Lee S-H, Bardunias P, Su N-Y, Yang R-L
Department of Entomology and Nematology, Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33314, USA.
Behav Processes. 2008 Jul;78(3):397-400. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2008.02.009. Epub 2008 Feb 19.
Subterranean termites construct underground tunnels, tens to hundreds of meters in length, in order to search for and transport resources. Diverse soil conditions surrounding the tunnels, such as soil pores and differing moisture concentrations, may cause different sized- and shaped-irregularities in the tunnels. To understand how individual termites respond to the irregularities, the present study monitored the movement of termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, in artificially excavated tunnels with rectangular irregularities of varying sizes in two-dimensional sand substrates. Termites tunneled at some of the irregularities and not at the others. The tunneling or non-tunneling behavior resulted from four different responses. The non-tunneling response may result from a behavioral adaptation that allows termites to avoid wasting energy that may be used in foraging.
地下白蚁建造长度从几十米到几百米不等的地下隧道，以便寻找和运输资源。隧道周围多样的土壤条件，如土壤孔隙和不同的水分浓度，可能会导致隧道出现不同尺寸和形状的不规则情况。为了解个体白蚁如何应对这些不规则情况，本研究监测了台湾乳白蚁在二维砂质基质中人工挖掘的、具有不同尺寸矩形不规则形状的隧道中的活动。白蚁在一些不规则处挖掘隧道，而在其他不规则处则不挖掘。挖掘或不挖掘行为源于四种不同的反应。不挖掘反应可能是一种行为适应的结果，这种适应使白蚁能够避免浪费可能用于觅食的能量。
