Location
Presentation- College of Science and Mathematics
Document Type and Release Option
Thesis Presentation (Restricted to Georgia Southern)
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Joshua Gibson
Faculty Mentor Email
jgibson@georgiasouthern.edu
Presentation Year
2021
Start Date
26-4-2021 12:00 AM
End Date
30-4-2021 12:00 AM
Keywords
Georgia Southern University, Honors Symposium, Presentation
Description
Argentine ants, Linepithema humile, are a globally invasive species that displaces native species and facilitates agricultural pests. Colonies occupy distinct territories with multiple nests and defend them against other colonies. Ants have a waxy coating of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) and can detect (i.e. smell) differences in these CHCs to identify their own vs foreign colonies. In the US, Argentine ants have been primarily studied in California where they only form four massive colonies showing mutual aggression, some spanning more than 500 miles. In the Southeast, colony recognition remains largely unexplored; however, we have identified several smaller colonies based on behavioral differences across lesser distances. It is currently unknown why the California ants interact as a single colony even across long distances while the Southeastern ants are found in many smaller colonies. The CHC profiles of the four colonies in California are known to contain over 70 chemicals, but it is unclear which components are most important for recognition. We collected Argentine ants from within and across colonies in Southeast Georgia as well as the largest California colony to analyze their CHC profiles using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). We will present an analysis of the qualitative differences within and between colonies in Southeast Georgia. Overall, this work increases our understanding of the role of CHC profiles in facilitating colony recognition in Argentine ants, which may be key to stopping the spread of these highly invasive insects.
Academic Unit
College of Science and Mathematics
Characterization of Cuticular Hydrocarbon Profiles in Southeastern Argentine Ant (Linepithema humile) Colonies
Presentation- College of Science and Mathematics
Argentine ants, Linepithema humile, are a globally invasive species that displaces native species and facilitates agricultural pests. Colonies occupy distinct territories with multiple nests and defend them against other colonies. Ants have a waxy coating of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) and can detect (i.e. smell) differences in these CHCs to identify their own vs foreign colonies. In the US, Argentine ants have been primarily studied in California where they only form four massive colonies showing mutual aggression, some spanning more than 500 miles. In the Southeast, colony recognition remains largely unexplored; however, we have identified several smaller colonies based on behavioral differences across lesser distances. It is currently unknown why the California ants interact as a single colony even across long distances while the Southeastern ants are found in many smaller colonies. The CHC profiles of the four colonies in California are known to contain over 70 chemicals, but it is unclear which components are most important for recognition. We collected Argentine ants from within and across colonies in Southeast Georgia as well as the largest California colony to analyze their CHC profiles using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). We will present an analysis of the qualitative differences within and between colonies in Southeast Georgia. Overall, this work increases our understanding of the role of CHC profiles in facilitating colony recognition in Argentine ants, which may be key to stopping the spread of these highly invasive insects.
Comments
This work is archived and distributed under the repository's standard copyright and reuse license, available here. Under this license, end-users may copy, store, and distribute this work without restriction. For questions related to additional reuse of this work, please contact the copyright owner.