Neuronal Correlates of Nestmate Recognition in the Carpenter Ant

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Neuronal Correlates of Nestmate Recognition in the Carpenter Ant Neuronal correlates of nestmate recognition in the carpenter ant, Camponotus floridanus …………………… Neuronale Korrelate der Nestgenossen-Erkennung bei der Rossameise, Camponotus floridanus Doctoral thesis for a doctoral degree at the Graduate School of Life Sciences, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg Section: Integrative Biology Submitted by Andreas Simon Brandstaetter From Regensburg Würzburg 2010 Submitted on: ……………………………………………………………... Office stamp Members of the Promotionskomitee: Chairperson: Prof. Dr. Paul Pauli (Universität Würzburg) Primary Supervisor: Dr. habil. Christoph Kleineidam (Universität Würzburg / Konstanz) Supervisor (Second): Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Rössler (Universität Würzburg) Supervisor (Third): Prof. Dr. Jürgen Liebig (Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA) Date of Public Defense: ……………………………………………….. Date of Receipt of Certificates: ……………………………………. Affidavit (Eidesstattliche Erklärung) According §4 Abs. 3 Ziff. 3, 5 und 8 of the „Promotionsordnung der Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg“ I hereby declare that my thesis entitled “Neuronal correlates of nestmate recognition in the carpenter ant, Camponotus floridanus” is the result of my own work. I did not receive any help or support from commercial consultants. All sources and / or materials applied are listed and specified in the thesis. Furthermore, I verify that this thesis has not yet been submitted as part of another examination process neither in identical nor in similar form. Würzburg, ……………………………………………………………………………... Date Signature The thesis is based on the following manuscripts: Chapter 1: Leonhardt S.D., Brandstaetter A.S., and Kleineidam C.J. (2007) Reformation process of the neuronal template for nestmate-recognition cues in the carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 193:993-1000. doi: 10.1007/s00359-007-0252-8 Chapter 2: Brandstaetter A.S., Endler A., and Kleineidam C.J. (2008) Nestmate recognition in ants is possible without tactile interaction. Naturwissenschaften 95(7):601-608. doi: 10.1007/s00114-008-0360-5 Chapter 3: Brandstaetter A.S., Rössler W., and Kleineidam C.J. (2010) Dummies versus air puffs: efficient stimulus delivery for low-volatile odors. Chemical Senses 35(4):323- 333. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjq022 Chapter 4: Brandstaetter A.S., Rössler W., and Kleineidam C.J. (under review) Friends and foes from an ant brain’s point of view – neuronal correlates of colony odors in a social insect. PLoS One Chapter 5: Brandstaetter A.S. and Kleineidam C.J. (under review) Distributed representation of social odors indicates parallel processing in the antennal lobe of ants. Journal of Neurophysiology „Dissertation unter Einschluss mehrerer Manuskripte“ in der GSLS – Erklärung zu Eigenanteilen an Publikationen und Zweitpublikationsrechten (ggf. weitere Blätter dieses Formblatts verwenden) Publikation (Vollständiges Zitat): Leonhardt S.D., Brandstaetter A.S., and Kleineidam C.J. (2007) Reformation process of the neuronal template for nestmate-recognition cues in the carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 193:993-1000. Beteiligt an Autoren-Initialen, Verantwortlichkeit abnehmend von links nach rechts Planung der Untersuchungen CJK SDL ASB Datenerhebung SDL Daten-Analyse und Interpretation CJK SDL ASB Schreiben des Manuskripts SDL CJK ASB ggf. Erläuterung: Publikation (Vollständiges Zitat): Brandstaetter A.S., Endler A., and Kleineidam C.J. (2008) Nestmate recognition in ants is possible without tactile interaction. Naturwissenschaften 95(7):601-608. Beteiligt an Autoren-Initialen, Verantwortlichkeit abnehmend von links nach rechts Planung der Untersuchungen CJK ASB AE Datenerhebung ASB Daten-Analyse und Interpretation ASB CJK Schreiben des Manuskripts ASB CJK ggf. Erläuterung: Publikation (Vollständiges Zitat): Brandstaetter A.S., Rössler W., and Kleineidam C.J. (2010) Dummies versus air puffs: efficient stimulus delivery for low-volatile odors. Chemical Senses 35(4):323-333. Beteiligt an Autoren-Initialen, Verantwortlichkeit abnehmend von links nach rechts Planung der Untersuchungen CJK ASB WR Datenerhebung ASB Daten-Analyse und Interpretation ASB CJK Schreiben des Manuskripts ASB CJK ggf. Erläuterung: Publikation (Vollständiges Zitat): Brandstaetter A.S., Rössler W., and Kleineidam C.J. (under review) Friends and foes from an ant brain’s point of view – neuronal correlates of colony odors in a social insect. PLoS One Beteiligt an Autoren-Initialen, Verantwortlichkeit abnehmend von links nach rechts Planung der Untersuchungen ASB CJK WR Datenerhebung ASB Daten-Analyse und Interpretation