Ants can smell out rivals
Sunday February 26, 2012 09:54:37 AM,
IANS
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Sydney: Weaver ants
share a collective memory of odour of ants in rival nests, similar
to how sports fans know one another instantly by their unique
colours, a study reveals.
It gives them an edge about rivals even before they encounter
them, said study leader Mark Elgar, professor of zoology at the
University of Melbourne.
"This communication highlights the impressive nature of ant
societies because the colonies of some species, like weaver ants,
can consist of networks of nests containing millions of workers," Elgar was quoted by the journal Naturwissenschaften.
Weaver ants build intricate nests in trees and are found in
northern Australia, India and Africa, according to a university
statement.
Researchers led by Elgar took ants from 12 colonies of weaver ants
and challenged them with intruders from other colonies that were
either familiar or unfamiliar to them, based on previous
experimental challenges.
"We find that once an ant has had an encounter with a rival, it
can go back to its colony and pass on information about the
rival's smell and about how aggressive the interaction was," said
Elgar.
The next step for the research team is to understand what chemical
and behavioural cues the ants use to communicate this complex
information.
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