Pub Date : 2024-01-31eCollection Date: 2024-01-01DOI: 10.5001/omj.2024.04
Asma Al Hatmi, Ishaq Sulaiman Al-Salmi, Mohammed Al-Masqari, Atheel Kammona
Colonic leiomyomatous lesions are smooth muscle tumors including both benign leiomyoma and malignant leiomyosarcoma. They usually occur in elderly and middle-aged groups. They are rare, representing 3% of all gastrointestinal leiomyomas. Descending and sigmoid colon are the most commonly affected segments of colon. Patients are usually asymptomatic but occasionally they may present with abdominal pain, hemorrhage, and intestinal obstruction. Radiological findings for these lesions are variable and overlapping with other diagnoses but usually manifest as large lesions with lobulated margins, extra-colic growth, and heterogeneous enhancement. Final diagnosis is achieved by tissue diagnosis in which immunohistochemistry is used to differentiate them from other types of mesenchymal tumors like gastrointestinal stromal tumor. A complete surgical/endoscopic resection is usually curative with an excellent prognosis in cases of benign leiomyoma. In cases of leiomyosarcoma, post-surgical chemotherapy and radiotherapy are usually needed with a five-year survival of about 50%. We report the radiological findings with pathological correlation and literature review of two cases of colonic leiomyomatous lesions that presented with nonspecific abdominal pain. The lesions were resected surgically and confirmed histopathologically as leiomyoma and leiomyosarcoma of the colon, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, these cases are the first of colonic leiomyomatous lesions to be reported in Oman.
{"title":"Leiomyomatous Lesions of the Colon: Two Case Reports with Radiological Features, Pathological Correlations, and Literature Review.","authors":"Asma Al Hatmi, Ishaq Sulaiman Al-Salmi, Mohammed Al-Masqari, Atheel Kammona","doi":"10.5001/omj.2024.04","DOIUrl":"10.5001/omj.2024.04","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Colonic leiomyomatous lesions are smooth muscle tumors including both benign leiomyoma and malignant leiomyosarcoma. They usually occur in elderly and middle-aged groups. They are rare, representing 3% of all gastrointestinal leiomyomas. Descending and sigmoid colon are the most commonly affected segments of colon. Patients are usually asymptomatic but occasionally they may present with abdominal pain, hemorrhage, and intestinal obstruction. Radiological findings for these lesions are variable and overlapping with other diagnoses but usually manifest as large lesions with lobulated margins, extra-colic growth, and heterogeneous enhancement. Final diagnosis is achieved by tissue diagnosis in which immunohistochemistry is used to differentiate them from other types of mesenchymal tumors like gastrointestinal stromal tumor. A complete surgical/endoscopic resection is usually curative with an excellent prognosis in cases of benign leiomyoma. In cases of leiomyosarcoma, post-surgical chemotherapy and radiotherapy are usually needed with a five-year survival of about 50%. We report the radiological findings with pathological correlation and literature review of two cases of colonic leiomyomatous lesions that presented with nonspecific abdominal pain. The lesions were resected surgically and confirmed histopathologically as leiomyoma and leiomyosarcoma of the colon, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, these cases are the first of colonic leiomyomatous lesions to be reported in Oman.</p>","PeriodicalId":21971,"journal":{"name":"Sociobiology","volume":"67 1","pages":"e595"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10951559/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70683485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-09DOI: 10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9167
Ritika Sarkar, Sarmistha Banik, Ranajit Karmakar
Besides proteins and carbohydrates, the Pharaoh ant (Monomoroium pharaonis) prefers lipid foods especially when it becomes limiting in the colony. We used four different food-grade lipids such as mustard oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil and butter for seven consecutive days for a specified time frame (11.15 hr - 14.15 hr). There was a specific time zone in which the highest number of ants accumulated at all four food baits with varying peak values. Sunflower oil was the most preferred food, and mustard oil showed the lowest like. The differential number of ants in all four lipid food baits under observation can be attributed to the physical features and nutrient content. We also noted an interesting feature of the foraging activity: the major role of gathering and transporting food was performed primarily by two castes, intermediate and large, among the four distinct foraging castes. Most tools used in the present investigation were <0.5mm and of naturally available sand particles. They used the smallest tools more often as compared with the size of the other two categories. Our ant (M. pharaonis) transported only the butter-soaked smallest tools back to the nest. M. pharaonis used the smallest tools more often and this could be because the particular-sized tools were efficiently managed by the ant species under study. Our ants transported only the butter-soaked smallest tools back to the nest. It is revealed that butter was the most important lipid food for the particular ant colony of M. pharaonis.
