%0 Journal Article
%T Do host species evolve a specific response to slave-making ants?
%A Olivier Delattre
%A Rumsa£¿s Blatrix
%A Nicolas Chaline
%A St¨¦phane Chameron
%A Anne F¨¦dou
%A Chlo¨¦ Leroy
%A Pierre Jaisson
%J Frontiers in Zoology
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1742-9994-9-38
%X Cuticular hydrocarbon profiles were distinct between species, but host species did not show a clearly higher aggression rate towards the parasite than toward non-parasite intruders, unless the degree of response was scaled by the chemical distance between intruders and recipient colonies. By doing so, we show that workers of the host and of a non-host species in the parasitized site displayed more agonistic behaviors (bites and ejections) towards parasite than toward non-parasite intruders.We used two different analyses of our behavioral data (standardized with the chemical distance between colonies or not) to test our hypothesis. Standardized data show behavioral differences which could indicate qualitative and specific parasite recognition. We finally stress the importance of considering the whole set of potentially interacting species to understand the coevolution between social parasites and their hosts.Parasitism is an interspecific interaction where the host species suffers from the exploitation of its resources by the parasite. Any defense strategy minimizing the impact of the parasite on host fitness is therefore likely to be selected for. In this case, escalation of reciprocal counter-adaptations between the parasite and its host is likely to lead to an "arms race" [1]. This coevolutionary process is considered an important factor that shapes species life history and plays a key role in the geographic mosaic of coevolution through local adaptations [2,3]. Thus, elucidating patterns of local host-parasite interactions helps understanding prominent factors in the evolution of life history traits.Social parasitism is a complex parasite-host interaction since it not only involves individuals but societies. Mainly found in social bees, wasps and ants, social parasites use the worker force of another social species to rear their own brood [4]. In the case of dulotic species (so called slave-makers), the parasite workers are specialized for conducting raids in a t
%K Coevolution
%K Formicidae
%K Social recognition
%K Social parasitism
%K Temnothorax
%U http://www.frontiersinzoology.com/content/9/1/38