Acclimation in ants: Interference of communication and waterproofing through cuticular hydrocarbons in a multifunctional trait

Organismal traits may experience conflicting selection pressures if they fulfil different functions simultaneously. This can require trade-offs between functions or alternatively functional separation between elements of the trait. An important multifunctional trait in insects is the cuticular hydrocarbon (CHCs) layer. CHCs cover the body of nearly all insects, protect against desiccation and serve as a communication signal. In social insects like ants, they provide cues for nestmate recognition. To maintain their waterproofing function, insects have to adjust CHC composition to current temperatures. These changes might affect information content and interfere with communication, which would be especially detrimental in social insects. Here, we studied how acclimation affects nestmate recognition in two sister species of the ant genus Lasius. Colony fragments were exposed to three climate regimes. We analysed behaviour towards same and differently acclimated conspecifics, and determined...若生物性状同时承担多种功能，则可能面临相互冲突的选择压力。此时往往需要在不同功能间做出权衡，或是将性状的不同组成部分进行功能分隔。 昆虫体内一类重要的多功能性状是表皮碳氢化合物（cuticular hydrocarbon, CHCs）层。几乎所有昆虫的体表均覆盖有该层结构，其既可抵御干燥胁迫，又可作为通讯信号。在蚂蚁等社会性昆虫中，表皮碳氢化合物还能提供巢友识别的线索。为维持其防水功能，昆虫需根据当前环境温度调整表皮碳氢化合物的组成。这类组成变化可能会影响信号的信息含量，进而干扰通讯过程——这对社会性昆虫而言尤为不利。 本研究以蚁属（Lasius）的两个姊妹物种为研究对象，探究驯化过程如何影响其巢友识别行为。我们将蚁群片段置于三种气候条件下培养，并分析了受试个体对经相同驯化和不同驯化处理的同种个体的行为反应，同时测定……