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The Natural History of the Ant Dolichoderus Mariae Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a Florida Long-Leaf Forest Kristina Odette Laskis

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The Natural History of the Ant Dolichoderus Mariae Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a Florida Long-Leaf Forest Kristina Odette Laskis Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2007 The Natural History of the Ant Dolichoderus Mariae Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a Florida Long-Leaf Forest Kristina Odette Laskis Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE ANT DOLICHODERUS MARIAE FOREL (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) IN A FLORIDA LONG-LEAF FOREST By KRISTINA ODETTE LASKIS A Thesis submitted to the Department of Biological Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2007 The members of the Committee approve the Thesis of Kristina Laskis defended on March 28, 2007. ______________________________ Walter R. Tschinkel Professor Directing Thesis ______________________________ Brian Inouye Committee Member ______________________________ Austin Mast Committee Member Approved: __________________________________________ Timothy S. Moerland, Chair, Department of Biological Science The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Through the years of this study, countless people have helped me get where I am today. First, I would like to thank Josh Bridger for his endless amount of patience and support. I could not have done it without you. Next, I would like to thank Dr. Walter Tschinkel for his countless advice, comments, and financial support. Additional thanks go to my Master’s committee Dr. Austin Mast and Dr. Brian Inouye for their experimental advice and input on the manuscript. I would also like to thank current and previous members of the Tschinkel lab (Dr. Josh King, Dr. Jon Seal, Kevin Haight, Chris Smith, Shonna Storz, and Gina Pingalore.) Finally, if it was not for the field assistance offered by Josh Bridger and Gina Pingalore the seasonal abundance and spatial configuration of nests and trails study, the basis of this thesis would not have been possible. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES v LIST OF TABLES viii ABSTRACT ix INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW 1 MATERIALS AND METHODS 7 RESULTS 12 DISCUSSION 19 OVERALL CONCLUSIONS 26 FIGURES 27 TABLES 58 APPENDIX 63 REFERENCES 67 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 71 iv LIST OF FIGURES 1. Regional distribution of D. mariae. Blue states indicate where D. mariae has been reported. Although no record of D. mariae exist in Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama, and West Virginia these areas gave been poorly sampled and probably occurs there as well. 27 2. D. mariae nest occupying a clump of wiregrass (Aristida stricta). 28 3. Close-up of D. mariae nest occupying a clump of wiregrass. 29 4. D. mariae tending aphids (Family Aphididae) on turkey oak (Quercus laevis). 30 5. A plaster observation nest with wire mesh and debris. 31 6. Sketch of the experimental setup for determining queen fecundity experiments. 32 7. Photograph of long-leaf pine forest following a prescribed burn in compartment 228. 33 8. Photograph of experimental plot 231. Flags indicate active and abandoned nests. Different color flags represent different survey years: blue=2004, red=2005, and yellow=2006. 34 9. Plaster cast of an active D. mariae nest. Nest #1. 35 10. Plaster cast of an active D. mariae nest. Nest #2. 35 11. Plaster cast of an abandoned D. mariae nest. Nest #3. 36 12. Plaster cast of an abandoned D. mariae nest. Nest #4. 36 13. Ants using the wire mesh and debris in the observation plaster nest as scaffolding to arrange their brood, workers, queens and alates. 37 14. Plaster observation nest covered with thatch. 38 15. Photograph of an occupied D. mariae nest covered with thatch in Apalachicola National Forest. 39 16. The mean number of eggs produced by isolated queens per day. 40 17. The mean number of eggs produced by queens paired with 30 workers per day. 40 v 18. The mean number of eggs produced by queens paired with 0, 5, or 30 workers per day. 41 19. Census of ants per nest. The number of queens, workers, worker pupae, sexual pupae, male and female alates, and egg-laying rate per nest. Note the different scales. 42 20. Census-related values per colony. The number of active nests, queens, workers, worker pupae, and egg-laying rate per colony. Note the different scales. 43 21. Computed rates per colony. The computed colony growth rate and birth rate per colony. Note the different scales. 45 22. Frequency distribution of the head widths for 50 ants from 5 different colonies (micrometers). 46 23. Frequency distribution of the body weights for 50 ants from 5 different colonies (micrometers). 47 24. The cube root of the body weight on the head width a standard allometric plot (micrometers). 