Building mud castles: a perspective from brick-laying termites

Abstract Animal constructions such as termite mounds have received scrutiny by architects, structural engineers, soil scientists and behavioural ecologists but their basic building blocks remain uncharacterized and the criteria used for material selection unexplored. By conducting controlled experim...

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Autores principales:	Nikita Zachariah, Aritra Das, Tejas G. Murthy, Renee M. Borges
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/a01c39ba7de54da0aaec0a6ff176db6f
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:a01c39ba7de54da0aaec0a6ff176db6f2021-12-02T15:06:13ZBuilding mud castles: a perspective from brick-laying termites10.1038/s41598-017-04295-32045-2322https://doaj.org/article/a01c39ba7de54da0aaec0a6ff176db6f2017-07-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04295-3https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Animal constructions such as termite mounds have received scrutiny by architects, structural engineers, soil scientists and behavioural ecologists but their basic building blocks remain uncharacterized and the criteria used for material selection unexplored. By conducting controlled experiments on Odontotermes obesus termites, we characterize the building blocks of termite mounds and determine the key elements defining material choice and usage by these accomplished engineers. Using biocement and a self-organized process, termites fabricate, transport and assemble spherical unitary structures called boluses that have a bimodal size distribution, achieving an optimal packing solution for mound construction. Granular, hydrophilic, osmotically inactive, non-hygroscopic materials with surface roughness, rigidity and containing organic matter are the easiest to handle and are crucial determinants of mass transfer during mound construction. We suggest that these properties, along with optimal moisture availability, are important predictors of the global geographic distribution of termites.Nikita ZachariahAritra DasTejas G. MurthyRenee M. BorgesNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Nikita Zachariah Aritra Das Tejas G. Murthy Renee M. Borges Building mud castles: a perspective from brick-laying termites
description	Abstract Animal constructions such as termite mounds have received scrutiny by architects, structural engineers, soil scientists and behavioural ecologists but their basic building blocks remain uncharacterized and the criteria used for material selection unexplored. By conducting controlled experiments on Odontotermes obesus termites, we characterize the building blocks of termite mounds and determine the key elements defining material choice and usage by these accomplished engineers. Using biocement and a self-organized process, termites fabricate, transport and assemble spherical unitary structures called boluses that have a bimodal size distribution, achieving an optimal packing solution for mound construction. Granular, hydrophilic, osmotically inactive, non-hygroscopic materials with surface roughness, rigidity and containing organic matter are the easiest to handle and are crucial determinants of mass transfer during mound construction. We suggest that these properties, along with optimal moisture availability, are important predictors of the global geographic distribution of termites.
format	article
author	Nikita Zachariah Aritra Das Tejas G. Murthy Renee M. Borges
author_facet	Nikita Zachariah Aritra Das Tejas G. Murthy Renee M. Borges
author_sort	Nikita Zachariah
title	Building mud castles: a perspective from brick-laying termites
title_short	Building mud castles: a perspective from brick-laying termites
title_full	Building mud castles: a perspective from brick-laying termites
title_fullStr	Building mud castles: a perspective from brick-laying termites
title_full_unstemmed	Building mud castles: a perspective from brick-laying termites
title_sort	building mud castles: a perspective from brick-laying termites
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/a01c39ba7de54da0aaec0a6ff176db6f
work_keys_str_mv	AT nikitazachariah buildingmudcastlesaperspectivefrombricklayingtermites AT aritradas buildingmudcastlesaperspectivefrombricklayingtermites AT tejasgmurthy buildingmudcastlesaperspectivefrombricklayingtermites AT reneemborges buildingmudcastlesaperspectivefrombricklayingtermites
_version_	1718388533138292736

Building mud castles: a perspective from brick-laying termites

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