Carbon dioxide levels and ventilation in <italic toggle="yes">Acromyrmex</italic> nests: significance and evolution of architectural innovations in leaf-cutting ants

Leaf-cutting ant colonies largely differ in size, yet all consume O2 and produce CO2 in large amounts because of their underground fungus gardens. We have shown that in the Acromyrmex genus, three basic nest morphologies occur, and investigated the effects of architectural innovations on nest ventil...

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Autores principales:	Martin Bollazzi, Daniela Römer, Flavio Roces
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	The Royal Society 2021
Materias:	nest morphology gas exchange fungus-growing ants wind-driven flow thermal convection hypercapnia Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f185bf4e90c74cc889d9b5546e6e84ad
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f185bf4e90c74cc889d9b5546e6e84ad2021-11-24T08:05:47ZCarbon dioxide levels and ventilation in <italic toggle="yes">Acromyrmex</italic> nests: significance and evolution of architectural innovations in leaf-cutting ants10.1098/rsos.2109072054-5703https://doaj.org/article/f185bf4e90c74cc889d9b5546e6e84ad2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.210907https://doaj.org/toc/2054-5703Leaf-cutting ant colonies largely differ in size, yet all consume O2 and produce CO2 in large amounts because of their underground fungus gardens. We have shown that in the Acromyrmex genus, three basic nest morphologies occur, and investigated the effects of architectural innovations on nest ventilation. We recognized (i) serial nests, similar to the ancestral type of the sister genus Trachymyrmex, with chambers excavated along a vertical tunnel connecting to the outside via a single opening, (ii) shallow nests, with one/few chambers extending shallowly with multiple connections to the outside, and (iii) thatched nests, with an above-ground fungus garden covered with plant material. Ventilation in shallow and thatched nests, but not in serial nests, occurred via wind-induced flows and thermal convection. CO2 concentrations were below the values known to affect the respiration of the symbiotic fungus, indicating that shallow and thatched nests are not constrained by harmful CO2 levels. Serial nests may be constrained depending on the soil CO2 levels. We suggest that in Acromyrmex, selective pressures acting on temperature and humidity control led to nesting habits closer to or above the soil surface and to the evolution of architectural innovations that improved gas exchanges.Martin BollazziDaniela RömerFlavio RocesThe Royal Societyarticlenest morphologygas exchangefungus-growing antswind-driven flowthermal convectionhypercapniaScienceQENRoyal Society Open Science, Vol 8, Iss 11 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	nest morphology gas exchange fungus-growing ants wind-driven flow thermal convection hypercapnia Science Q
spellingShingle	nest morphology gas exchange fungus-growing ants wind-driven flow thermal convection hypercapnia Science Q Martin Bollazzi Daniela Römer Flavio Roces Carbon dioxide levels and ventilation in <italic toggle="yes">Acromyrmex</italic> nests: significance and evolution of architectural innovations in leaf-cutting ants
description	Leaf-cutting ant colonies largely differ in size, yet all consume O2 and produce CO2 in large amounts because of their underground fungus gardens. We have shown that in the Acromyrmex genus, three basic nest morphologies occur, and investigated the effects of architectural innovations on nest ventilation. We recognized (i) serial nests, similar to the ancestral type of the sister genus Trachymyrmex, with chambers excavated along a vertical tunnel connecting to the outside via a single opening, (ii) shallow nests, with one/few chambers extending shallowly with multiple connections to the outside, and (iii) thatched nests, with an above-ground fungus garden covered with plant material. Ventilation in shallow and thatched nests, but not in serial nests, occurred via wind-induced flows and thermal convection. CO2 concentrations were below the values known to affect the respiration of the symbiotic fungus, indicating that shallow and thatched nests are not constrained by harmful CO2 levels. Serial nests may be constrained depending on the soil CO2 levels. We suggest that in Acromyrmex, selective pressures acting on temperature and humidity control led to nesting habits closer to or above the soil surface and to the evolution of architectural innovations that improved gas exchanges.
format	article
author	Martin Bollazzi Daniela Römer Flavio Roces
author_facet	Martin Bollazzi Daniela Römer Flavio Roces
author_sort	Martin Bollazzi
title	Carbon dioxide levels and ventilation in <italic toggle="yes">Acromyrmex</italic> nests: significance and evolution of architectural innovations in leaf-cutting ants
title_short	Carbon dioxide levels and ventilation in <italic toggle="yes">Acromyrmex</italic> nests: significance and evolution of architectural innovations in leaf-cutting ants
title_full	Carbon dioxide levels and ventilation in <italic toggle="yes">Acromyrmex</italic> nests: significance and evolution of architectural innovations in leaf-cutting ants
title_fullStr	Carbon dioxide levels and ventilation in <italic toggle="yes">Acromyrmex</italic> nests: significance and evolution of architectural innovations in leaf-cutting ants
title_full_unstemmed	Carbon dioxide levels and ventilation in <italic toggle="yes">Acromyrmex</italic> nests: significance and evolution of architectural innovations in leaf-cutting ants
title_sort	carbon dioxide levels and ventilation in <italic toggle="yes">acromyrmex</italic> nests: significance and evolution of architectural innovations in leaf-cutting ants
publisher	The Royal Society
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/f185bf4e90c74cc889d9b5546e6e84ad
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Carbon dioxide levels and ventilation in <italic toggle="yes">Acromyrmex</italic> nests: significance and evolution of architectural innovations in leaf-cutting ants

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