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1,140 results for “Colony”
Data from: Estimating colony sizes of emerging bats using acoustic recordings
The decline of bats demands more widespread monitoring of populations for conservation and management. Current censusing methods are either prone to bias or require costly equipment. Here, we report a new method using passive acoustics to determine bat count census from overall acoustic amplitude of the emerging bat stream. We recorded the video and audio of an emerging colony of Mexican free-tailed bats from two cave locations across multiple nights. Instantaneous bat counts were calculated from the video frames, and the bat stream's acoustic amplitude corresponding to each video frame was determined using three different methods for calculating acoustic intensity. We found a significant link between all three acoustic parameters and bat count, with the highest R2 of 0.742 linking RMS pressure and bat count. Additionally, the relationship between acoustics and population size at one cave location could accurately predict the population size at another cave location. The data were gathered with low-cost, easy-to-operate equipment, and the data analysis can be easily accomplished using automated scripts or with open-source acoustic software. These results are a potential first step towards creating an acoustic model to estimate bat population at large cave colonies worldwide.
Data from: Molecular genetics unveiled unknown family relationships and hybrids in an ex-situ colony of African penguins (Spheniscus demersus)
Genealogical relationships among colony members, inbreeding status, and presence of hybrids are crucial data that can assist zoo curators in captive colony management and decision-making on relocation for reproduction. This study employed molecular markers to study a large colony (n=56) of African Penguin hosted in an Italian biopark. A panel of 15 STRs (single tandem repeats) was selected, and genotype data were analyzed using COLONY software to determine parentage relationships and compare the existing studbook information to a pedigree built from genetic analyses. The existence of extra-pair mating and the presence of hybrids were investigated: discrepancies in kinship relationships emerged following molecular parentage analysis and ten unknown genetic relationships were revealed. Infidelity of one member of the pair was observed in six cases and extra-pair copulation was assessed by genetic analysis in two episodes. One member of the colony was found to be a hybrid (S. demersus X S. humboldti); his progeny, derived by extra-pair copulation, was traced. Three other hidden hybrids were discovered and assessed using the identified candidate private alleles. Overall, our results demonstrate that molecular methods to confirm parentage and analyze relatedness among colony members are a valuable tool to complement studbook-based genetic management of African penguin captive populations. Because a variety of behavioral dynamics (e.g., extra-pair mating) can make observations ineffective in some species and because molecular markers outperform studbook in identifying the presence of hybrids, reliance on studbook information alone is not recommended.
Data from: A quantitative study of worker reproduction in queenright colonies of the Cape honey bee Apis mellifera capensis
Reproduction by workers is rare in honey bee colonies that have an active queen. By not producing their own offspring and preventing other workers from producing theirs, workers are thought to increase their inclusive fitness due to their higher average relatedness towards queen-produced male offspring compared with worker-produced male offspring. But there is one exception. Workers of the Cape honey bee Apis mellifera capensis are able to produce diploid female offspring via thelytokous parthenogenesis and thus produce clones of themselves. As a result, worker reproduction and tolerance towards worker-produced offspring is expected to be more permissive than in arrhenotokous (sub)species where worker offspring are male. Here we quantify the extent to which A. m. capensis workers contribute to reproduction in queenright colonies using microsatellite analyses of pre-emergent brood. We show that workers produced 10.2% of workers and 0.48% of drones. Most of the workers' contribution towards the production of new workers coincided with the colonies producing new queens during reproductive swarming.
Data from: Genetic diversity confers colony-level benefits due to individual immunity
Several costs and benefits arise as a consequence of eusociality and group-living. With increasing group size, spread of disease among nest-mates poses selective pressure on both individual immunity and group-level mechanisms of disease resistance (social immunity). Another factor known to influence colony-level expression of disease is intracolony genetic diversity, which in honeybees (Apis mellifera) is a direct function of the number of mates of the queen. Colonies headed by queens with higher mating numbers have less variable infections of decreased intensity, though the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. By pathogen-challenging larvae in vitro, we decoupled larval immune response from mechanisms of social immunity. Our results show that baseline immunity and degree of immune response do not vary with genetic diversity. However, intracolony variance in antimicrobial peptide production after pathogen challenge decreases with increasing genetic diversity. This reduction in variability of the larval immune response could drive the mitigation of disease observed in genetically diverse colonies.
