Data from: Tracking individuals shows spatial fidelity is a key regulator of ant social organization

Ants live in organized societies with a marked division of labor among workers, but little is known about how this is generated. We use a tracking system to continuously monitor individually-tagged workers in six colonies of the ant Camponotus fellah over 41 days. Network analyses of over 9 million interactions revealed three distinct groups that differ in behavioral repertoires. Each group represents a functional behavioral unit with workers moving from one group to the next as they age. The rate of interactions was much higher within- than between groups. The precise information on spatial and temporal distribution of all individuals permitted calculation of the expected rates of within- and between-group interactions. These values suggest that the network of interaction within colonies is primarily mediated by age-induced changes in the spatial location of workers.

蚂蚁栖息于高度结构化的社会群体中，工蚁间存在明确的劳动分工，但学界对该分工的形成机制仍知之甚少。本研究借助追踪系统，对6个弓背蚁（Camponotus fellah）蚁群中的标记工蚁开展了为期41天的持续监测。通过对超900万次互动行为开展网络分析，研究团队识别出三类行为谱存在显著差异的工蚁群体。每一类群体均为功能性行为单元，工蚁会随着年龄增长在不同群体间发生流转。群体内部的互动频率远高于群体间的互动频率。依托所有个体的精准时空分布数据，本研究得以计算出群体内与群体间互动的预期频率。上述结果表明，蚁群内部的互动网络主要由工蚁因年龄增长引发的空间位置变化所介导。