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263 results for “ant association”
Data from: Evolutionary déjà vu? A case of convergent evolution in an ant-plant association
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Data and R scripts for: Ant invasions is associated with lower root density and different root distribution of a foundational savanna tree species
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Data from: Evidence for facilitation among avian army-ant attendants: specialization and species associations across elevations
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Defensive spines are associated with large geographic range but not diversification in spiny ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Polyrhachis)
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Morphological measurements of the ant stinging apparatus associated with: Evolutionary simplification and functional shifts of the ant stinger
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Data from: The socially parasitic ant Polyergus mexicanus has host-associated genetic population structure and related neighboring nests
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Data from: Tropical ant communities under agroforestry can be diverse but lack trait-and-environment associations
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FIGURE 1 in Taxonomy of coccids (Hemiptera: Coccidae: Coccus L.) associated with Crematogaster ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the stems of Macaranga plants (Euphorbiaceae) in Southeast Asia
FIGURE 1. Main collecting localities of the coccid specimens used in this revision. The three asterisked locations on the Malay Peninsula denote I.H. Burkill's collections from the early part of the 20th century and should be regarded as gross estimates.
Ant cuticular hydrocarbons are heritable and associated with variation in colony productivity
<p>In social insects, cuticular hydrocarbons function in nestmate recognition and also provide a waxy barrier against desiccation, but basic evolutionary features, including the heritability of hydrocarbon profiles and how they are shaped by natural selection are largely unknown. We used a new pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis) laboratory mapping population to estimate the heritability of individual cuticular hydrocarbons, genetic correlations between hydrocarbons, and fitness consequences of phenotypic variation in the hydrocarbons. Individual hydrocarbons had low to moderate estimated heritability, indicating that some compounds provide more information about genetic relatedness and can also better respond to natural selection. Strong genetic correlations between compounds are likely to constrain independent evolutionary trajectories, which is expected given that many hydrocarbons share biosynthetic pathways. Variation in cuticular hydrocarbons was associated with variation in colony productivity, with some hydrocarbons experiencing strong directional selection. Altogether, this study builds on our knowledge of the genetic architecture of the social insect hydrocarbon profile and indicates that hydrocarbon variation is shaped by natural selection. </p>
Data from: Dietary specialization is conditionally associated with increased ant predation risk in a temperate forest caterpillar community
The enemy-free space hypothesis (EFSH) contends that generalist predators select for dietary specialization in insect herbivores. At a community level, the EFSH predicts that dietary specialization reduces predation risk, and this pattern has been found in several studies addressing the impact of individual predator taxa or guilds. However, predation at a community level is also subject to combinatorial effects of multiple predator types, raising the question of how so-called multiple predator effects relate to dietary specialization in insect herbivores. Here we test the EFSH with a field experiment quantifying ant predation risk to insect herbivores (caterpillars) with and without the combined predation effects of birds. Assessing a community of 20 caterpillar species, we use model selection in a phylogenetic comparative framework to identify the caterpillar traits that best predict the risk of ant predation. A caterpillar species' abundance, dietary specialization, and behavioral defenses were important predictors of its ant predation risk. Abundant caterpillar species had increased its risk of ant predation irrespective of bird predation. Caterpillar species with broad diet breadth and behavioral responsiveness to attack had reduced ant predation risk, but these ant effects only occurred when birds also had access to the caterpillar community. These findings suggest that ant predation of caterpillar species is density- or frequency-dependent, that ants and birds may impose countervailing selection on dietary specialization within the same herbivore community, and that contingent effects of multiple predators may generate behaviorally mediated life history trade-offs associated with herbivore diet breadth.
