Exposure to light enhances pre-adult fitness in two dark-dwelling sympatric species of ants

Lone, Shahnaz R. ; Sharma, Vijay K. (2008) Exposure to light enhances pre-adult fitness in two dark-dwelling sympatric species of ants BMC Developmental Biology, 8 (113). 113_1-113_11. ISSN 1471-213X

Full text not available from this repository.

Official URL: http://en.scientificcommons.org/41519156

Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-213X-8-113

Abstract

Background: In insects, circadian clocks play a key role in enhancing fitness by regulating life history traits such as developmental time and adult lifespan. These clocks use environmental light/dark (LD) cycles to fine-tune a wide range of behavioral and physiological processes. To study the effect of environmental LD conditions on pre-adult fitness components, we used two dark-dwelling sympatric species of ants (the night active Camponotus compressus and the day active Camponotus paria), which normally develop underground and have fairly long pre-adult developmental time. Results: Our results suggest that ants develop fastest as pre-adults when maintained under constant light (LL), followed closely by 12:12 hr light/dark (LD), and then constant darkness (DD). While light exposure alters developmental rates of almost all stages of development, the overall pre-adult development in LL is speeded-up (relative to DD) by ~37% (34 days) in C. compressus and by ~35% (31 days) in C. paria. In LD too, development is faster (relative to DD) by ~29% (26 days) in C. compressus and by ~28% (25 days) in C. paria. Pre-adult viability of both species is also higher under LL and LD compared to DD. While pre-adult development time and viability is enhanced in LL and LD, clutch-size undergoes reduction, at least in C. compressus. Conclusion: Exposure to light enhances pre-adult fitness in two dark-dwelling species of Camponotus by speeding-up development and by enhancing viability. This suggests that social ants use environmental light/dark cycles to modulate key life history traits such as pre-adult development time and viability.

Item Type:Article
Source:Copyright of this article belongs to BioMed Central.
ID Code:80368
Deposited On:31 Jan 2012 14:22
Last Modified:31 Jan 2012 14:22

Repository Staff Only: item control page