Find research datasets worth reusing

opencc-by-sa-4.0Jul 2018View details →

Video of surface rendering of internal head structures in Melissotarsus worker ants, specialised for chewing healthy wood.

Ants of the genus Melissotarsus (subfamily Myrmicinae) inhabit tunnel systems excavated in the wood of living trees, where they keep large numbers of symbiotic armoured scale insects (Diaspididae). Tunnelling through healthy wood requires tremendous power. We investigated morphology of the musculoskeletal system of Melissotarsus using X-ray microcomputed tomography and 3D modelling (Khalife et al. 2018). Segmented structures inside one half of the head of a Melissotarsus worker: mandible (pale green; tip cut off); closer muscles of mandible (orange); closer apodeme (red); opener muscles of mandible (light blue); opener apodeme (dark blue); brain and suboesophageal ganglion (brown); tentorium and ventromedial phragma (green). Micro-CT scans were performed at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan. Segmentation of the reconstructed image stacks was performed with ITK-SNAP 3.6.0 Khalife A, Keller R, Billen J, Hita Garcia F, Economo E & Peeters C (2018) Skeletomuscular adaptations of head and legs of Melissotarsus ants for tunnelling through living wood. Frontiers in Zoology 15: 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-018-0277-6

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2017View details →

Skeletomuscular adaptations of head and legs of Melissotarsus ants for tunnelling through living wood

Micro-CT raw datasets (in DICOM format) used in "Skeletomuscular adaptations of head and legs of Melissotarsus ants for tunnelling through living wood"   Abstract: Background: While thousands of ant species are arboreal, very few are able to chew and tunnel through living wood. Ants of the genus Melissotarsus (subfamily Myrmicinae) inhabit tunnel systems excavated under the bark of living trees, where they keep large numbers of symbiotic armoured scale insects (family Diaspididae). Construction of these tunnels by chewing through healthy wood requires tremendous power, but the adaptations that give Melissotarsus these abilities are unclear. Here, we investigate the morphology of the musculoskeletal system of Melissotarsus using histology, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray spectrometry, X-ray microcomputed tomography (micro-CT), and 3D modelling. Results: Both the head and legs of Melissotarsus workers contain novel skeletomuscular adaptations to increase their ability to tunnel through living wood. The head is greatly enlarged dorsoventrally, with large mandibular closer muscles occupying most of the dorsal half of the head cavity, while ventrally-located opener muscles are also exceptionally large. This differs from the strong closing: opening asymmetry typical of most mandibulated animals, where closing the mandibles requires more force than opening. Furthermore, the mandibles are short and cone-shaped with a wide articulatory base that concentrates the force generated by the muscles towards the tips. The increased distance between the axis of mandibular rotation and the points of muscle insertion provides a mechanical advantage that amplifies the force from the closer and opener muscles. We suggest that the uncommonly strong opening action is required to move away crushed plant tissues during tunnelling and allow a steady forward motion. X-ray spectrometry showed that the tip of the mandibles is reinforced with zinc. Workers in this genus have aberrant legs, including mid- and hindlegs with hypertrophied coxae and stout basitarsi equipped with peg-like setae, and midleg femura pointed upward and close to the body. This unusual design famously prevents them from standing and walking on a normal two-dimensional surface. We reinterpret these unique traits as modifications to brace the body during tunnelling rather than locomotion per se. Conclusions: Melissotarsus represents an extraordinary case study of how the adaptation to – and indeed engineering of – a novel ecological niche can lead to the evolutionary redesign of core biomechanical systems.

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2020View details →

Figure 6 in Effect of mound size on intranest thermoregulation in the red wood ants Formicarufa and F. polyctena (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Figure 6. The dependence of heat fluxes on mound sizes in F. rufa and F. polyctena.

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2020View details →

Figure 4 in Effect of mound size on intranest thermoregulation in the red wood ants Formicarufa and F. polyctena (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Figure 4. Kernel density estimation of F.rufa and F. polyctena nest illuminations.

opencc-by-4.0May 2022View details →

Fig. 6 in Red wood Ants (Formica rufa-group) prefer mature pine forests in Variscan granite environments (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Fig. 6 – Preferred terrain exposure of RWA nests in a, MG (n=2,328) and b, FB (n=2,829) study area.

dryad36/100

Differences in thermal tolerance between parental species could fuel thermal adaptation in hybrid wood ants

Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.

publicMar 2021View details →

opennotspecifiedAug 2017View details →

Fig. 1 in Distribution and habitat requirements of red wood ants in Switzerland: Implications for conservation

Fig. 1. Distribution of mounds of red wood ants (Formica rufa group) in Switzerland, based on a systematic survey of forest plots. Each triangle denotes a plot in which one or more mounds were recorded. a) All F. rufa group species. b) F. lugubris. c) F. paralugubris. d) F. aquilonia. e) F. rufa. f) F. polyctena. Solid line: border between Swiss Plateau and Alps. Dashed line: border between Jura Mountains and Swiss Plateau.

