Discussion of development processes in insect-fungus association derived from the shaggy parasol fruiting on the nests of hairy wood ants

Chlorophyllum rhacodes, typically regarded as a rich grassland or open forest "mushroom" species, was found fruiting abundantly on nests of Formica lugubris, occurring in a Pinus silvestris plantation. Fruiting was absent from the rest of the woodland.Research focussed on the activities in the nests that could explain this. Within nests, there was a spatial relationship between C. rhacodes mycelium, insect cadavers, fruitbody initiation, and roots of adjacent trees.In vitro experiments found that C. rhacodes was not mycorrhizal with P. silvestris, but that it had qualities which rendered it suitable for colonization of the rhizosphere in the conditions of the nest mound and for further niche development.Implications of the unusual presence of fruit-bodies and the distribution of associated hyphae are discussed in relation to the nutritional biology (and recent taxonomical reassignment) of the fungus. This includes reference to the relevant physiology of insects and to the accepted evolution of mutualistic symbioses between fungi and the Attini and Termitidae.An argument is presented that the situation observed in vivo provides evidence of a degree of facultative association and what could be tangible support for the theory for the developmental origin of mutualistic fungus cultivation by insects. It is presented as a context for continued experimental research.

Ants and their nests as indicators for industrial heavy metal contamination

Ants accumulate heavy metals and respond to pollution with modification in species composition, community structure, altered behaviour and immunity. However, the levels of heavy metals in ants' nests and explicit individual-level responses towards heavy metals have not been revealed. We found that red wood ants Formica lugubris accumulate high and correlated values of such heavy metals as Al, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn both in ants and nest material near cobalt smelter in Finland. Relative differences in metal concentrations were higher in nests than in ants. The highest values were obtained for elements such as Co (36.6), Zn (14.9), Cd (9.7), Pb (8.5), Cu (7.4), Ni (6.4), As (4.7), Cr (2.9) and Fe (2.4) in nest material, and Co (32.7), Cd (6.3), Pb (6), Fe (2.8), Ni (2.9) and Zn (2.1) in ants. In industrial and reference areas, ants have no differences in size, but differed in dry and residual body mass. In polluted areas, F. lugubris had less melanised heads, but not thoraxes. The sensitivity of cuticular colouration in red wood ants subjected to heavy metal pollution might be related to metal-binding properties of melanins. The overall results are useful for the improvement of biomonitoring techniques using ants as indicators of industrial contamination and for further discovery of novel ecotoxicological biomarkers.

Does cooperation mean kinship between spatially discrete ant nests?

Eusociality is one of the most complex forms of social organization, characterized by cooperative and reproductive units termed colonies. Altruistic behavior of workers within colonies is explained by inclusive fitness, with indirect fitness benefits accrued by helping kin. Members of a social insect colony are expected to be more closely related to one another than they are to other conspecifics. In many social insects, the colony can extend to multiple socially connected but spatially separate nests (polydomy). Social connections, such as trails between nests, promote cooperation and resource exchange, and we predict that workers from socially connected nests will have higher internest relatedness than those from socially unconnected, and noncooperating, nests. We measure social connections, resource exchange, and internest genetic relatedness in the polydomous wood ant Formica lugubris to test whether (1) socially connected but spatially separate nests cooperate, and (2) high internest relatedness is the underlying driver of this cooperation. Our results show that socially connected nests exhibit movement of workers and resources, which suggests they do cooperate, whereas unconnected nests do not. However, we find no difference in internest genetic relatedness between socially connected and unconnected nest pairs, both show high kinship. Our results suggest that neighboring pairs of connected nests show a social and cooperative distinction, but no genetic distinction. We hypothesize that the loss of a social connection may initiate ecological divergence within colonies. Genetic divergence between neighboring nests may build up only later, as a consequence rather than a cause of colony separation.

Distribution and physical traits of red wood ant mounds in a managed Rhodope mountains forest

Red wood ants (RWA) are of great ecological importance for the forest ecosystem. Forestry practices, like clear-cutting, and trampling load, due to tourism, logging, and grazing stock, can greatly affect their colonies, disturbing their microhabitat. RWA in Greek forests have not been investigated so far. We herein report on the distribution and morphological traits of Formica lugubris mounds studied in Elatia forest (Rhodope mountains, Northern Greece), an all-aged managed mixed forest where selective logging practices are performed. Nearby vegetation, slope, canopy cover, shrub density, and distance from the nearest neighboring trees were also recorded. Mound density was shown to be much higher in this Greek forest compared to RWA mounds in other European-managed forests. Furthermore, we recorded a continuous nest establishment, despite forest management disturbances and trampling load. Our study suggests that single-tree selective forestry practices are essential for creating ideal microhabitats for the RWA and, therefore, for maintaining RWA populations.

Internest food sharing within wood ant colonies: resource redistribution behavior in a complex system

Resource sharing is an important cooperative behavior in many animals. Sharing resources is particularly important in social insect societies, as division of labor often results in most individuals including, importantly, the reproductives, relying on other members of the colony to provide resources. Sharing resources between individuals is therefore fundamental to the success of social insects. Resource sharing is complicated if a colony inhabits several spatially separated nests, a nesting strategy common in many ant species. Resources must be shared not only between individuals in a single nest but also between nests. We investigated the behaviors facilitating resource redistribution between nests in a dispersed-nesting population of wood ant Formica lugubris. We marked ants, in the field, as they transported resources along the trails between nests of a colony, to investigate how the behavior of individual workers relates to colony-level resource exchange. We found that workers from a particular nest "forage" to other nests in the colony, treating them as food sources. Workers treating other nests as food sources means that simple, pre-existing foraging behaviors are used to move resources through a distributed system. It may be that this simple behavioral mechanism facilitates the evolution of this complex life-history strategy.

Resource redistribution in polydomous ant nest networks: local or global?

An important problem facing organisms in a heterogeneous environment is how to redistribute resources to where they are required. This is particularly complex in social insect societies as resources have to be moved both from the environment into the nest and between individuals within the nest. Polydomous ant colonies are split between multiple spatially separated, but socially connected, nests. Whether, and how, resources are redistributed between nests in polydomous colonies is unknown. We analyzed the nest networks of the facultatively polydomous wood ant Formica lugubris. Our results indicate that resource redistribution in polydomous F. lugubris colonies is organized at the local level between neighboring nests and not at the colony level. We found that internest trails connecting nests that differed more in their amount of foraging were stronger than trails between nests with more equal foraging activity. This indicates that resources are being exchanged directly from nests with a foraging excess to nests that require resources. In contrast, we found no significant relationships between nest properties, such as size and amount of foraging, and network measures such as centrality and connectedness. This indicates an absence of a colony-level resource exchange. This is a clear example of a complex behavior emerging as a result of local interactions between parts of a system.