Publication: Esforço de escavação e teor de lipídios em rainhas da formiga cortadeira Atta sexdens rubropilosa
Loading...
Date
Advisor
Coadvisor
Graduate program
Undergraduate course
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Type
Article
Access right
Acesso aberto
Abstract
Nest digging spends a lot of energy existing a question about how much energy is required to dig the tunnel and initial chamber. It was hypothesized that the lipid content is used during nest digging. This hypothesis was tested by comparing the consequences of increasing digging effort in queens that were experimentally stimulated to excavate a complete founding nest either once, twice or three times consecutively, compared to control queens that didn't dig. Weight and lipid content of queens were quantified. Results showed that, in contrast with the initial expectations, weight and lipid content were not affected by the increased digging effort in the experimentally-induced successive excavations. It was conclude that the excavation by the queens did not affect the percentages of lipids and consequently the energy content, in their bodies. Probably, energy resources for the excavation wasn't originated from lipid reserves, but from other energy sources, perhaps carbohydrates.
Description
Keywords
Ant, Atta, Energy-consuming, Lipid content, Nest founding
Language
English
Citation
Ciencia Rural, v. 43, n. 8, p. 1371-1374, 2013.