{"title":"Lipid Food Preference and Transportation Using Tools by an Indian Ant Species Monomorium pharaonis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): A Field Study","authors":"Ritika Sarkar, Sarmistha Banik, Ranajit Karmakar","doi":"10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9167","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9167","url":null,"abstract":"Besides proteins and carbohydrates, the Pharaoh ant (Monomoroium pharaonis) prefers lipid foods especially when it becomes limiting in the colony. We used four different food-grade lipids such as mustard oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil and butter for seven consecutive days for a specified time frame (11.15 hr - 14.15 hr). There was a specific time zone in which the highest number of ants accumulated at all four food baits with varying peak values. Sunflower oil was the most preferred food, and mustard oil showed the lowest like. The differential number of ants in all four lipid food baits under observation can be attributed to the physical features and nutrient content. We also noted an interesting feature of the foraging activity: the major role of gathering and transporting food was performed primarily by two castes, intermediate and large, among the four distinct foraging castes. Most tools used in the present investigation were <0.5mm and of naturally available sand particles. They used the smallest tools more often as compared with the size of the other two categories. Our ant (M. pharaonis) transported only the butter-soaked smallest tools back to the nest. M. pharaonis used the smallest tools more often and this could be because the particular-sized tools were efficiently managed by the ant species under study. Our ants transported only the butter-soaked smallest tools back to the nest. It is revealed that butter was the most important lipid food for the particular ant colony of M. pharaonis.","PeriodicalId":21971,"journal":{"name":"Sociobiology","volume":"229 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135143158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-09DOI: 10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9886
Esperidião Alves dos Santos-Neto, Elmo Borges A. Koch, Alexandre Arnhold, Jacques H. Charles Delabie
Strumigenys Smith, 1860 is a megadiverse ant genus with 858 species distributed worldwide. These ants forage and nest in leaf litter, rotten wood, dried leaves or twigs and are specialized predators. Here we present the first records of the pantropical Strumigenys rogeri Emery, 1890 in Brazil. The information was obtained from specimens conserved in the Formicidae Collection of the Cocoa Research Center. We recovered data of occurrence of S. rogeri in six locations in southern Bahia, Brazil. The specimens were found in remnants, secondary growths or agroforest areas within the Atlantic Brazilian rainforest biome. Interestingly, areas of cocoa agrosystems shaded with Eritryna legume trees seem allowing this ant to be relatively easy to find. It is reasonable to think that many specimens of S. rogeri were accumulated in entomological collections throughout Brazil or were misidentified due to the complicated taxonomy of the genus.