Fig. 35 in A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic members of the Formica rufa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - the famous mound-building red wood ants

Fig. 35: Nest-sample means of the discriminant score and the first factor of principal component analysis of workers of For- mica truncorum (white dots) and of Formica sinensis (black rhombs) considering seven phenotypic characters. The posi- tions of the single type specimens of F. truncorum FABRICIUS, 1804 (abbreviation TM), Formica truncicola NYLANDER, 1846 (TA), and Formica yessensis WHEELER, 1913 (YE) and of the type series of Formica approximans WHEELER, 1933 (AP), F. sinensis WHEELER, 1913 (SI), and Formica wongi WU, 1990 (WO) are indicated by arrows.

Fig. 34 in A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic members of the Formica rufa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - the famous mound-building red wood ants

Fig. 34: Nest-sample means of a linear discriminant analysis and principal component analysis of workers of Formica frontalis (black rhombs) and Formica truncorum (white dots). Six phenotypic characters were considered.

Fig. 25 in A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic members of the Formica rufa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - the famous mound-building red wood ants

Fig. 25: Position of the type samples of Formica major NY- LANDER, 1849 (MA) and Formica constricta KARAVAJEV, 1929 (CO) in a linear discriminant analysis considering 58 nest samples of Formica polyctena (black squares), 27 nest samples of Formica aquilonia × polyctena or backcrosses (white dots), and 75 nest samples of F. aquilonia (black rhombs). The type samples were run as wild-cards. Sixteen phenotypic characters were considered.

Fig.26 in A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic members of the Formica rufa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - the famous mound-building red wood ants

Fig.26: Principal component analysis of gynes of Formica polyctena (black squares, n = 33), Formica aquilonia × polyctena or backcrosses (white dots, n = 18), and F. aquilonia (black rhombs, n = 29). Twenty-four phenotypic characters were considered.

Fig.23 in A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic members of the Formica rufa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - the famous mound-building red wood ants

Fig.23: Linear discriminant analysis of 169 samples of workers of Formica rufa (white rhombs), Formica polyctena × rufa and backcrosses (black squares), and F. polyctena (white dots) considering 12 morphological characters. The missing gaps between the clusters indicate introgression and prevent a clear discrimination of hybrids from parental species. Note that the frequency of hybrids in the analysis is about fivefold larger than expected for random sampling all over Europe.

Figs.14-20 in A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic members of the Formica rufa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - the famous mound-building red wood ants

Figs.14-20: (14-lugu) Formica lugubris, worker, normal morph, head; central vertex suggestedly shiny due to weaker transverse microsculpture. (15-lugu) Formica lugubris, worker, Hippie morph, head; central vertex suggestedly shiny due to weaker transverse microsculpture. (16-helv) Formica helvetica sp.n., worker, holotype, head. (17-helv) Formica helvetica sp.n., worker, holotype, lateral. (18-trun) Formica truncorum, worker, head. (19-trun) Formica truncorum, gyne, head. (20-sine) Formica sinensis, worker, lateral; note the contrast between weak pronotal and strong gular pilosity.

Fig.2 in A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic members of the Formica rufa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - the famous mound-building red wood ants

Fig.2: Formica polyctena, gyne; paramedian surface of the dorsum of first gaster tergite. There is some trend to show stronger transverse microripples and a more dilute pubescence than Formica rufa.

Fig. 36 in A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic members of the Formica rufa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - the famous mound-building red wood ants

Fig. 36: Worker nest-sample means of principal component analysis of Formica aquilonia (white squares, 75 nest samples) and of Formica lugubris (black dots, 217 nest samples) from the whole Palaearctic range considering 10 phenotypic char- acters. The black square marks the F. aquilonia sample from Severobaikalsk with a mtDNA haplotype clustering with that of syntopic F. lugubris. Formica lugubris samples with very large scores of first principal component do mainly or fully contain workers of the Fennoscandian Hippie morph.