Switching escape strategies in the parasitic ant cricket Myrmecophilus tetramorii
Abstract Social parasites employ diverse strategies to deceive and infiltrate their hosts in order to benefit from stable resources. Although escape behaviours are considered an important part of these multipronged strategies, little is known about the repertoire of potential escape behaviours and h...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Communications Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-07368-y |
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| author | Ryoya Tanaka Yuki Mitaka Daigo Takemoto Mitsuhiko P. Sato Azusa Kamikouchi Yoshinori Suzuki |
| author_facet | Ryoya Tanaka Yuki Mitaka Daigo Takemoto Mitsuhiko P. Sato Azusa Kamikouchi Yoshinori Suzuki |
| author_sort | Ryoya Tanaka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Social parasites employ diverse strategies to deceive and infiltrate their hosts in order to benefit from stable resources. Although escape behaviours are considered an important part of these multipronged strategies, little is known about the repertoire of potential escape behaviours and how they facilitate integration into the host colony. Here, we investigated the escape strategies of the parasitic ant cricket Myrmecophilus tetramorii Ichikawa (Orthoptera: Myrmecophilidae) toward its host and non-host ant workers. We identified two escape strategies with distinct trajectory characteristics by clustering analysis; distancing (defined by high-speed straight movement away from ants for emergency avoidance) and dodging (circular escape movement to get behind ants under low-threat conditions). Interestingly, dodging is dominantly elicited over distancing for host species. Furthermore, our simulations proposed that dodging contributes to efficient foraging while avoiding ants. These results demonstrate that switching to a host-adapted escape strategy facilitates integration of this parasitic cricket into ant nests. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bbc4f550b7b24b12b9d90da573bffae2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2399-3642 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-bbc4f550b7b24b12b9d90da573bffae22025-01-05T12:43:20ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Biology2399-36422024-12-017111110.1038/s42003-024-07368-ySwitching escape strategies in the parasitic ant cricket Myrmecophilus tetramoriiRyoya Tanaka0Yuki Mitaka1Daigo Takemoto2Mitsuhiko P. Sato3Azusa Kamikouchi4Yoshinori Suzuki5Graduate School of Science, Nagoya UniversityGraduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya UniversityGraduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya UniversityKazusa DNA Research Institute, KisarazuGraduate School of Science, Nagoya UniversityTokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical ScienceAbstract Social parasites employ diverse strategies to deceive and infiltrate their hosts in order to benefit from stable resources. Although escape behaviours are considered an important part of these multipronged strategies, little is known about the repertoire of potential escape behaviours and how they facilitate integration into the host colony. Here, we investigated the escape strategies of the parasitic ant cricket Myrmecophilus tetramorii Ichikawa (Orthoptera: Myrmecophilidae) toward its host and non-host ant workers. We identified two escape strategies with distinct trajectory characteristics by clustering analysis; distancing (defined by high-speed straight movement away from ants for emergency avoidance) and dodging (circular escape movement to get behind ants under low-threat conditions). Interestingly, dodging is dominantly elicited over distancing for host species. Furthermore, our simulations proposed that dodging contributes to efficient foraging while avoiding ants. These results demonstrate that switching to a host-adapted escape strategy facilitates integration of this parasitic cricket into ant nests.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-07368-y |
| spellingShingle | Ryoya Tanaka Yuki Mitaka Daigo Takemoto Mitsuhiko P. Sato Azusa Kamikouchi Yoshinori Suzuki Switching escape strategies in the parasitic ant cricket Myrmecophilus tetramorii Communications Biology |
| title | Switching escape strategies in the parasitic ant cricket Myrmecophilus tetramorii |
| title_full | Switching escape strategies in the parasitic ant cricket Myrmecophilus tetramorii |
| title_fullStr | Switching escape strategies in the parasitic ant cricket Myrmecophilus tetramorii |
| title_full_unstemmed | Switching escape strategies in the parasitic ant cricket Myrmecophilus tetramorii |
| title_short | Switching escape strategies in the parasitic ant cricket Myrmecophilus tetramorii |
| title_sort | switching escape strategies in the parasitic ant cricket myrmecophilus tetramorii |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-07368-y |
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