Laboratório de Biologia Comportamental, PPG em Psicobiologia, Departamento de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, 59078-970, Natal, RN, Brazil.
Laboratório de Biologia Comportamental, PPG em Psicobiologia, Departamento de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, 59078-970, Natal, RN, Brazil
J Insect Sci. 2014 Jan 1;14. doi: 10.1093/jisesa/ieu082. Print 2014.
This study characterizes the foraging activity of the queenless ant Dinoponera quadriceps (Kempf) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in its natural environment by testing the hypotheses that foraging activity presents both daily and seasonal rhythmic variations, and that these rhythms are related to environmental variables. Four colonies of D. quadriceps were observed in an area of secondary Atlantic forest in northeastern Brazil. Data collection was performed over 72 h every three months during an annual cycle. Both daily and seasonal foraging activity rhythms of D. quadriceps colonies were related to environmental factors, but colony differences also explained part of foraging variations. Foraging activity of D. quadriceps colonies was predominantly diurnal independently of season. In the early dry season, the colonies had two activity peaks, one in the morning and another in the afternoon, with a decrease in foraging at midday; however, during the rest of the year, foraging activity was distributed more evenly throughout the daylight hours. The daily rhythm of foraging activity was likely determined by an endogenous circadian rhythm year-round, but in the dry season, temperature and relative humidity also influenced daily foraging activity, with a negative effect of temperature and a positive effect of relative humidity. On a seasonal scale, foraging activity peaked in the early dry season and suddenly declined at the end of this season, increasing again at the late rainy season. The seasonal rhythm of foraging was negatively related to relative humidity and positively related to prey availability.
本研究通过测试以下两个假设来描述无后女王Dinoponera quadriceps（Kempf）（膜翅目：蚁科）在其自然环境中的觅食活动特征：觅食活动既具有日节律变化，也具有季节性节律变化；这些节律与环境变量有关。在巴西东北部的一个次生大西洋森林地区观察了四个 D. quadriceps 殖民地。在一个年度周期中，每三个月收集一次数据，持续 72 小时。D. quadriceps 殖民地的日节律和季节性觅食活动节律都与环境因素有关，但种群差异也解释了部分觅食变化。D. quadriceps 殖民地的觅食活动主要是昼行性的，与季节无关。在早旱季，殖民地有两个活动高峰，一个在早上，另一个在下午，中午觅食活动减少；然而，在一年中的其余时间，觅食活动在白天更均匀地分布。觅食活动的日节律可能全年由内源性昼夜节律决定，但在旱季，温度和相对湿度也影响每日觅食活动，温度有负影响，相对湿度有正影响。在季节性尺度上，觅食活动在早旱季达到峰值，然后在旱季结束时突然下降，在雨季后期再次增加。觅食的季节性节律与相对湿度呈负相关，与猎物丰度呈正相关。