Data from: The costs and benefits of decentralization and centralization of ant colonies
A challenge faced by individuals and groups of many species is determining how resources and activities should be spatially distributed: centralized or decentralized. This distribution problem is hard to understand due to the many costs and benefits of each strategy in different settings. Ant colonies are faced by this problem and demonstrate two solutions: (1) Centralizing resources in a single nest (monodomy); and (2) Decentralizing by spreading resources across many nests (polydomy). Despite the possibilities for using this system to study the centralization/decentralization problem, the trade-offs associated with using either polydomy or monodomy are poorly understood due to a lack of empirical data and cohesive theory. Here, we present a dynamic network model of a population of ant nests which is based on observations of a facultatively polydomous ant species (Formica lugubris). We use the model to test several key hypotheses for costs and benefits of polydomy and monodomy and show that decentralization is advantageous when resource acquisition costs are high, nest size is limited, resources are clustered and there is a risk of nest destruction, but centralization prevails when resource availability fluctuates and nest size is limited. Our model explains the phylogenetic and ecological diversity of polydomous ants, demonstrates several trade-offs of decentralization and centralization, and provides testable predictions for empirical work on ants and in other systems.
Data from: Plant-derived differences in the composition of aphid honeydew and their effects on colonies of aphid-tending ants
In plant–ant–hemipteran interactions, ants visit plants to consume the honeydew produced by phloem-feeding hemipterans. If genetically based differences in plant phloem chemistry change the chemical composition of hemipteran honeydew, then the plant's genetic constitution could have indirect effects on ants via the hemipterans. If such effects change ant behavior, they could feed back to affect the plant itself. We compared the chemical composition of honeydews produced by Aphis nerii aphid clones on two milkweed congeners, Asclepias curassavica and Asclepias incarnata, and we measured the responses of experimental Linepithema humile ant colonies to these honeydews. The compositions of secondary metabolites, sugars, and amino acids differed significantly in the honeydews from the two plant species. Ant colonies feeding on honeydew derived from A. incarnata recruited in higher numbers to artificial diet, maintained higher queen and worker dry weight, and sustained marginally more workers than ants feeding on honeydew derived from A. curassavica. Ants feeding on honeydew from A. incarnata were also more exploratory in behavioral assays than ants feeding from A. curassavica. Despite performing better when feeding on the A. incarnata honeydew, ant workers marginally preferred honeydew from A. curassavica to honeydew from A. incarnata when given a choice. Our results demonstrate that plant congeners can exert strong indirect effects on ant colonies by means of plant-species-specific differences in aphid honeydew chemistry. Moreover, these effects changed ant behavior and thus could feed back to affect plant performance in the field.
Data from: Colony-level differences in the scaling rules governing wood ant compound eye structure
Differential organ growth during development is essential for adults to maintain the correct proportions and achieve their characteristic shape. Organs scale with body size, a process known as allometry that has been studied extensively in a range of organisms. Such scaling rules, typically studied from a limited sample, are assumed to apply to all members of a population and/or species. Here we study scaling in the compound eyes of workers of the wood ant, Formica rufa, from different colonies within a single population. Workers' eye area increased with body size in all the colonies showing a negative allometry. However, both the slope and intercept of some allometric scaling relationships differed significantly among colonies. Moreover, though mean facet diameter and facet number increased with body size, some colonies primarily increased facet number whereas others increased facet diameter, showing that the cellular level processes underlying organ scaling differed among colonies. Thus, the rules that govern scaling at the organ and cellular levels can differ even within a single population.
