Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/28289
Title: Implications of Climate Change on the Behaviour and Activity Patterns of the Ubiquitous Meat Ant, Iridomyrmex purpureus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Smith, 1858)
Contributor(s): Perston, Yinika L (author); Andrew, Nigel R  (author)orcid ; McDonald, Paul G  (author)orcid 
Publication Date: 2018-10
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/28289
Abstract: Ground temperatures can significantly influence the behaviour and activity patterns of small ectothermic and regional heterothermic species. This is critical to consider in light of a rapidly changing macroclimate, as shifts in behaviours such as foraging and aggression levels will also have more extreme impacts at smaller spatial scales. Here we assessed the effect temperature has on the actual behaviours completed, or 'task allocation' of the dominant Australian meat ant, 'Iridomymex purpureus' (Smith, 1858), at a temperate site in south-eastern Australia. Results indicate that 'I. purpureus' activity is directly affected by temperature, with higher levels of activity being carried out at greater speeds as soil surface temperatures increase. In addition, this study provides the first ethogram of 'I. purpureus' behaviours. As temperatures are expected to continue increasing owing to anthropogenic climate change, the ants may modify their behaviours to effectively forage in a warmer climate. This may include foraging earlier and later during the day, and changing interaction patterns between nest mates.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: General and Applied Entomology, v.46, p. 1-9
Publisher: Entomological Society of New South Wales Inc, Entomology Department
Place of Publication: Australia
ISSN: 0158-0760
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 060801 Animal Behaviour
060201 Behavioural Ecology
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 310901 Animal behaviour
310301 Behavioural ecology
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 280102 Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Environmental and Rural Science

Files in This Item:
1 files
File SizeFormat 
Show full item record

Page view(s)

1,052
checked on Sep 17, 2023

Download(s)

2
checked on Sep 17, 2023
Google Media

Google ScholarTM

Check


Items in Research UNE are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.