Colony Fusion in Argentine Ants is Guided by Worker and Queen Cuticular Hydrocarbon Profile Similarity |
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Authors: | Gissella M Vásquez Coby Schal Jules Silverman |
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Affiliation: | (1) Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7613, USA; |
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Abstract: | Introduced populations of the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, have experienced moderate to severe losses of genetic diversity, which may have affected nestmate recognition to various
degrees. We hypothesized that cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC) serve as nestmate recognition cues, and facilitate colony fusion
of unrelated L. humile colonies that share similar CHC profiles. In this study, we paired six southeastern U.S. L. humile colonies in a 6-month laboratory fusion assay, and determined if worker and queen CHC profile similarity between colonies
was associated with colony fusion and intercolony genetic similarity. We also compared worker and queen CHC profiles between
fused colony pairs and unpaired controls to determine if worker and queen chemical profiles changed after fusion. We found
that colony fusion correlated with the CHC similarity of workers and queens, with the frequency of fusion increasing with
greater CHC profile similarity between colonies. Worker and queen CHC profile similarity between colonies also was associated
with genetic similarity between colonies. Queen CHC profiles in fused colonies appeared to be a mix of the two colony phenotypes.
In contrast, when only one of the paired colonies survived, the CHC profile of the surviving queens did not diverge from that
of the colony of origin. Similarly, workers in non-fused colonies maintained their colony-specific CHC, whereas in fused colonies
the worker CHC profiles were intermediate between those of the two colonies. These results suggest a role for CHC in regulating
interactions among mutually aggressive L. humile colonies, and demonstrate that colony fusion correlates with both genetic and CHC similarities. Further, changes in worker
and queen chemical profiles in fused colonies suggest that CHC plasticity may sustain the cohesion of unrelated L. humile colonies that had fused. |
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