Duarte Bianca F, Michelutti Kamylla B, Antonialli-Junior William F, Cardoso Claudia A L
Centro de Estudos em Recursos Naturais (CERNA), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Recursos Naturais, Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul 79804-970, Brazil.
Centro de Estudos em Recursos Naturais (CERNA), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Recursos Naturais, Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul 79804-970, Brazil; Centro de Estudos em Recursos Naturais (CERNA), Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental (LABECO), Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul, Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul 79804-970, Brazil.
J Therm Biol. 2019 Feb;80:178-189. doi: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2019.02.005. Epub 2019 Feb 2.
Climatic factors, such as temperature variation, interfere with the survival of insects. To respond to these variations, insects have some specific characteristics. These include water content of the body, thickness of the lipid layer, as well as the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of cuticular chemical components. This study hypothesizes that different ant species respond to temperature changes in different ways and that such differences may be associated with cuticle hydrocarbons (CHCs) and fatty acids. As model ant species, Atta sexdens, Odontomachus bauri and Ectatomma brunneum were used for experimental analyses. Ants were submitted to a water bath for 5 h at different temperatures, and their CHCs and fatty acids were identified and quantified, followed by correlating these chemical compounds with temperature variations and the survival. Temperatures below 30 °C did not affect the survival of the three species. E. brunneum had a higher percentage of survival at temperatures above 30 °C. O. bauri was the most sensitive species with 100% mortality at 40 °C. Survival was found to be unrelated to any of the identified fatty acids. However, CHCs underwent significant quantitative and qualitative variation, as shown by an increased percentage of CHCs with longer chain length of linear alkanes at temperatures above 30 °C. These increase enables these ants to maintain the integrity of their cuticle and survive at temperatures above 30 °C. It can be concluded that the forager ants studied respond differently to temperature variation and that changes in the conformation of CHCs are in line with the ecological characteristics of the different studied species because, they vary in terms of diurnal/nocturnal foraging and types of environments foraged. Among the three species, E. brunneum foragers were found to be more active under adverse conditions and more tolerant to temperature variation with the correspondingly appropriate changes in CHCs composition.
气候因素，如温度变化，会影响昆虫的生存。为了应对这些变化，昆虫具有一些特定特征。这些特征包括身体的含水量、脂质层的厚度以及表皮化学成分的定性和定量特征。本研究假设不同种类的蚂蚁对温度变化的反应方式不同，且这种差异可能与表皮碳氢化合物（CHCs）和脂肪酸有关。作为模式蚂蚁种类，使用了六齿切叶蚁、巴氏猛蚁和布氏真猛蚁进行实验分析。将蚂蚁置于不同温度的水浴中5小时，然后对其CHCs和脂肪酸进行鉴定和定量，接着将这些化合物与温度变化及生存率进行关联分析。低于30°C的温度并未影响这三种蚂蚁的生存。布氏真猛蚁在30°C以上的温度下生存率较高。巴氏猛蚁是最敏感的种类，在40°C时死亡率为100%。研究发现生存率与任何已鉴定的脂肪酸均无关联。然而，CHCs在数量和质量上都发生了显著变化，例如在30°C以上的温度下，具有较长链长度的线性烷烃的CHCs百分比增加。这些增加使这些蚂蚁能够维持其表皮的完整性，并在30°C以上的温度下生存。可以得出结论，所研究的觅食蚂蚁对温度变化的反应不同，且CHCs构象的变化与不同研究种类的生态特征一致，因为它们在昼夜觅食和觅食环境类型方面存在差异。在这三种蚂蚁中，发现布氏真猛蚁的觅食者在不利条件下更活跃，对温度变化更具耐受性，且CHCs组成相应地发生了适当变化。
