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J Exp Biol

Title:		The role of multiple pheromones in food recruitment by ants
Author(s):		Dussutour A; Nicolis SC; Shephard G; Beekman M; Sumpter DJ;
Address:		"School of Biological Sciences and Centre for Mathematical Biology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. dussutou@cict.fr"
Journal Title:		J Exp Biol
Year:		2009
Volume:		212
Issue:		Pt 15
Page Number:		2337 - 2348
DOI:		10.1242/jeb.029827
ISSN/ISBN:		0022-0949 (Print) 0022-0949 (Linking)
Abstract:		"In this paper we investigate the foraging activity of an invasive ant species, the big headed ant Pheidole megacephala. We establish that the ants' behavior is consistent with the use of two different pheromone signals, both of which recruit nestmates. Our experiments suggest that during exploration the ants deposit a long-lasting pheromone that elicits a weak recruitment of nestmates, while when exploiting food the ants deposit a shorter lasting pheromone eliciting a much stronger recruitment. We further investigate experimentally the role of these pheromones under both static and dynamic conditions and develop a mathematical model based on the hypothesis that exploration locally enhances exploitation, while exploitation locally suppresses exploration. The model and the experiments indicate that exploratory pheromone allows the colony to more quickly mobilize foragers when food is discovered. Furthermore, the combination of two pheromones allows colonies to track changing foraging conditions more effectively than would a single pheromone. In addition to the already known causes for the ecological success of invasive ant species, our study suggests that their opportunistic strategy of rapid food discovery and ability to react to changes in the environment may have strongly contributed to their dominance over native species"
Keywords:		"Animals Ants/*physiology *Behavior, Animal Feeding Behavior Half-Life Models, Biological Monte Carlo Method Pheromones/chemistry/*physiology Social Behavior Time Factors;"
Notes:		"MedlineDussutour, A Nicolis, S C Shephard, G Beekman, M Sumpter, D J T eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2009/07/21 J Exp Biol. 2009 Aug; 212(Pt 15):2337-48. doi: 10.1242/jeb.029827"