Navegando por Autor "Silva, Aline do Nascimento Filgueira"

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Efeito da proporção de soldados na percepção de pistas de risco durante a seleção de recursos em cupins
(2023-03-31) Silva, Cátila Regina; Cristaldo, Paulo Fellipe; Silva, Aline do Nascimento Filgueira; http://lattes.cnpq.br/1916876032100921; http://lattes.cnpq.br/0426390460269258; http://lattes.cnpq.br/0670616354756024
In nature, animals face complex situations in the search and choice of food resources, which may be accompanied by negative interactions, requiring organisms to evaluate the benefits and costs during foraging. In this process, animals use information (private or social) obtained from the environment, and this perception is even more sophisticated in social insects, where decision-making is done collectively. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of the proportion of soldiers on the perception of the change in intensity of risk cues during the selection of food resources in Nasutitermes corniger (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae). To do so, we tested the hypothesis that increasing the proportion of soldiers in groups of N. corniger increases the ability to perceive changes in risk cues during the selection of food resources. Initially, field experiments were conducted to verify the ant species that preyed the most on termites so that we could use the chemical signals of this predator as risk cues. Next, free-choice resource selection bioassays were carried out in the laboratory to evaluate the choice of groups of 30 termites in different soldier proportions (0 to 100%) for resources with different intensities of risk cues (4 uL - low or 20 uL - high), where the resources were alternated after 19h from the beginning of the experiment. A control experiment was performed without exchanging resources between arenas. In general, our results demonstrated that the presence of the soldier caste plays an essential role in the perception of risk cues, where an increase in its proportion triggers a greater perception of risk cues during the selection of food resources. This mechanism can significantly influence the understanding of the different functions that the soldier can have within the nest, the evolution of this caste, the pattern of habitat use, and the foraging of termites.
Papel dos sinais químicos na seleção de recurso em Nasutitermes corniger (Blattodea: Isoptera)
(2019-07-11) Silva, Aline do Nascimento Filgueira; Cristaldo, Paulo Fellipe; http://lattes.cnpq.br/0426390460269258; http://lattes.cnpq.br/1916876032100921
Environments are formed by patches of resources with different suitability to the organisms. During foraging, organisms need to assess the costs and benefits involved in using a resource in order to make an appropriate choice for the exploration and use of that resource. An energy-efficient way of locating the resource to be explored is to use cues left by other organisms in the environment (i.e., social information). In the present study, we evaluated the role of intra- and interspecific chemical cues in the selection of food resource in Nasutitermes corniger (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae). For this, we test the hypothesis that individuals of N. corniger are able to perceive and to avoid resources already used by different colonies of the same species and from different species. Initially, linear trail bioassays were conducted in order to verify the perception of intra- and interspecific chemical cues by N. corniger workers. Then, resource selection bioassays with a chance of choice were performed in order to evaluate the individuals' choice for food resources with intra- and interspecific chemical cues. In general, our results showed that chemical cues seem to modulate the food resource selection in N. corniger. The comprehension of the mechanisms involved in the resource selection plays a important role in the distribution of organisms in the environments, as well as the coexistence of termite species at local scale.