an Indian ant Diacamma indicum. Tandem leaders who have knowledge of the new nest lead a single follower at a time, to the des...
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Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.160476 |
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doaj-c2d1cfe8391e4b408cf17139b34d4dcb2020-11-25T04:10:32ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032017-01-014110.1098/rsos.160476160476Characterization of recruitment through tandem running in an Indian queenless ant Diacamma indicumRajbir KaurJoby JosephKarunakaran AnoopAnnagiri SumanaTandem running is a primitive recruitment method employed by many ant genera. This study characterizes this behaviour during the recruitment of colony mates to a new nest in an Indian ant Diacamma indicum. Tandem leaders who have knowledge of the new nest lead a single follower at a time, to the destination by maintaining physical contact. In order to characterize tandem running, we captured and analysed 621 invitations, 217 paths and 226 termination events. Remarkably, not a single colony member was lost. While invitations were stereotypic in behaviour, termination was not. Analysis of speed revealed that the average transport speed was 4.2 cm s−1. Coupled adult-brood transport was slower than other transports but was more efficient than individual trips. Comparing tandem running with other popular recruitment methods in ants allows us to postulate that even though tandem running is primitive it is probably just another means to achieve the same end.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.160476diacamma indicumcommunicationdirect recruitmentpath efficiencytandem running speed |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Rajbir Kaur Joby Joseph Karunakaran Anoop Annagiri Sumana |
spellingShingle |
Rajbir Kaur Joby Joseph Karunakaran Anoop Annagiri Sumana Characterization of recruitment through tandem running in an Indian queenless ant Diacamma indicum Royal Society Open Science diacamma indicum communication direct recruitment path efficiency tandem running speed |
author_facet |
Rajbir Kaur Joby Joseph Karunakaran Anoop Annagiri Sumana |
author_sort |
Rajbir Kaur |
title |
Characterization of recruitment through tandem running in an Indian queenless ant Diacamma indicum |
title_short |
Characterization of recruitment through tandem running in an Indian queenless ant Diacamma indicum |
title_full |
Characterization of recruitment through tandem running in an Indian queenless ant Diacamma indicum |
title_fullStr |
Characterization of recruitment through tandem running in an Indian queenless ant Diacamma indicum |
title_full_unstemmed |
Characterization of recruitment through tandem running in an Indian queenless ant Diacamma indicum |
title_sort |
characterization of recruitment through tandem running in an indian queenless ant diacamma indicum |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
series |
Royal Society Open Science |
issn |
2054-5703 |
publishDate |
2017-01-01 |
description |
Tandem running is a primitive recruitment method employed by many ant genera. This study characterizes this behaviour during the recruitment of colony mates to a new nest in an Indian ant Diacamma indicum. Tandem leaders who have knowledge of the new nest lead a single follower at a time, to the destination by maintaining physical contact. In order to characterize tandem running, we captured and analysed 621 invitations, 217 paths and 226 termination events. Remarkably, not a single colony member was lost. While invitations were stereotypic in behaviour, termination was not. Analysis of speed revealed that the average transport speed was 4.2 cm s−1. Coupled adult-brood transport was slower than other transports but was more efficient than individual trips. Comparing tandem running with other popular recruitment methods in ants allows us to postulate that even though tandem running is primitive it is probably just another means to achieve the same end. |
topic |
diacamma indicum communication direct recruitment path efficiency tandem running speed |
url |
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.160476 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT rajbirkaur characterizationofrecruitmentthroughtandemrunninginanindianqueenlessantdiacammaindicum AT jobyjoseph characterizationofrecruitmentthroughtandemrunninginanindianqueenlessantdiacammaindicum AT karunakarananoop characterizationofrecruitmentthroughtandemrunninginanindianqueenlessantdiacammaindicum AT annagirisumana characterizationofrecruitmentthroughtandemrunninginanindianqueenlessantdiacammaindicum |
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