48 25. For colony 231-1 the total number of active and abandoned nests for both survey years with associated connecting trails. The maps display abandoned nests that have recently become abandoned since the last survey. X-axis equals east to west and Y-axis equals north to south. 49 26. For colony 228-1 the total number of active and abandoned nests for both survey years with associated connecting trails. The maps display abandoned nests that have recently become abandoned since the last survey. X-axis equals east to west and Y-axis equals north to south. 50 27. The total number of active nests for colony 231-1 and 228-1 during the month of July for both survey years. 51 28. The total number of active nests at the base of food sources for colony 231-1. 52 29. The total number of active nests at the base of food sources for colony 228-1. 53 30. The spatial positions of active (closed circles) nests for colony 231-1, 231-2, and 231-3 for 2004. X-axis equals east to west and Y-axis equals north to south. 54 vi 31. The spatial positions of active (closed circles) and abandoned (open circles) nests for colony 231-1, 231-2, and 231-3 for 2005. X-axis equals east to west and Y-axis equals north to south. 54 32. The spatial positions of active (closed circles) nests for colony 228-1 and 228-2 for 2005. X-axis equals east to west and Y-axis equals north to south. 55 33. The spatial positions of active (closed circles) and abandoned (open circles) nests for colony 228-1 and 228-2 for 2006. X-axis equals east to west and Y-axis equals north to south. 55 34. The total number of active nests for colony 231-1 and colony 228-1 for both survey years including colony size. 56 35. Photograph of entrance holes by an oak snake reoccupying an abandoned D. mariae nest. 57 vii LIST OF TABLES 1. Census of ants per nest for one year. 58 2. Census-related values and computed demographic rates per colony for one year. 59 3. Mean X and Y coordinate (Cartesian X and Y plot) for all the nests within each colony for the two sequential survey years: s. d. = standard deviation. 61 4. Compared means across years by colony. 62 viii ABSTRACT Until this study, little was known of the natural history of Dolichoderus mariae Forel in spite of its extensive range. D. mariae is not a particularly common ant, but once noticed, it is conspicuous by virtue of its peculiar nesting habits and dense populations. It is a polygyne polydomous reddish-brown ant that is abundant in the eastern and central United States. The ant forms subterranean nests at the base of plants with fibrous roots. This nesting behavior has also been documented in D. mariae’s congeners D. plagiatus, D. pustulatus, and D. taschenbergi. In North Florida the ant excavates soil at the base of wiregrass clumps to form its nest. Multiple nests of each colony are connected only by above ground trails, allowing exchange of workers. The ant subsists by tending aphids and scale insects for honeydew and scavenging for dead insects. I explored the natural history of D. mariae through an examination of the ant’s nest architecture, queen fecundity, polygyny, sociometry, worker-size variation, division of labor, colony demography, spatial distribution of nests, feeding biology, and seasonal variation in these characteristics. D. mariae nests consist of a shallow, single, large, conical chamber beneath the wiregrass. The nests lack common nest elements such as tunnels and chambers, and this ant’s nesting behavior in comparison to other subterranean ant species can fairly be described as uncommon. The colony cycle is dominated by strong seasonal polydomy. D. mariae is monomorphic, yet significant differences in mean head width and body weight existed between colonies. The area occupied by the colony is similar year to year even though the colony contracts down to one or two nests. Within their territory, the ants are following and exploiting their food source of honeydew that is provided by different homopterans. ix INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW With respect to queen number and nest number, ant colonies have evolved 4 types of colony structure by combining monogyny (single queen) and polygyny (multiple queens) with monodomy (single nest) and polydomy (multiple nests) (Holldobler and Wilson, 1990; Sudd and Franks, 1987; Bourke and Franks, 1995; Crozier and Pamilo, 1996; Tschinkel, 2006). Ant colonies can thus be classified as monogyne and monodomous, monogyne and polydomous, polygyne and monodomous, and polygyne and polydomous. Oligogyny is a special case of polygyny in which two to several queens coexist in the same nest but remain well apart from one another (Holldobler, 1962; Buschinger, 1974 as cited in Holldobler, 1990). Oligogyny is characterized by the workers’ tolerance of multiple queens combined with intolerance among the queens, so that the queens space themselves out in the same nest (Holldobler and Carlin, 1985).
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