Data from: The role of visual cues in mother–pup reunions in a colonially breeding mammal
Parental care is an important factor influencing offspring survival and adult reproductive success in many vertebrates. Parent-offspring recognition ensures care is only directed to filial young, avoiding the costs of misallocated resource transfer. It is essential in colonial mammal species, such as otariids (fur seals and sea lions), in which repeated mother-offspring separations increase the risk of misdirecting maternal effort. Identification of otariid pups by mothers is known to be multimodal, yet the role of visual cues in this process remains uncertain. We used 3-dimensional visual models to investigate the importance of visual cues in maternal recognition of pups in Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea). We showed that the colour pattern of pup pelage in the absence of any other sensory cues served to attract the attention of females and prompt investigation. Furthermore, females were capable of accurately distinguishing between models imitating the age-class of their own pup and those resembling older or younger age-classes. Our results suggest that visual cues facilitate age-class discrimination of pups by females and so are likely to play an important role in mother-pup reunions and recognition in otariid species.
Data from: Ant colonies maintain social homeostasis in the face of decreased density
Interactions lie at the heart of social organization, particularly in ant societies. Interaction rates are presumed to increase with density, but there is little empirical evidence for this. We manipulated density within carpenter ant colonies of the species Camponotus pennsylvanicus by quadrupling nest space and by manually tracking 6.9 million ant locations and over 3200 interactions to study the relationship between density, spatial organization and interaction rates. Colonies divided into distinct spatial regions on the basis of their underlying spatial organization and changed their movement patterns accordingly. Despite a reduction in both overall and local density, we did not find the expected concomitant reduction in interaction rates across all colonies. Instead, we found divergent effects across colonies. Our results highlight the remarkable organizational resilience of ant colonies to changes in density, which allows them to sustain two key basic colony life functions, that is food and information exchange, during environmental change.
Data from: Extreme genetic mixing within colonies of the wood-dwelling termite Kalotermes flavicollis (Isoptera, Kalotermitidae)
The existence of altruism in social insects is commonly attributed to altruistic individuals gaining indirect fitness through kin selection. However, recent studies suggest that such individuals might also gain direct fitness through reproduction. Experimental studies on primitive wood-dwelling termites revealed that colony fusion often causes the death of primary reproductives (queen and king), allowing opportunities for workers to inherit the nest by developing into replacement reproductives (neotenics). Therefore, colony fusion has been proposed as an important factor that may have favoured sociality in termites. However, whether colony fusion occurs frequently in natural populations of wood-dwelling termites remains an open question. We analysed eleven colonies of the wood-dwelling termite Kalotermes flavicollis (Kalotermitidae), using two mitochondrial and five nuclear microsatellite markers. Nine of eleven colonies (82%) were mixed families, with offspring of three or more primary reproductives. To our knowledge, this result represents the highest frequency of mixed-family colonies ever reported in termites. Moreover, genetic mixing of colonies appeared extreme in two ways. First, the number of haplotypes per colony was exceptionally high (up to nine), indicating that colonies were composed of multiple queens' offspring. Second, some mixed-family colonies included individuals belonging to two highly divergent genetic lineages. F-statistics and relatedness values suggest that mixed-family colonies most likely result from colony fusion, giving support to the accelerated nest inheritance theory. These findings raise important questions about the mode of foundation of mixed-family colonies and the evolutionary forces that maintain them within populations.
Data from: Pupal cocoons affect sanitary brood care and limit fungal infections in ant colonies
Background: The brood of ants and other social insects is highly susceptible to pathogens, particularly those that penetrate the soft larval and pupal cuticle. We here test whether the presence of a pupal cocoon, which occurs in some ant species but not in others, affects the sanitary brood care and fungal infection patterns after exposure to the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium brunneum. We use a) a comparative approach analysing four species with either naked or cocooned pupae and b) a within-species analysis of a single ant species, in which both pupal types co-exist in the same colony. Results: We found that the presence of a cocoon did not compromise fungal pathogen detection by the ants and that species with cocooned pupae increased brood grooming after pathogen exposure. All tested ant species further removed brood from their nests, which was predominantly expressed towards larvae and naked pupae treated with the live fungal pathogen. In contrast, cocooned pupae exposed to live fungus were not removed at higher rates than cocooned pupae exposed to dead fungus or a sham control. Consistent with this, exposure to the live fungus caused high numbers of infections and fungal outgrowth in larvae and naked pupae, but not in cocooned pupae. Moreover, the ants consistently removed the brood prior to fungal outgrowth, ensuring a clean brood chamber. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the pupal cocoon has a protective effect against fungal infection, causing an adaptive change in sanitary behaviours by the ants. It further demonstrates that brood removal - originally described for honeybees as "hygienic behaviour" – is a widespread sanitary behaviour in ants, which likely has important implications on disease dynamics in social insect colonies.
