Adaptive significance of cooperative behaviors between founding queens of Polyrhachis moesta and the effect of biogenic amine on the queen behaviors

• Project/Area Number: 25450483
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Insect science
• Research Institution: Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
• Principal Investigator: Satoh Toshiyuki 東京農工大学, (連合)農学研究科(研究院), 准教授 (80242238)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 小山 哲史 東京農工大学, (連合)農学研究科(研究院), 准教授 (10549637) ; 佐々木 謙 玉川大学, 農学部, 准教授 (40387353) ; 大松 勉 東京農工大学, 農学部, 講師 (60455392)
• Research Collaborator: MATSUI Shingo
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2016)
• Budget Amount: ¥5,070,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,170,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000); Fiscal Year 2013: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
• Keywords: 協力行動 / 社会性 / オクトパミン / 血縁 / 敵対行動 / 社会性昆虫 / 栄養交換 / 創設女王 / 互恵的利他行動 / 生体アミン / アリ / 行動変化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The study of cooperative behaviors between non-kin individuals in invertebrates is important for the better understanding of the general rule of social evolution. Founding queens of an ant species, Polyrhachis moesta, cooperatively overwinter and found new colonies, however, matured colonies become single-queened, and those queens are hostile with each other. This study revealed that: (1) founding queens are cooperative before overwintering irrespectively they were nestmates or not, however, they become cooperative to only nestmates after overwintering; (2) brain octopamine level of queens from mature colonies is significantly higher than founding queens; (3) octopamine fed founding queens can be induced hostility against different founding queens. Those findings will contribute the better understanding of factors supporting the maintenance of cooperative behaviors.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Resource partitioning based on body size contributes to the species diversity of wood-boring beetles and arboreal nesting ants. (2016)
  • Author(s): Satoh, T., Yoshida, T.*, Koyama, S., Yamagami, A., Takata, M., Doi, H., Kurachi, T., Hayashi, S., Hirobe, T., Hata, Y.
  • Journal Title: Insect Conservation and Diversity Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Pages: 4-12
  • DOI: 10.1111/icad.12136
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Octopamine and cooperation: octopamine regulates the disappearance of cooperative behaviours between genetically unrelated founding queens in the ant. (2015)
  • Author(s): Satoshi Koyama, Shingo Matsui, Toshiyuki Satoh and Ken Sasaki
  • Journal Title: Biology letters Volume: 11 Issue: 6 Pages: 1-4
  • DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0206
  • Peer Reviewed / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Food exchange behavior between multiple founding queens of Polyrhachis moesta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) changes during hibernation (2013)
  • Author(s): A. Hashimoto, K. Sasaki, S. Koyama, T. Satoh
  • Journal Title: Applied Entomology and Zoology Volume: 48 Issue: 2 Pages: 141-145
  • DOI: 10.1007/s13355-013-0161-y
  • NAID: 40019651156
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] アリの学習が行動と意思決定に与える影響 (2016)
  • Author(s): 野村浩介・小山哲史・山口剛・平岡毅・佐藤俊幸
  • Organizer: 日本動物行動学会第 35 回大会
  • Place of Presentation: 新潟大学五十嵐キャンパス
  • Year and Date: 2016-11-11
• [Presentation] Octopamine regulates social behaviors between genetically unrelated ant queens. (2014)
  • Author(s): Satoshi Koyama, Shingo Matsui, Toshiyuki Satoh, Ken Sasaki
  • Organizer: 国際社会性昆虫学会
  • Place of Presentation: オーストラリア・ケアンズ
  • Year and Date: 2014-07-15
• [Presentation] 脳内オクトパミン量の上昇がチクシトゲアリ女王の協力行動を減少させる (2014)
  • Author(s): ○小山哲史 1・松井伸吾 1・佐藤俊幸 1・佐々木謙 2（農工大 農1・玉川大 農
  • Organizer: 第58回日本応用動物昆虫学会
  • Place of Presentation: 高知大学朝倉キャンパス