Análise da personalidade e formação de hierarquia de dominância em grupos de forrageadoras nas formigas Dinoponera quadriceps (Formicidae: Ponerinae)

Abstract

The structuring of dominance hierarchy, established by behavioral interactions, is a suitable strategy in face of conflicts, which is a feature of life in groups. From this social organization the division of individuals is set to foraging or breeding castes, thus influencing the fitness of the colony. Individual mechanisms of behavioral plasticity are favorable to adjust the performance patterns. However, how the dynamic elaboration of personality profiles regulates the development of dominant individuals within the colony is still unclear. In this study, we assessed the relation between shifts in subordinate’s personality dimensions and the structuring of dominance hierarchies, in dominant less sub colonies of foragers. We used the ants Dinoponera quadriceps as model, because this specie lacks queen-worker dimorphism and they are totipotent to mate and/or forage, being the hierarchical division of the colony defined by the interplay among the ants. Overall, the ants that constituted the dominance hierarchies presented consistencies with those that remained subordinate, although, quantitatively, the foragers were more aggressive, bolder, more active and slightly better explorer than the dominants. The consistence in subordinates’ personality levels is linked with the relevance of these traits to perform their activities outside the nest. We proposed the fact of that become dominants emerge from sets of foragers, in the matrix colonies, might provide the consistence found in three quarter of measured personality dimensions assessed. This result suggests that variations in environmental and/or social conditions can influence the interplay patterns to structuring dominance hierarchies, even though these kinds of behavior are not consistent over time and correlated across different contexts and situations.