title: Resource redistribution in polydomous ant nest networks: local or global?
abstract: An important problem facing organisms in a heterogeneous environment is how to redistribute resources to where they are required. This is particularly complex in social insect societies as resources have to be moved both from the environment into the nest and between individuals within the nest. Polydomous ant colonies are split between multiple spatially separated, but socially connected, nests. Whether, and how, resources are redistributed between nests in polydomous colonies is unknown. We analyzed the nest networks of the facultatively polydomous wood antFormica lugubris. Our results indicate that resource redistribution in polydomousF. lugubriscolonies is organized at the local level between neighboring nests and not at the colony level. We found that internest trails connecting nests that differed more in their amount of foraging were stronger than trails between nests with more equal foraging activity. This indicates that resources are being exchanged directly from nests with a foraging excess to nests that require resources. In contrast, we found no significant relationships between nest properties, such as size and amount of foraging, and network measures such as centrality and connectedness. This indicates an absence of a colony-level resource exchange. This is a clear example of a complex behavior emerging as a result of local interactions between parts of a system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD , UK, ; York Centre for Complex Systems Analysis, University of York, York, YO10 5GE , UK, and.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD , UK, ; York Centre for Complex Systems Analysis, University of York, York, YO10 5GE , UK, and ; Department of Computer Science, University of York,York YO10 5GE , UK.
authors.forename: Daniel W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Franks
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD , UK, ; York Centre for Complex Systems Analysis, University of York, York, YO10 5GE , UK, and.
authors.forename: Elva J H
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Robinson
keywords: Formica lugubris; levels of selection; network analysis; polydomy; self-organization; wood ants.