title: Cuticular hydrocarbons and aggression in the termite Macrotermes subhyalinus.
abstract: Cuticular hydrocarbons are among the prime candidates for nestmate recognition in social insects. We analyzed the variation of cuticular hydrocarbons in the termite species M. subhyalinus in West Africa (Comoë National Park) on a small spatial scale (< 1 km). We found considerable variation in the composition of cuticular hydrocarbons among colonies, with four distinct chemical phenotypes. Different phenotypes occurred within each of the four habitats. The difference between these phenotypes is primarily due to unsaturated compounds. A clear correlation between the difference of the hydrocarbon composition and the aggression between colonies was found. This correlation also holds in a multivariate analysis of genetic similarity (measured by AFLPs), morphometric distances (measured by Mahalanobis-distances). as well as geographic distances between colonies. In a more detailed analysis of the correlation between the composition of cuticular hydrocarbons and aggression, we found that no single compound is sufficient to explain variation in aggression between pairings of colonies. Thus, termites seem to use a bouquet of compounds. Multiple regression analysis suggested that many of these compounds are unsaturated hydrocarbons and, thus, may play a key role in colony recognition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Physiology, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany. manfred.kaib@uni-bayreuth.de
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaib
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jmhasly
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wilfert
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Durka
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Franke
authors.forename: Wittko
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Francke
authors.forename: Reinhard H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Leuthold
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brandl
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression; D000818:Animals; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D005260:Female; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020049:Isoptera / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012919:Social Behavior
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons