Foraging behavior affects nest architecture in a cross-species comparison of ant nests|蚂蚁生态学数据集|巢穴结构数据集

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.