Data from: The carry-over effects of pollen shortage decrease the survival of honeybee colonies in farmlands
Many studies have reported honeybee colony losses in human-dominated landscapes. While bee floral food resources have been drastically reduced over past decades in human-dominated landscapes, no field study has yet been undertaken to determine whether there is a carry-over effect between seasonal disruption in floral resource availability and high colony losses. We investigated if a decline in the harvest of pollen by honeybees in spring affected managed honeybee colony dynamics (brood size, adult population and honey reserves) and health (Varroa mite loads and colony survival) throughout the beekeeping season. A decline in pollen harvest was associated with a direct reduction in brood production, leading to a negative effect on the adult population size later in the season, and lower honey reserves before the onset of winter. Furthermore, the decline in pollen harvest negatively impacted the health of the colony, resulting in higher Varroa mite loads and higher seasonal and winter colony losses. Early-warning signs of these carry-over effects were identified, showing that preferential investment in honey reserves instead of brood production early in the season increased the decline in pollen harvest and its associated carry-over effects. Synthesis and applications. The results suggest that the decline in pollen harvest may have been overlooked as a cause of pollen shortage and associated bee colony losses. Strategies to avoid such losses in intensive farmland systems include (i) limiting or avoiding honey harvests in spring, (ii) monitoring colonies for early-warning signals of colony failure and (iii) increasing the amount of floral resources available through wise land-use management.
Data from: Reproductive sharing in relation to group and colony-level attributes in a cooperative breeding fish
The degree to which group members share reproduction is dictated by both within-group (e.g. group size and composition) and between-group (e.g. density and position of neighbours) characteristics. While many studies have investigated reproductive patterns within social groups, few have simultaneously explored how within-group and between-group social structure influence these patterns. Here, we investigated how group size and composition, along with territory density and location within the colony, influenced parentage in 36 wild groups of a colonial, cooperatively breeding fish Neolamprologus pulcher. Dominant males sired 76% of offspring in their group, whereas dominant females mothered 82% of offspring in their group. Subordinate reproduction was frequent, occurring in 47% of sampled groups. Subordinate males gained more paternity in groups located in high-density areas and in groups with many subordinate males. Dominant males and females in large groups and in groups with many reproductively mature subordinates had higher rates of parentage loss, but only at the colony edge. Our study provides, to our knowledge, the first comprehensive quantification of reproductive sharing among groups of wild N. pulcher, a model species for the study of cooperation and social behaviour. Further, we demonstrate that the frequency of extra-pair parentage differs across small social and spatial scales.
Synchronization processes of new breeders in a bird colony
<p>Data set for the Ms Synchronization processes of new breeders in a bird colony.</p>
Self-adaptive Search Equation-Based Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm with CMA-ES on the Noiseless BBOB Testbed
<p>This file contains the data for results of SSEABC algorithm on BBOB functions testbed.</p>
Data from: Distinct colony boundaries and larval discrimination in polygyne red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta)
<p>Evaluating the factors that promote invasive ant abundance is critical to assess their ecological impact and inform their management. Many invasive ant species show reduced nestmate recognition and an absence of boundaries between unrelated nests, which allow populations to achieve greater densities due to reduced intraspecific competition. We examined nestmate discrimination and colony boundaries in introduced populations of the red imported fire ant (<i>Solenopsis invicta</i>; hereafter, fire ant). Fire ants occur in two social forms: monogyne (colonies with a single egg-laying queen) and polygyne (colonies with multiple egg-laying queens). In contrast with monogyne nests, polygyne nests are thought to be interconnected due to the reduced antagonism between non-nestmate polygyne workers, perhaps because polygyne workers habituate the colony to an odor unique to <i>Gp-9<sup>b</sup></i>-carrying adults. However, colony boundaries and nestmate discrimination are poorly documented, particularly for worker-brood interactions. To delimit boundaries between field colonies, we correlated the exchange of a <sup>15</sup>N-glycine tracer dissolved in a sucrose solution with social form. We also evaluated nestmate discrimination between polygyne workers and larvae in the laboratory. Counter to our expectations, polygyne colonies behaved identically to monogyne colonies, suggesting both social forms maintain strict colony boundaries. Polygyne workers also preferentially fed larval nestmates and may have selectively cannibalized non-nestmates. The levels of relatedness among workers in polygyne colonies was higher than those previously reported in North America (mean ±SE: 0.269 ± 0.037). Our study highlights the importance of combining genetic analyses with direct quantification of resource exchange to better understand the factors influencing ant invasions.</p>
