Rocha Franklin H, Lachaud Jean-Paul, Hénaut Yann, Pozo Carmen, Pérez-Lachaud Gabriela
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Conservación de la Biodiversidad, Avenida Centenario km 5.5, Chetumal 77014, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse; CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse, France.
Insects. 2020 Mar 23;11(3):200. doi: 10.3390/insects11030200.
In the Yucatan Peninsula, the ponerine ant nests almost exclusively in tank bromeliads, In this study, we aimed to determine the factors influencing nest site selection during nest relocation which is regularly promoted by hurricanes in this area. Using ants with and without previous experience of , we tested their preference for refuges consisting of leaves over two other bromeliads, and . We further evaluated bromeliad-associated traits that could influence nest site selection (form and size). Workers with and without previous contact with significantly preferred this species over others, suggesting the existence of an innate attraction to this bromeliad. However, preference was not influenced by previous contact with . Workers easily discriminated between shelters of and , but not those of the closely related . In marked contrast, ants discriminated between similar sized and plants, suggesting that chemical cues and plant structure play an important role. Size was also significant as they selected the largest plant when provided two dissimilar plants. Nest site selection by workers seems to depend on innate preferences but familiarization with plant stimuli is not excluded.
在尤卡坦半岛，猛蚁几乎只在凤梨科植物的叶腋中筑巢。在本研究中，我们旨在确定在该地区经常受到飓风影响而进行巢穴迁移期间影响巢穴选址的因素。我们使用有过和没有过相关经验的蚂蚁，测试它们对由叶片组成的避难所相对于另外两种凤梨科植物的偏好。我们进一步评估了可能影响巢穴选址的与凤梨科植物相关的特征（形态和大小）。有过和没有过与该凤梨科植物接触经验的工蚁明显比其他种类更偏好这种植物，这表明对这种凤梨科植物存在一种先天的吸引力。然而，偏好不受与其他凤梨科植物接触经验的影响。工蚁能够轻易区分该凤梨科植物和另一种凤梨科植物的避难所，但不能区分与之亲缘关系较近的另一种凤梨科植物的避难所。与之形成显著对比的是，蚂蚁能够区分大小相似的两种凤梨科植物，这表明化学信号和植物结构起着重要作用。当提供两种不同的该凤梨科植物时，它们选择最大的植株，这说明大小也是一个重要因素。猛蚁工蚁的巢穴选址似乎取决于先天偏好，但也不排除对植物刺激的熟悉程度的影响。
