| Title: | Argentine ant trail pheromone disruption is mediated by trail concentration |
| Author(s): | Suckling DM; Stringer LD; Corn JE; |
| Address: | "The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, Christchurch, New Zealand. max.suckling@plantandfood.co.nz" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10886-011-0019-0 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1573-1561 (Electronic) 0098-0331 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Argentine ant trail pheromone disruption, using continuous release of the trail pheromone compound (Z)-9-hexadecanal, reduces the incidence of trails and foraging rates of field populations. However, little is known about the concentrations of pheromone required for successful disruption. We hypothesized that higher pheromone quantities would be necessary to disrupt larger ant populations. To test this, we laid a 30-cm long base trail of (Z)-9-hexadecanal on a glass surface at low and high rates (1 and 100 pg/cm) (Trail 1), and laid a second, shorter trail (Trail 2, 10 cm long, located 1.5 cm upwind) near the middle of Trail 1 at six rates (1, 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, and 100,000 pg/cm). We then recorded and digitized movements of individual ants following Trail 1, and derived a regression statistic, r (2), as an index of trail integrity, and also recorded arrival success at the other end of the trail (30 cm) near a food supply. Disruption of trails required 100 fold more pheromone upwind, independent of base-trail concentration. This implies that in the field, trail disruption is likely to be less successful against high ant-trail densities (greater concentration of trail pheromone), and more successful against newly formed or weak trails, as could be expected along invasion fronts" |
| Keywords: | Aldehydes/*metabolism Animals Ants/*metabolism *Feeding Behavior Pheromones/*metabolism; |
| Notes: | "MedlineSuckling, David Maxwell Stringer, Lloyd D Corn, Joshua E eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2011/10/04 J Chem Ecol. 2011 Oct; 37(10):1143-9. doi: 10.1007/s10886-011-0019-0. Epub 2011 Oct 1" |
