ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2015
Polymorphism and division of labour in a socially complex ant: neuromodulation of aggression in the Australian weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 61 citations in OpenAlex.
- Endoreduplication underlies body size variation in monomorphic ants.Frontiers in zoology · 2026Article
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- Neuropeptides specify and reprogram division of labor in the leafcutter ant Atta cephalotes.Cell · 2025Article
- Behavioral Variation in Individual and Group Exploration of the Tropical Fire antZoological studies · 2025Article
- The social organization of the Asian weaver ant colonies: A natural enemy novel sub-castes worker's functional activity findings.PloS one · 2025Article
- Neuropeptides specify and reprogram division of labor in the leafcutter antbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Elucidating the daily foraging activity pattern ofHeliyon · 2024Article
- The effect of urbanization and temperature on thermal tolerance, foraging performance, and competition in cavity-dwelling ants.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Review
- Olfactory sensitivity differentiates morphologically distinct worker castes in Camponotus floridanus.BMC biology · 2023Article
- Initial parasitic behaviour of the temporary social parasitic ant Polyrhachis lamellidens can be induced by host-like cuticles in laboratory environment.Biology open · 2022Article
- Neuromodulation and Individuality.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2021Review
- The neuroplasticity of division of labor: worker polymorphism, compound eye structure and brain organization in the leafcutter ant Atta cephalotes.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2020Article
- Downregulation ofFrontiers in physiology · 2019Article
- Caste-Specific Expression of NaNeotropical entomology · 2018Article
- Insect Antennal Morphology: The Evolution of Diverse Solutions to Odorant Perception.The Yale journal of biology and medicine · 2018Review
- Microbial Community Composition Reveals Spatial Variation and Distinctive Core Microbiome of the Weaver Ant Oecophylla smaragdina in Malaysia.Scientific reports · 2018Article
- Origanum vulgare terpenoids modulate Myrmica scabrinodis brain biogenic amines and ant behaviour.PloS one · 2018Article
- Origins of Aminergic Regulation of Behavior in Complex Insect Social Systems.Frontiers in systems neuroscience · 2017Article
- Social complexity influences brain investment and neural operation costs in ants.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2016Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Complex social structure in eusocial insects can involve worker morphological and behavioural differentiation. Neuroanatomical variation may underscore worker division of labour, but the regulatory mechanisms of size-based task specialization in polymorphic species are unknown. The Australian weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina, exhibits worker polyphenism: larger major workers aggressively defend arboreal territories, whereas smaller minors nurse brood.Here, we demonstrate that octopamine (OA) modulates worker size-related aggression in O. smaragdina. We found that the brains of majors had significantly higher titres of OA than those of minors and that OA was positively and specifically correlated with the frequency of aggressive responses to non-nestmates, a key component of territorial defence. Pharmacological manipulations that effectively switched OA action in major and minor worker brains reversed levels of aggression characteristic of each worker size class. Results suggest that altering OA action is sufficient to produce differences in aggression characteristic of size-related social roles. Neuromodulators therefore may generate variation in responsiveness to task-related stimuli associated with worker size differentiation and collateral behavioural specializations, a significant component of division of labour in complex social systems.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.