ASB CJK Schreiben des Manuskripts ASB CJK WR ggf. Erläuterung: Publikation (Vollständiges Zitat): Brandstaetter A.S. and Kleineidam C.J. (under review) Distributed representation of social odors indicates parallel processing in the antennal lobe of ants. Journal of Neurophysiology Beteiligt an Autoren-Initialen, Verantwortlichkeit abnehmend von links nach rechts Planung der Untersuchungen ASB CJK Datenerhebung ASB Daten-Analyse und Interpretation ASB CJK Schreiben des Manuskripts ASB CJK ggf. Erläuterung: Für alle in dieser „Dissertation unter Einschluss mehrerer Manuskripte“ verwendeten Manuskripte liegen die notwendigen Genehmigungen der Verlage und Co-Autoren für die Zweitpublikation vor. Mit meiner Unterschrift bestätige ich die Kenntnisnahme und das Einverständnis meines direkten Betreuers. Andreas Brandstaetter, __________________________________________ Name Kandidat(in), Datum, Unterschrift Table of contents I. Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 1 II. Zusammenfassung ........................................................................................................................ 3 III. General Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 5 III.1 Eusociality ................................................................................................................................... 5 III.2 Chemical basis of colony recognition ......................................................................................... 6 III.3 Neuronal basis of colony recognition ......................................................................................... 7 III.3.1 The insect olfactory system ................................................................................................... 7 III.3.2 The neuronal template .......................................................................................................... 8 III.4 Model system: the Florida carpenter ant ................................................................................... 9 III.5 Thesis outline .............................................................................................................................. 9 IV. Chapter 1: Reformation process of the neuronal template for nestmate-recognition cues in the carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus. ................................................................ 12 V. Chapter 2: Nestmate recognition in ants is possible without tactile interaction. ...................... 21 VI. Chapter 3: Dummies versus air puffs: efficient stimulus delivery for low-volatile odors. .......... 30 VII. Chapter 4: Friends and foes from an ant brain’s point of view – neuronal correlates of colony odors in a social insect. ....................................................................................... 42 VIII. Chapter 5: Distributed representation of social odors indicates parallel processing in the antennal lobe of ants. .................................................................................................... 57 IX. General Discussion ...................................................................................................................... 78 IX.1 Stimulus delivery for colony odors ........................................................................................... 78 IX.1.1 Colony odor detection is possible at short range................................................................ 78 IX.1.2 Effective stimulus delivery for low-volatile odors ............................................................... 79 IX.2 Neuronal correlates of colony recognition ............................................................................... 80 IX.2.1 Ants perceive their own colony odor .................................................................................. 80 IX.2.2 Colony odor information is processed in parallel ............................................................... 81 IX.2.3 How are friends and foes classified? ................................................................................... 81 IX.2.4 What causes the high variability of spatial activity patterns? ............................................ 83 IX.2.4.1 A highly complex stimulus ......................................................................................... 83 IX.2.4.2 Plasticity of the olfactory system .............................................................................. 83 IX.2.5 Template reformation ......................................................................................................... 84 IX.3 Significance of the work ........................................................................................................... 85 X. Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................
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