Worker personality and its association with spatially structured division of labor.
Division of labor is a defining characteristic of social insects and fundamental to their ecological success. Many of the numerous tasks essential for the survival of the colony must be performed at a specific location. Consequently, spatial organization is an integral aspect of division of labor. T...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2014-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/24497911/pdf/?tool=EBI |
| _version_ | 1818575121264148480 |
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| author | Tobias Pamminger Susanne Foitzik Katharina C Kaufmann Natalie Schützler Florian Menzel |
| author_facet | Tobias Pamminger Susanne Foitzik Katharina C Kaufmann Natalie Schützler Florian Menzel |
| author_sort | Tobias Pamminger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Division of labor is a defining characteristic of social insects and fundamental to their ecological success. Many of the numerous tasks essential for the survival of the colony must be performed at a specific location. Consequently, spatial organization is an integral aspect of division of labor. The mechanisms organizing the spatial distribution of workers, separating inside and outside workers without central control, is an essential, but so far neglected aspect of division of labor. In this study, we investigate the behavioral mechanisms governing the spatial distribution of individual workers and its physiological underpinning in the ant Myrmica rubra. By investigating worker personalities we uncover position-associated behavioral syndromes. This context-independent and temporally stable set of correlated behaviors (positive association between movements and attraction towards light) could promote the basic separation between inside (brood tenders) and outside workers (foragers). These position-associated behavior syndromes are coupled with a high probability to perform tasks, located at the defined position, and a characteristic cuticular hydrocarbon profile. We discuss the potentially physiological causes for the observed behavioral syndromes and highlight how the study of animal personalities can provide new insights for the study of division of labor and self-organized processes in general. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-15T00:36:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-982a99b0e4f443c38233ac7cdbdfbe5a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-15T00:36:03Z |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-982a99b0e4f443c38233ac7cdbdfbe5a2022-12-21T22:41:48ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0191e7961610.1371/journal.pone.0079616Worker personality and its association with spatially structured division of labor.Tobias PammingerSusanne FoitzikKatharina C KaufmannNatalie SchützlerFlorian MenzelDivision of labor is a defining characteristic of social insects and fundamental to their ecological success. Many of the numerous tasks essential for the survival of the colony must be performed at a specific location. Consequently, spatial organization is an integral aspect of division of labor. The mechanisms organizing the spatial distribution of workers, separating inside and outside workers without central control, is an essential, but so far neglected aspect of division of labor. In this study, we investigate the behavioral mechanisms governing the spatial distribution of individual workers and its physiological underpinning in the ant Myrmica rubra. By investigating worker personalities we uncover position-associated behavioral syndromes. This context-independent and temporally stable set of correlated behaviors (positive association between movements and attraction towards light) could promote the basic separation between inside (brood tenders) and outside workers (foragers). These position-associated behavior syndromes are coupled with a high probability to perform tasks, located at the defined position, and a characteristic cuticular hydrocarbon profile. We discuss the potentially physiological causes for the observed behavioral syndromes and highlight how the study of animal personalities can provide new insights for the study of division of labor and self-organized processes in general.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/24497911/pdf/?tool=EBI |
| spellingShingle | Tobias Pamminger Susanne Foitzik Katharina C Kaufmann Natalie Schützler Florian Menzel Worker personality and its association with spatially structured division of labor. PLoS ONE |
| title | Worker personality and its association with spatially structured division of labor. |
| title_full | Worker personality and its association with spatially structured division of labor. |
| title_fullStr | Worker personality and its association with spatially structured division of labor. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Worker personality and its association with spatially structured division of labor. |
| title_short | Worker personality and its association with spatially structured division of labor. |
| title_sort | worker personality and its association with spatially structured division of labor |
| url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/24497911/pdf/?tool=EBI |
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