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Colony size does not predict foraging distance in the ant Temnothorax rugatulus: a puzzle for standard scaling models

Colony size does not predict foraging distance in the ant Temnothorax rugatulus: a puzzle for... Body size is often positively correlated with ecologically relevant traits such as fecundity, survival, resource requirements, and home range size. Ant colonies, in some respects, behave like organisms, and their colony size is thought to be a significant predictor of many behavioral and ecological traits similar to body size in unitary organisms. In this study, we test the relationship between colony size and field foraging distance in the ant species Temnothorax rugatulus. These ants forage in the leaf litter presumably for small arthropod prey. We found colonies did not differ significantly in their foraging distances, and colony size is not a significant predictor of foraging distance. This suggests that large colonies may not exhaust local resources or that foraging trips are not optimized for minimal distance, and thus that food may not be the limiting resource in this species. This study shows T. rugatulus are behaving in ways that differ from existing models of scaling. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Insectes Sociaux Springer Journals

Colony size does not predict foraging distance in the ant Temnothorax rugatulus: a puzzle for standard scaling models

Bengston, S.; Dornhaus, A.
Insectes Sociaux , Volume 60 (1) – Nov 25, 2012
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References (23)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 by International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI)
Subject
Life Sciences; Entomology
ISSN
0020-1812
eISSN
1420-9098
DOI
10.1007/s00040-012-0272-4
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Body size is often positively correlated with ecologically relevant traits such as fecundity, survival, resource requirements, and home range size. Ant colonies, in some respects, behave like organisms, and their colony size is thought to be a significant predictor of many behavioral and ecological traits similar to body size in unitary organisms. In this study, we test the relationship between colony size and field foraging distance in the ant species Temnothorax rugatulus. These ants forage in the leaf litter presumably for small arthropod prey. We found colonies did not differ significantly in their foraging distances, and colony size is not a significant predictor of foraging distance. This suggests that large colonies may not exhaust local resources or that foraging trips are not optimized for minimal distance, and thus that food may not be the limiting resource in this species. This study shows T. rugatulus are behaving in ways that differ from existing models of scaling.

Journal

Insectes Sociaux – Springer Journals

Published: Nov 25, 2012

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