Foraging behavior affects nest architecture in a cross-species comparison of ant nests

Animals construct and inhabit nests that can exhibit dramatic intra- and
inter-specific variation due to differences in behavior, the biotic and
abiotic environment, and evolutionary history. In ants, variation in nest
architecture not only reflects differences in ecology and collective
behavior; it influences the behaviors of the colonies that inhabit them.
Each component of the nest (such as depth, and the number, size, and
connectivity of chambers) reflects selective pressures for different
functions, or structural constraints that are imposed by the environment
or evolutionary history. To determine potential drivers of nest structure
variation in subterranean nests, we performed a meta-analysis of published
ant nests to compare different structural elements within and across
species. We complemented this survey with 42 nest casts of two closely
related species. We quantified nest features that can potentially impact
ant foraging behavior and examined whether phylogeny or foraging strategy
are better explanatory variables for the variation we observed. We found
that foraging strategy better explained nest features than evolutionary
history. Our work reveals the importance of ecology in shaping nest
structure and provides an important foundation for future investigations
into the selective pressures that have shaped ant nest architecture.

动物会构筑并栖息于巢穴中，由于行为模式、生物与非生物环境以及演化历史的差异，巢穴会呈现出显著的种内与种间变异。
在蚂蚁类群中，蚁巢结构的变异不仅反映了生态学与集群行为的差异，同时也会对栖息其中的蚁群行为产生影响。
蚁巢的各组成部分（如深度、蚁室的数量、大小与连通性）均对应着不同功能的选择压力，或是由环境或演化历史所施加的结构约束。
为探明地下蚁巢结构变异的潜在驱动因素，我们对已发表的蚁巢相关研究开展荟萃分析（meta-analysis），以比较物种内部及跨物种间的各类结构特征。
此外，我们还为两个近缘物种制作了共计42个蚁巢铸型（nest casts），以补充本次调研数据。
我们对可能影响蚂蚁觅食行为的巢内特征进行了量化，并检验了系统发育与觅食策略中，哪一个更能解释我们观测到的变异情况。
研究结果表明，相较于演化历史，觅食策略能更好地解释蚁巢特征的变异。
本研究揭示了生态学因素在塑造蚁巢结构中的关键作用，并为后续探究驱动蚁巢结构演化的选择压力提供了重要的研究基础。