Young colonies, wild saplings, explosive responses

So far, I've been focusing on medium-aged colonies in medium-sized tree for standardization reasons. In a recent experiment conducted with Karla Moeller, we expanded our sampling to include young saplings and old giants. Here's a sneak peak at how one of our sapling colonies responded to leaf damage. Note that as the ant that discovered the damage returns to the stem to rally her nestmates, she is dragging her abdomen, laying a guiding chemical trail.

The Greenhouse Harvest

Photo: Barrett Klein

One year ago, the great harvest took place. Harvest time is always an exciting, bittersweet scramble. I've been studying these colonies for these colonies for two years - discovering them in the field, getting to know their personalities, extracting them and implanting them into my greenhouse, watching them recover and grow, and studying their change in behavior, if any. Now to answer many fascinating questions about colony growth, morphology, plant investment, nutrient flow, and microbe communities, the colonies and plants must be sacrificed. With 42 plants, half of them hosting colonies, timely processing is an incredible feat - impossible for one person. It was at this time that I called on the other scientists at the Gamboa field site to volunteer their spare time to help with the harvest. I was overwhelmed with support, and together, we pulled it off. Sample analysis and behavioral scoring is underway. I could not have done this without you Sebastian Stockmaier, Agustin Diaz, Megan Pendred, Eloïse Lebrun, Yussef Castillo, May Dixon, Claire Hemingway, Krzysztof Kozak, Aaron Goodman, Eva Gril, Clément Aubert, Lynette Strickland, Barrett Klein, and Brendan Dula. Any time you need a helping hand, I'll be there. 

Photo: Barrett Klein

Covergirl: Azteca-Cecropia in the American Philosophical Society Magazine

The American Philosophical Society (APS) newsletter features my research and photos in their most recent Autumn 2016 issue. The APS played a key role in making my ambitious greenhouse transplant experiment possible by providing funding through their Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research grant. I'm honored to take part!

Phase III Behavioral Reassessment Complete

All of the transplanted greenhouse colonies have been thoroughly reassessed on their patrolling behavior and responses to vibrational disturbance, leafcutter intruders, army ant intruders, and leaf damage. A terabyte of videos await analysis, so stay tuned for the colony comparisons of how much they've changed since the transplant last year and if their behavior was affected by their host plant's soil nutrients.

Watch a patroller recruit to leaf damage

Patrolling Azteca ants that discover freshly damaged leaf material recruit their nestmates to the damaged site to fend off any offenders (or even make a meal of them if they can). This robust, fascinating behavior is one of my favorites to watch unfold. However, it is very difficult to film this interaction in its entirety because tracking such small, fast individuals while maintaining a decent focus takes practice and luck. Recently, I was lucky enough to follow the discoverer from the damage site, along the leaf vein to the petiole junction, all the way across the petiole to the main stem, and back. If you look closely you can see her dragging her abdomen as she runs to lay a pheromone trail that her nestmates follow. She also seems to release an alarm pheromone at the leaf-petiole junction that activates all the poised workers waiting there.

Stretching to the Treetops

Photo by Karla Moeller

Photo by David Reyes

Photo by Tyler Murdock

After 5 years of dreaming about what Azteca colonies are like in the tops of the tallest Cecropia trees, my collaborator Karla Moeller and I have made it a reality by renting a boom lift and taking it into the jungle. Now we have answers to some very simple questions - are there separate colonies in these large branching trees? are giant colonies more or less aggressive? do they show variation in collective behavior like smaller trees? do they respond to leaf damage like younger colonies? do they colonies all branch tips, or just a few? what's the colony connectivity like between branches at opposite ends of the tree? Results are forthcoming, stay tuned. 

5 months later, the greenhouse thrives

Five months after their initial extraction, most of the transplanted colonies took to their new Cecropia plants and are thriving quite well! The plants are responding strongly to the nutrient treatments and the tallest is taller than me. Phase III, behavioral reassessment of the colonies, is imminent. Stay tuned. 

Phase II Commenced

We have harvested and implanted all the colonies to the greenhouse. It's amazing to see them take so well to their new home! I have left them in good hands and returned to Arizona. The colonies will grow and develop in their new hosts and different soil treatments until they are ripe for behavioral reassessment in early 2016. Will they maintain their personalities from the field? Will they be influenced by soil phosphorus? Stay tuned.