{"title":"First Records of the Exotic Ant Strumigenys rogeri, Emery 1890 in Brazil","authors":"Esperidião Alves dos Santos-Neto, Elmo Borges A. Koch, Alexandre Arnhold, Jacques H. Charles Delabie","doi":"10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9886","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9886","url":null,"abstract":"Strumigenys Smith, 1860 is a megadiverse ant genus with 858 species distributed worldwide. These ants forage and nest in leaf litter, rotten wood, dried leaves or twigs and are specialized predators. Here we present the first records of the pantropical Strumigenys rogeri Emery, 1890 in Brazil. The information was obtained from specimens conserved in the Formicidae Collection of the Cocoa Research Center. We recovered data of occurrence of S. rogeri in six locations in southern Bahia, Brazil. The specimens were found in remnants, secondary growths or agroforest areas within the Atlantic Brazilian rainforest biome. Interestingly, areas of cocoa agrosystems shaded with Eritryna legume trees seem allowing this ant to be relatively easy to find. It is reasonable to think that many specimens of S. rogeri were accumulated in entomological collections throughout Brazil or were misidentified due to the complicated taxonomy of the genus.","PeriodicalId":21971,"journal":{"name":"Sociobiology","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135146620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-09DOI: 10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9283
José Eneas Schramm Júnior, Gabriela S. Oliveira, Tamires B. Santos, Gilberto Marcos de M. Santos
The emergence of graph theory allowed using the complex network approach to aggregate detailed information about interactions between species. Although the use of the complex network approach has improved the understanding about community structuring, few aspects such as the temporal variation in the species’ activity pattern in the networks’ topology were explored so far. The current study used the ecological network approach to investigate ants interacting in the extrafloral nectary (EFN) of plants in order to test the hypothesis that the temporal variation in the foraging behavior of these animals affects the networks’ topology. In order to assess the temporal effect on the interaction networks, 24-hour collections divided in two 12-hour shifts (day and night) were performed in 20 plots, thus totaling 288 collection hours over 6 months. The ant-plant interaction networks presented similarity among the topological metrics assessed throughout the day. Different ant species presented distinct foraging times. Thus, two modules referring to the day and night shifts emerged from the network and presented specific species at each foraging shift. On the other hand, the plants kept on providing the resource (active EFNs) throughout the day. The results found in the current study have shown that ecological networks keep their structures constant; however, the ecological processes ruling these networks can better respond to the effects caused, for example, by the temporal variation in species’ activity. Therefore, it is worth always taking into consideration the importance of ecological processes at the time to analyze interactions in the nature.
{"title":"Ants Sleep, Plants do not: The Variation in Species’ Activity Influences the Topology of Interaction Networks","authors":"José Eneas Schramm Júnior, Gabriela S. Oliveira, Tamires B. Santos, Gilberto Marcos de M. Santos","doi":"10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9283","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9283","url":null,"abstract":"The emergence of graph theory allowed using the complex network approach to aggregate detailed information about interactions between species. Although the use of the complex network approach has improved the understanding about community structuring, few aspects such as the temporal variation in the species’ activity pattern in the networks’ topology were explored so far. The current study used the ecological network approach to investigate ants interacting in the extrafloral nectary (EFN) of plants in order to test the hypothesis that the temporal variation in the foraging behavior of these animals affects the networks’ topology. In order to assess the temporal effect on the interaction networks, 24-hour collections divided in two 12-hour shifts (day and night) were performed in 20 plots, thus totaling 288 collection hours over 6 months. The ant-plant interaction networks presented similarity among the topological metrics assessed throughout the day. Different ant species presented distinct foraging times. Thus, two modules referring to the day and night shifts emerged from the network and presented specific species at each foraging shift. On the other hand, the plants kept on providing the resource (active EFNs) throughout the day. The results found in the current study have shown that ecological networks keep their structures constant; however, the ecological processes ruling these networks can better respond to the effects caused, for example, by the temporal variation in species’ activity. Therefore, it is worth always taking into consideration the importance of ecological processes at the time to analyze interactions in the nature.","PeriodicalId":21971,"journal":{"name":"Sociobiology","volume":"59 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135141252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-09DOI: 10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9592
Ana Maria Costa-Leonardo, Vanelize Janei
Insects and fungi are abundant in many environments and often interact. However, little information exists on the fungal infestation of insect eggs. Here, we report an entomogenous fungus similar to Hormiscioideus filamentosus (Blackweel & Kimbrough, 1978) infesting eggs of the termite Nasutitermes corniger (Motschulsky, 1855). The fungus arises from egg chorion and has long and simple filaments. The small haustorial cells infiltrate the egg chorion and the fungal thalli number varies from two to ten. Future studies will elucidate the infestation levels of termite eggs by this entomogenous fungus in the Neotropical region and its effects on termite colonies.
