Eficiência de colônias de Dinoponera quadriceps na desobstrução da entrada do ninho em laboratório

Abstract

In species of eussocial insects, the development of constant behavioral responses influences how individuals perform tasks. The entry of the Dinoponera quadriceps colonies are commonly found next to tree roots and in this way the colonies are subject to the natural senescence of the vegetation, fall of leaves and branches, erosion caused by rain or the seasonal characteristics of the tree. If something happens to obstruct the entry of the colonies, the colonies will have a problem in obtaining resources, which makes clearing necessary as soon as the problem is identified. This study sought to analyze how colonies of Dinoponera quadriceps behave when faced with obstruction of the nest entrance in the laboratory and if there is a strategy to solve this task. There was a strong inverse correlation between the number of individuals in each colony (No. Ind.) and the time spent on active interaction behavior (EX A (s)) with obstacle, such as biting or pulling, active external, as well as an inverse correlation between the number of individuals (Ind. No.) and total external behavior relative to the participating individuals (Ex AP T / n). The analysis of variance between the colonies did not show significant differences between the colonies, which means that there are chances that the results are random. However, the power of the test performed with alpha relative to the analysis of variance was less than the desired, making the probability of detecting a difference that really exists smaller.