Nutrient regulation in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): a review - Archive ouverte HAL
Article Dans Une Revue Myrmecological News Année : 2019

Nutrient regulation in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): a review

Résumé

As for all living organisms, the nutritional needs of ants change over time in response to varying environmental conditions and demands for growth, health, and reproduction. Solitary individuals regulate their nutritional intake to maintain an appropriate balance of nutrients by selectively choosing the quality and quantity of food that meet their nutritional requirements. For social organisms, such as ants, food collection for the entire colony relies on a few individuals whose nutritional requirements may be very different from those of other members of their colony. Recent studies have used an integrative framework, the “geometric framework”, to better understand how living organisms regulate macronutrient intake to defend a specific nutrient “intake target”. In this review, we first reveal how the geometric framework has been used to deepen our understanding of ant communal nutrition. Second, we describe how this framework might be used to also understand the nutritional strategies used by ants facing infection challenges. Lastly, we conclude with a brief discussion of the promising techniques that could be used in the future to improve our understanding of communal nutrition in ants.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
mn29_111-124_printable.pdf (1.37 Mo) Télécharger le fichier
Origine Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)
Loading...

Dates et versions

hal-02344462 , version 1 (04-11-2019)

Identifiants

Citer

Enikő Csata, Audrey Dussutour. Nutrient regulation in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): a review. Myrmecological News, 2019, 29, pp.111-124. ⟨10.25849/myrmecol.news_029:111⟩. ⟨hal-02344462⟩
1437 Consultations
873 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

More