{"title":"Record of an Ectoparasitic Fungus on Eggs of the Neotropical Termite Nasutitermes corniger (Blattaria, Isoptera, Termitidae)","authors":"Ana Maria Costa-Leonardo, Vanelize Janei","doi":"10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9592","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9592","url":null,"abstract":"Insects and fungi are abundant in many environments and often interact. However, little information exists on the fungal infestation of insect eggs. Here, we report an entomogenous fungus similar to Hormiscioideus filamentosus (Blackweel & Kimbrough, 1978) infesting eggs of the termite Nasutitermes corniger (Motschulsky, 1855). The fungus arises from egg chorion and has long and simple filaments. The small haustorial cells infiltrate the egg chorion and the fungal thalli number varies from two to ten. Future studies will elucidate the infestation levels of termite eggs by this entomogenous fungus in the Neotropical region and its effects on termite colonies.","PeriodicalId":21971,"journal":{"name":"Sociobiology","volume":"2016 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135141256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-09DOI: 10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.8503
Rayssa Almeida-Azevedo, João Alves-Oliveira, José Wellington Morais, Elizabeth Franklin, Renato Almeida de Azevedo
Apicotermitinae are soldierless termites highly abundant in tropical forests. The taxonomy of this subfamily is based on characters of worker cast and winged forms when present. However, the procedures necessary to dissect termite workers to observe their external and internal morphological characteristics are not well detailed in any study. Here, we describe a step-by-step protocol for worker dissection of soldierless termite species. We suggest the use of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) for cleaning and visualization of the gizzard and enteric valve, and glycerin to remove tergites and sternites and describe in detail the dissection of the gizzard and enteric valve, and how visualize the insertion of Malpighian tubules.
{"title":"Step-by-step Dissection Protocol of Apicotermitinae Worker (Blattaria: Isoptera)","authors":"Rayssa Almeida-Azevedo, João Alves-Oliveira, José Wellington Morais, Elizabeth Franklin, Renato Almeida de Azevedo","doi":"10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.8503","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.8503","url":null,"abstract":"Apicotermitinae are soldierless termites highly abundant in tropical forests. The taxonomy of this subfamily is based on characters of worker cast and winged forms when present. However, the procedures necessary to dissect termite workers to observe their external and internal morphological characteristics are not well detailed in any study. Here, we describe a step-by-step protocol for worker dissection of soldierless termite species. We suggest the use of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) for cleaning and visualization of the gizzard and enteric valve, and glycerin to remove tergites and sternites and describe in detail the dissection of the gizzard and enteric valve, and how visualize the insertion of Malpighian tubules.","PeriodicalId":21971,"journal":{"name":"Sociobiology","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135143168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-09DOI: 10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9210
Andrea A. Fonseca, Conceição Aparecida dos Santos
Social facilitation is a phenomenon in which individuals from a group show behavioral changes due to the presence of other organisms of the same species. This happens through group interaction between these individuals, later increasing in frequency or intensity. Social facilitation studies began with humans but later extended to other species, including insects. The concepts of social facilitation in insects developed over the last 30 years are reviewed here. To that end, bibliographic searches were carried out to determine whenthe term social facilitation first emerged, how it was described in the research, where and when it was applied, and how the concept is currently employed. There has been, however, a steady decrease in the number of published texts conceptualizing the term social facilitation during the last three decades. Nevertheless, the terms emergent behavior, collective behavior, and informationexchange enabled expansion of the survey on social facilitation, indicating that study in the area remains broad. The orders Blattodea (cockroaches and termites) and Hymenoptera (ants, wasps, and bees) were the most represented among the surveyed publications, indicating the occurrence of social facilitation due to eusociality. Eusocial organisms demonstrate unique social interactions, which makes them likely objects of future social facilitation studies.