Data from: Polygyny does not explain the superior competitive ability of dominant ant associates in the African ant-plant, Acacia (Vachellia) drepanolobium
1. The Acacia drepanolobium (also known as Vachellia drepanolobium) ant-plant symbiosis is considered a classic case of species coexistence, in which four species of tree-defending ants compete for nesting space in a single host tree species. Coexistence in this system has been explained by trade-offs in the ability of the ant associates to compete with each other for occupied trees versus the ability to colonize unoccupied trees. 2. We seek to understand the proximal reasons for how and why the ant species vary in competitive or colonizing abilities, which are largely unknown. 3. In this study, we use RADseq derived SNPs to identify relatedness of workers in colonies to test the hypothesis that competitively dominant ants reach large colony sizes due to polygyny, i.e., the presence of multiple egg-laying queens in a single colony. 4. We find that variation in polygyny is not associated with competitive ability; in fact, the most dominant species, unexpectedly, showed little evidence of polygyny. We also use these markers to investigate variation in mating behavior among the ant species, and find that different species vary in the number of males fathering the offspring of each queen. Finally, we show that the nature of polygyny varies between the two commonly polygynous species, Crematogaster mimosae and Tetraponera penzigi: in C. mimosae, queens in the same colony are often related, while this is not the case for T. penzigi. 5. These results shed light on factors influencing the evolution of species coexistence in an ant-plant mutualism, as well as demonstrating the effectiveness of RADseq-derived SNPs for parentage analysis.
Data from: Two new phragmotic ant species from Africa: morphology and next-generation sequencing solve a caste association problem in the genus Carebara Westwood
Phragmotic or "door head" ants have evolved independently in several ant genera across the world, but in Africa only one case has been documented until now. Carebara elmenteitae (Patrizi) is known from only a single phragmotic major worker collected from sifted leaf-litter near Lake Elmenteita in Kenya, but here the worker castes of two species collected from Kakamega Forest, a small rainforest in Western Kenya, are studied. Phragmotic major workers were previously identified as Carebara elmenteitae and non-phragmotic major and minor workers were assigned to C. thoracica (Weber). Using evidence of both morphological and next-generation sequencing analysis, it is shown that phragmotic and non-phragmotic workers of the two different species are actually the same and that neither name – C. elmenteitae or C. thoracica – correctly applies to them. Instead, this and another closely related species from Ivory Coast are both morphologically different from C. elmenteitae, and thus they are described as the new species Carebara phragmotica sp. n. and Carebara lilith sp. n.
Data from: Propagule pressure and colony social organization are associated with the successful invasion and rapid range expansion of fire ants in China
We characterized patterns of genetic variation in populations of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta in China using mitochondrial DNA sequences and nuclear microsatellite loci to test predictions as to how propagule pressure and subsequent dispersal following establishment jointly shape the invasion success of this ant in this recently invaded area. Fire ants in Wuchuan (Guangdong province) are genetically differentiated from those found in other large infested areas of China. The immediate source of ants in Wuchuan appears to be somewhere near Texas, which ranks first among states in the southern USA infested states in the exportation of goods to China. Most colonies from spatially distant, outlying areas in China are genetically similar to one another and appear to share a common source (Wuchuan, Guangdong province), suggesting that long-distance jump dispersal has been a prevalent means of recent spread of fire ants in China. Furthermore, most colonies at outlier sites are of the polygyne social form (featuring multiple egg-laying queens per nest), reinforcing the important role of this social form in the successful invasion of new areas and subsequent range expansion following invasion. Several analyses consistently revealed characteristic signatures of genetic bottlenecks for S. invicta populations in China. The results of this study highlight the invasive potential of this pest ant, suggest that the magnitude of international trade may serve as a predictor of propagule pressure and indicate that rates and patterns of subsequent range expansion are partly determined by the interplay between species traits and the trade and transportation networks.
Data from: Decreased small mammal and on-host tick abundance in association with invasive red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta)
Invasive species may impact pathogen transmission by altering the distributions and interactions among native vertebrate reservoir hosts and arthropod vectors. Here, we examined the direct and indirect effects of the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) on the native tick, small mammal and pathogen community in southeast Texas. Using a replicated large-scale field manipulation study, we show that small mammals were more abundant on treatment plots where S. invicta populations were experimentally reduced. Our analysis of ticks on small mammal hosts demonstrated a threefold increase in the ticks caught per unit effort on treatment relative to control plots, and elevated tick loads (a 27-fold increase) on one common rodent species. We detected only one known human pathogen (Rickettsia parkeri), present in 1.4% of larvae and 6.7% of nymph on-host Amblyomma maculatum samples but with no significant difference between treatment and control plots. Given that host and vector population dynamics are key drivers of pathogen transmission, the reduced small mammal and tick abundance associated with S. invicta may alter pathogen transmission dynamics over broader spatial scales.
