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Soldiers of the termite Nasutitermes corniger (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae) increase the ability to exploit food resources

2020; Elsevier BV; Volume: 181; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104272

1872-8308

Jailton Jorge Marques do Sacramento, Paulo Fellipe Cristaldo, Daniela Lúcio Santana, Joseane Santos Cruz, Bruna Vieira dos Santos Oliveira, Amanda Teixeira Santos, Ana Paula Albano Araújo,

Animal Behavior and Reproduction

The performance of eusocial insect colonies is optimized by the division of labor among castes. Throughout the evolution of termites, there was an evident increase in the proportion of soldiers in the colonies. In derived termite species, the soldiers have a crucial role in defense and the initial phases of foraging. Here, we evaluated whether the soldiers of the Neotropical termite Nasutitermes corniger improve the foraging decisions. We tested the hypotheses that groups with soldiers (i) are more efficient searching for food, (ii) more efficiently recruit individuals, and (iii) a higher proportion of soldiers results in a more efficient balance between exploitation and exploration of food resources. Using behavioral bioassays under laboratory conditions, we show that the presence of soldiers in termite groups promotes a faster exploitation of the environment that allows them to encounter more food sources simultaneously. However, the presence of soldiers did not significantly increase the attraction of termite groups. Despite that, termite groups with higher soldier proportions were more able to perceive changes in the resource offerings by redirecting individuals to explore more profitable sources. Our results show that the role of soldiers in N. corniger increases the efficiency of termite groups in the exploration and exploitation of food resources.