{"title":"Reviewing Social Facilitation in Insects Over the Past 30 Years","authors":"Andrea A. Fonseca, Conceição Aparecida dos Santos","doi":"10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9210","url":null,"abstract":"Social facilitation is a phenomenon in which individuals from a group show behavioral changes due to the presence of other organisms of the same species. This happens through group interaction between these individuals, later increasing in frequency or intensity. Social facilitation studies began with humans but later extended to other species, including insects. The concepts of social facilitation in insects developed over the last 30 years are reviewed here. To that end, bibliographic searches were carried out to determine whenthe term social facilitation first emerged, how it was described in the research, where and when it was applied, and how the concept is currently employed. There has been, however, a steady decrease in the number of published texts conceptualizing the term social facilitation during the last three decades. Nevertheless, the terms emergent behavior, collective behavior, and informationexchange enabled expansion of the survey on social facilitation, indicating that study in the area remains broad. The orders Blattodea (cockroaches and termites) and Hymenoptera (ants, wasps, and bees) were the most represented among the surveyed publications, indicating the occurrence of social facilitation due to eusociality. Eusocial organisms demonstrate unique social interactions, which makes them likely objects of future social facilitation studies.","PeriodicalId":21971,"journal":{"name":"Sociobiology","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135143170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-09DOI: 10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9153
Sämi Schär, Roger Vila, Mattia Menchetti
The ant Myrmica specioides Bondroit, 1918 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is first reported from the Eastern United States. This species is native to the West Palearctic region and has previously been known as an introduced species in Northwestern North America. It was found 2013 in the Boston metropolitan area. The species was identified by morphometric comparison to type specimens and DNA-barcoding. The distribution and invasive potential of M. specioides are discussed.
{"title":"First Record of the Introduced Ant Myrmica specioides In the Eastern United States","authors":"Sämi Schär, Roger Vila, Mattia Menchetti","doi":"10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9153","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.9153","url":null,"abstract":"The ant Myrmica specioides Bondroit, 1918 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is first reported from the Eastern United States. This species is native to the West Palearctic region and has previously been known as an introduced species in Northwestern North America. It was found 2013 in the Boston metropolitan area. The species was identified by morphometric comparison to type specimens and DNA-barcoding. The distribution and invasive potential of M. specioides are discussed.","PeriodicalId":21971,"journal":{"name":"Sociobiology","volume":"293 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135141253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Leaf-cutting ants manage their waste continuously to avoid risks of colony contamination. The presence of residues or their odor near foraging areas is enough for ants to stop attacking plant tissues. However, to date, no study has demonstrated an interspecific effect of nest waste on the deterrence of leaf-cutting ants. Here, we tested whether a hydroalcoholic extract of nest refuse (NR) of the leaf-cutting ants Acromyrmex balzani Emery, 1890 and Atta opaciceps Borgmeier (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Attini) causes an interspecific deterrent effect. Field colonies of Ac. balzani (n = 30) and A. opaciceps (n = 36) were used. For each colony, we offered baits made with plastic straws covered by citrus pulp and sprayed with a hydroalcoholic solution of 20% (vol/vol) alcohol/water (Control) or an extract of 20% (vol/vol) of NR from Ac. balzani and/or A. opaciceps. Over 20-30 minutes we recorded the amount of baits removed and data were compared through survival analysis and Linear Mixed Effect (LME) model. Ants avoided collecting baits sprayed with NR resulting in less than 20% of these baits being carried to the nest versus 80% of control baits. The deterrence was both intra and interspecific, considering that the response was similar for baits from both species. Such results reinforce the premise that the presence of nest refuse alters the foraging behavior of ants and paves the way for new studies that can verify its effectiveness in reducing foliar consumption on a larger spatial scale.
