Study on leaf-cutting ants: from laboratory maintenance to applied personality studies with behavioral and molecular approaches

• Ano de defesa: 2022
• Autor(a) principal: Silva, Janiele Pereira da
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Biblioteca Digitais de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Palavras-chave em Português: Atta sexdens; behavior; behavior syndrome; comportamento; genetic; genética; protocol; protocolo; síndrome comportamental
• Link de acesso: https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/47/47132/tde-06092022-084659/

Atta sexdens, popularly known as leaf-cutting ant, is a species of biological and economic importance. Although these leaf-cutting ants have been studied for decades, there are still unanswered questions. An alternative that helps the development of research difficult to be executed in field is the maintenance of colonies under controlled conditions, such as in a laboratory. Tests realized in a laboratory environment can assess different lines of research, such as behavior and genetics. Considering the advantages of maintaining colonies of leaf-cutting ants in the laboratory, this thesis addresses the relationship between the species and research, covering the initial stages of creation until its application in studies in different areas. The thesis is divided into chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the topics explored and outlines of the thesis. Chapter 2 is composed by the protocol for collecting and maintaining leaf-cutting ants in the laboratory, followed by results exemplifying research and emphasizing the educational importance of ants. In Chapter 3, behavioral tests were performed to assess the existence of personality and behavioral syndrome in leaf-cutting ants. The results indicate that both exist in multilevels (colony and caste), in addition to some traits being related to worker size and subcastes. Chapter 4 (under development) investigated the reproduction system and genetic diversity associated with the personality of leaf-cutting ants. Preliminary results indicate that polyandry level is higher than literature recorded, but increasing the genetic variability of the colony. And low paternity skew within colonies gives evidence of uniform use of sperm. But only with the conclusion of the analysis will it be possible to clarify the genetic relationship within the colony with the personality of the workers