Processed GPS tracks for breeding Herring Gulls from four colonies in the eastern Gulf of Maine, Canada
<p>Opportunist gulls use anthropogenic food subsidies, which can bolster populations, but negatively influence sensitive local ecosystems and areas of human settlement. In the eastern Gulf of Maine, Canada, breeding herring gulls <em>Larus argentatus </em>have access to resources from aquaculture, fisheries, and mink farms, but the relative influence of industry on local gull populations is unknown. In 2014, 2015, and 2019, we acquired and processed tracking data from GPS devices on 39 incubating herring gulls at four colonies with access to resources within the Canadian portion of the eastern Gulf of Maine marine and watershed ecosystem: three island colonies in Nova Scotia: Bon Portage (43.47°N, 65.75°W), Whitehead (43.66°N, 65.87°W), Brier (44.26°N, 66.38°W), and one island colony in New Brunswick: Kent (44.58°N, 66.76°W). The data in this repository were processed according to the methods provided in the article indicate below, and were used to address three main objectives (a) assess use of natural and anthropogenic habitats by herring gulls from multiple colonies, (b) evaluate variation among colonies in use of distinct resource types within these habitats, and (c) highlight areas of high gull:industry interaction. The results are published in the journal Wildlife Biology (doi: 10.2981/wlb.00804).</p>
Does hatch date set the clock? Timing of post-fledging movements for families of a colonially breeding, long-distance migratory songbird
<p><span>Factors that influence the development of migration timing in juvenile songbirds have implications for the ability of individuals to respond positively to rapid environmental changes. We investigated the impacts of nest timing on the post-fledging movement timing of juveniles and adults of a migratory songbird. We tested whether first egg date and environmental factors predicted the initiation of post-fledging stages: fledge date for juveniles, and colony departure date for both adults and juveniles. At breeding colonies of purple martin (<i>Progne subis</i>) in southern Ontario, Canada, we monitored nests to determine the date of nest initiation ('first egg date') and deployed 122 coded radio-frequency tracking tags on young and adults to determine the timing of post-fledging stages. We found that first egg date, the number of nestmates and age of parents were the main predictors of fledge date. Of these three factors, only first egg date was carried through post-fledge to influence colony departure date for juvenile birds, but this relationship weakened between first egg date and departure date. Nestmates tended to fledge together (range 0-4 days) but exhibited greater variation in colony departure timing (range 0-11 days). Further, while first egg influenced departure date, increasing variation between fledge and departure led to some birds departing breeding colonies at a younger age, suggesting in influence of local environmental factors (e.g. social or photoperiod change) in departure decisions. The timing of adult colony departure date was independent of first egg dates. In sum, our results suggest a role for 1<sup>st</sup> egg dates in setting timing of post-breeding movements, but with variation introduced between fledge and departure dates. Experimental manipulations of photoperiod in a wild setting are needed and future research should investigate whether the timing of movement driven by nesting timing, holds across the rest of migration or even the lifetime of birds. </span></p>
Figures 1-8 from: Komonen A, Torniainen J (2022) All-day activity of Dolichovespula saxonica (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) colonies in Central Finland. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 89: 157-170. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.89.79306
Figures 1-8 Observed number of Dolichovespula saxonica individuals entering the nest per 5 min, the 35-min centered moving average, and ambient temperature (°C).
Supplementary material 1 from: Komonen A, Torniainen J (2022) All-day activity of Dolichovespula saxonica (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) colonies in Central Finland. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 89: 157-170. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.89.79306
Tables S1, S2, Figures S1–S4
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