Presentation Details
| Stressed leads to repeatable colony-level aggression in western thatch ants (F.obscuripes) Jessica A.Cusick1, Chloe Loveland1, Rachel Hatton1, Josh Grinath2. 1Utah Valley University, Orem, UT, USA.2Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, USA |
Abstract
Individuals display consistent differences in behavior indicative of personality. Personality is partially driven by individual differences in stress mechanisms and experiencing stress can cause consistent difference in behavior, resulting in aggressive and cooperative personality types. In many eusocial invertebrates, colonies collectively differ in behavioral traits and have means to buffer the colony from stress. For eusocial species, whether consistent colony-level behavioral differences occur in non-foraging contexts and the role stress plays is less clear. We randomly exposed western thatch ant (Formica obscuripes) nests to a simulated bear attack stressor. To assess consistent nest difference in behavior, we measured ant aggression twice during a season across three years (n=7 stressed, n=8 control). Stressed (r=0.23, p< 0.05) not control (r=0, p>0.5) nests were significantly, mildly repeatable in their aggression and were more temporally stable (GLMM 10.63, p< 0.01). Our results suggest stressors play a role in mediating consistent colony-level aggression and further support previous work that traits can be consistent in eusocial species.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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