Data from: Tolerance requires the right smell: first evidence for interspecific selection on chemical recognition cues

The integument of insects is generally covered with cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC). They serve multiple functions, most prominent among them waterproofing and – especially among social insects – as communication signal. CHC profiles are incredibly diverse within and across species. However, the causes for CHC variation between species, and potential selection pressures that may shape CHC profiles, are hardly understood. Here, we investigated potential selection pressures on ant CHC. We tested the hypotheses that living in association with another species (e.g., parabiosis), and the climate of the ant’s habitat, affect CHC composition. We conducted a large-scale comparison of 37 Camponotus species from five continents. Our results demonstrate that closely associated ant species possess significantly longer hydrocarbons and higher proportions of methylbranched alkenes and alkadienes than non- or loosely associated species. In contrast, climatic factors had no effects. This study shows that the need to be tolerated by another species greatly affects CHC profiles.

昆虫的体壁通常覆盖有表皮碳氢化合物（cuticular hydrocarbons, CHC）。这类物质具备多种功能，其中最突出的两项为防水作用，以及（尤其在社会性昆虫中）充当通讯信号。不同物种内部以及跨物种间的表皮碳氢化合物谱存在极为丰富的多样性。然而，学界目前仍未明确物种间表皮碳氢化合物谱差异的成因，以及可能塑造该谱式的潜在选择压力。本研究针对蚂蚁的表皮碳氢化合物展开潜在选择压力相关探究，我们验证了两项假说：蚂蚁与其他物种共生（例如异种共栖，parabiosis）的生存方式，以及其栖息环境的气候条件，会影响表皮碳氢化合物的组成。我们对来自五大洲的37种弓背蚁属（Camponotus）物种开展了大规模比较分析。研究结果显示，与其他物种紧密共生的蚂蚁类群，其体内碳氢化合物的链长显著更长，且甲基支链烯烃与二烯烃的占比也显著高于非共生或松散共生的类群。与之相对，气候因素未产生显著影响。本研究证实，为获得其他物种容忍而产生的演化需求，会极大地塑造蚂蚁的表皮碳氢化合物谱式。