Data from: Cuticular hydrocarbons as potential mediators of cryptic species divergence in a mutualistic ant association
Upon advances in sequencing techniques, more and more morphologically identical organisms are identified as cryptic species. Often, mutualistic interactions are proposed as drivers of diversification. Species of the Neotropical parabiotic ant association between Crematogaster levior and Camponotus femoratus are known for highly diverse cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles, which in insects serve as desiccation barrier but also as communication cues. In the present study we investigated the association of the ants' CHC profiles to genotypes and morphological traits, and discovered cryptic species pairs in both genera. To assess putative niche differentiation between the cryptic species, we conducted an environmental association study that included various climate variables, canopy cover, and mutualistic plant species. Although mostly sympatric, the two Camponotus species seem to prefer different climate niches. However in the two Crematogaster species, we could not detect any differences in niche preference. The strong differentiation in the CHC profiles may thus suggest either a possible role during speciation itself by inducing assortative mating, or by reinforcing sexual selection after the speciation event. We did not detect any further niche differences in the environmental parameters tested. Thus, it remains open how the cryptic species avoid competitive exclusion, with scope for further investigations.
FIGURES 3–5 in Leptogenopapus mirabilis, a new genus and species of Lomechusini (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae) from Papua New Guinea associated with ants of the genus Leptogenys Roger
FIGURES 3–5. Details of Leptogenopapus mirabilis sp. n. (holotype). 3, head ventral; 4, head dorsal; 5, thorax, ventral.
FIGURES 11–15 in Leptogenopapus mirabilis, a new genus and species of Lomechusini (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae) from Papua New Guinea associated with ants of the genus Leptogenys Roger
FIGURES 11–15. Details of Leptogenopapus mirabilis sp. n. (holotype). 11, right maxilla, ventral; 12, right mandible, ventral; 13, left paramera, dorsal; 14, median lobe of aedegus, dorsal; 15, median lobe of aedegus, lateral.
FIGURES 6–10 in Leptogenopapus mirabilis, a new genus and species of Lomechusini (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae) from Papua New Guinea associated with ants of the genus Leptogenys Roger
FIGURES 6–10. Legs and antenna of Leptogenopapus mirabilis sp. n. (holotype). 6, right fore leg, dorsal; 7, right mid leg, dorsal; 8, right hind leg, dorsal; 9, left antenna, dorsal; 10, hind tarsus, dorsal.
FIGURES 1–6 in A new Oncylocotis Stål (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Enicocephalidae) from Sabah: a predacious species associated with the yellow crazy ant, Anoplolepis gracilipes (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
FIGURES 1–6. Oncylocotis inexpectatus Štys, Baňař and Drescher n. sp., male paratype, total length 6.3 mm; 1, total dorsal view; 2, head, lateral view; 3, pronotum, dorsal view; 4, right forewing; 5, left forewing (an additional cell posterior to discal cell present); 6, detail of proximal part of left forewing.
FIGURES 21–25 in A new Oncylocotis Stål (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Enicocephalidae) from Sabah: a predacious species associated with the yellow crazy ant, Anoplolepis gracilipes (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
FIGURES 21–25. Oncylocotis inexpectatus Štys, Baňař and Drescher n. sp., male paratype, 21, head, lateral view; 22, head and pronotum, dorsal view; 23, apicitibial armature, right foreleg, anterior view; 24, tarsal armature, right foreleg, anterior view; 25, apex of right hindtibia, ventral view. Vestiture omitted with exception of spiniform setae and bristle comb of hindtibia.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.