{"title":"Interspecific Repellent Effect of Hydroalcoholic Solution of Nest Refuse from Two Leaf-cutter Ant Species","authors":"Leandro Sousa-Souto, Bianca Giuliano Ambrogi, Rafaella Santana Santos","doi":"10.13102/sociobiology.v70i3.8701","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v70i3.8701","url":null,"abstract":"Leaf-cutting ants manage their waste continuously to avoid risks of colony contamination. The presence of residues or their odor near foraging areas is enough for ants to stop attacking plant tissues. However, to date, no study has demonstrated an interspecific effect of nest waste on the deterrence of leaf-cutting ants. Here, we tested whether a hydroalcoholic extract of nest refuse (NR) of the leaf-cutting ants Acromyrmex balzani Emery, 1890 and Atta opaciceps Borgmeier (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Attini) causes an interspecific deterrent effect. Field colonies of Ac. balzani (n = 30) and A. opaciceps (n = 36) were used. For each colony, we offered baits made with plastic straws covered by citrus pulp and sprayed with a hydroalcoholic solution of 20% (vol/vol) alcohol/water (Control) or an extract of 20% (vol/vol) of NR from Ac. balzani and/or A. opaciceps. Over 20-30 minutes we recorded the amount of baits removed and data were compared through survival analysis and Linear Mixed Effect (LME) model. Ants avoided collecting baits sprayed with NR resulting in less than 20% of these baits being carried to the nest versus 80% of control baits. The deterrence was both intra and interspecific, considering that the response was similar for baits from both species. Such results reinforce the premise that the presence of nest refuse alters the foraging behavior of ants and paves the way for new studies that can verify its effectiveness in reducing foliar consumption on a larger spatial scale.","PeriodicalId":21971,"journal":{"name":"Sociobiology","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135470728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The gut microbiota of vertebrates and invertebrates has become the focus of recent research. However, current sterilizing practices need more systematic quantitative methods due to limitations caused by their minute body size. Thus, an effective sterilization process incorporating organic and inorganic methods to obtain invertebrate microbiota, particularly when evaluating smaller insects, has yet to be elucidated. This study investigated if the whole abdomen should be utilized as the material to sterilize and examined whether physical and chemical surface sterilization methods could be combined to facilitate the acquisition of gut microbiota from theimported red fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren, 1972). Eight methods were designed by incorporating three chemical reagents (sterile water, 2.0 mg/L NaClO, and 75% ethanol) and one physical treatment (250 nm UV). The length range of the amplified fragment in the red imported fire ant is 401-450 bp. According to the results of the GLM regression model and interaction effect model, none of these factors (sterile water, 2.0 mg/L NaClO, and 75% ethanol, 250 nm UV) were significant for statistical regression of the Chao index, and these factors did not significantly interact with each other. Based on Alpha and Beta diversity analysis, none of the methods significantly affected the diversity of insects’ gut microbiome. Finally, we suggested that it is feasible for different species of small insects to select appropriate methods according to the current situation. Still, it is best to achieve unity in the same group.
{"title":"Comparison of Surface Sterilization Methods for the Analysis of insect gut microbiota: Solenopsis invicta (Formicidae) as an example","authors":"Defu Chen, Zhonghao Huang, Youbang Li, Zhilin Chen","doi":"10.13102/sociobiology.v70i3.8263","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v70i3.8263","url":null,"abstract":"The gut microbiota of vertebrates and invertebrates has become the focus of recent research. However, current sterilizing practices need more systematic quantitative methods due to limitations caused by their minute body size. Thus, an effective sterilization process incorporating organic and inorganic methods to obtain invertebrate microbiota, particularly when evaluating smaller insects, has yet to be elucidated. This study investigated if the whole abdomen should be utilized as the material to sterilize and examined whether physical and chemical surface sterilization methods could be combined to facilitate the acquisition of gut microbiota from theimported red fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren, 1972). Eight methods were designed by incorporating three chemical reagents (sterile water, 2.0 mg/L NaClO, and 75% ethanol) and one physical treatment (250 nm UV). The length range of the amplified fragment in the red imported fire ant is 401-450 bp. According to the results of the GLM regression model and interaction effect model, none of these factors (sterile water, 2.0 mg/L NaClO, and 75% ethanol, 250 nm UV) were significant for statistical regression of the Chao index, and these factors did not significantly interact with each other. Based on Alpha and Beta diversity analysis, none of the methods significantly affected the diversity of insects’ gut microbiome. Finally, we suggested that it is feasible for different species of small insects to select appropriate methods according to the current situation. Still, it is best to achieve unity in the same group.","PeriodicalId":21971,"journal":{"name":"Sociobiology","volume":"31 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135470855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}