O'Fallon Sean, Lowell Eva Sofia Horna, Daniels Doug, Pinter-Wollman Noa
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
UCLA Library, 280 Charles E Young Dr N, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Behav Ecol. 2022 Apr 13;33(3):644-653. doi: 10.1093/beheco/arac026. eCollection 2022 May-Jun.
Behavior is shaped by genes, environment, and evolutionary history in different ways. Nest architecture is an extended phenotype that results from the interaction between the behavior of animals and their environment. Nests built by ants are extended phenotypes that differ in structure among species and among colonies within a species, but the source of these differences remains an open question. To investigate the impact of colony identity (genetics), evolutionary history (species), and the environment on nest architecture, we compared how two species of harvester ants, and , construct their nests under different environmental conditions. For each species, we allowed workers from four colonies to excavate nests in environments that differed in temperature and humidity for seven days. We then created casts of each nest to compare nest structures among colonies, between species, and across environmental conditions. We found differences in nest structure among colonies of the same species and between species. Interestingly, however, environmental conditions did not have a strong influence on nest structure in either species. Our results suggest that extended phenotypes are shaped more strongly by internal factors, such as genes and evolutionary history, and are less plastic in response to the abiotic environment, like many physical and physiological phenotypes.
行为以不同方式受到基因、环境和进化史的影响。巢穴结构是一种扩展表型，它是动物行为与其环境相互作用的结果。蚂蚁建造的巢穴是扩展表型，其结构在不同物种之间以及同一物种内的不同蚁群之间存在差异，但这些差异的来源仍是一个悬而未决的问题。为了研究蚁群特性（遗传学）、进化史（物种）和环境对巢穴结构的影响，我们比较了两种收获蚁，即[具体物种1]和[具体物种2]，在不同环境条件下建造巢穴的方式。对于每个物种，我们让来自四个蚁群的工蚁在温度和湿度不同的环境中挖掘巢穴，为期七天。然后我们制作了每个巢穴的模型，以比较不同蚁群之间、不同物种之间以及不同环境条件下的巢穴结构。我们发现同一物种的不同蚁群之间以及不同物种之间的巢穴结构存在差异。然而，有趣的是，环境条件对这两个物种的巢穴结构都没有强烈影响。我们的结果表明，扩展表型更多地受到内部因素的强烈影响，如基因和进化史，并且对非生物环境的可塑性较小，这与许多物理和生理表型类似。
