RSPB:中科院版纳植物园文平研究组揭示蚂蚁可破译白蚁复杂多变
2017年4月26日，国际期刊《Proceedings of the Royal Society B》在线发表了中国科学院昆明动物所实验与理论生态研究组博士生文晓岚与版纳植物园化学生态研究组文平助理研究员合作的一篇研究论文，研究报道了蚂蚁可破译白蚁复杂多变的交流信息，研究题为“Breaking the cipher: ant eavesdropping on the variational trail pheromone of its termite prey”。实验与理论研究组博士生文晓岚为文章第一作者，版纳植物园化学生态组文平助理研究员为文章通讯作者。
社会性昆虫如白蚁、蚂蚁、蜜蜂等，往往具有丰富的巢群内外的交流信号，并可被捕食者窃听。近年来，越来越多的研究注意到了捕食者和猎物信号的复杂性对捕食成功率的影响，越是复杂的信号被捕食者利用得越精准，如捕食蛙类的一些蝙蝠可以通过感知青蛙鸣叫时在水面时产生的水面波纹，准备的定位猎物，而这种波纹其实也是猎物青蛙有效求偶的必需信号成分。土栖的高等培菌白蚁是热带森林生态系统中重要土壤动物、分解者和猎物。白蚁复杂多样的巢群内信息交流信号也为捕食者蚂蚁提供了多样的猎物线索。猛蚁亚科Ponerinae和蚁亚科Formicinae的一些热带蚂蚁种类可专性捕食白蚁。虽然蚂蚁捕食白蚁的现象极为普遍，几乎遍布全球的热带地区，但是两类群的捕食关系中的化学通讯机制并不清楚。
为了研究版纳地区横纹齿猛蚁Odontoponera transversa对同区域的几种培菌白蚁(云南土白蚁Odontotermes yunnanensis, 云南大白蚁Macrotermes yunnanensis, 小头钩白蚁Ancistrotermes dimorphus)捕食过程中的化学通讯机制，本次结果发现：猛蚁对白蚁窃听的信号主要来源于白蚁的腹板腺的踪迹信息素，能被白蚁踪迹信息素提取物引诱。进一步的化学和行为分析表明：云南土白蚁会根据采食状态调节踪迹信息素的两个成分十二碳一烯醇(DOE)和十二碳二烯醇(DDE);DDE对白蚁同群个体比DOE具有更强的召募活性，其气味对蚂蚁来说指示着更丰富的猎物，也具有更高的被防御风险。蚂蚁能够从嗅觉上有效地高灵敏度地区分这两个成分以表现出不同的捕食行为反应模式。尽管修筑泥被作为防御工事以躲避蚂蚁捕食，土白蚁的踪迹信息素气味还是能通过新修泥被上的小孔漂到空气中被蚂蚁利用，捕食中的横纹齿猛蚁甚至能够破坏泥被快速准确的捕食泥被下的工蚁。这使得能高效进行踪迹化学信息交流的土白蚁成为了猛蚁的主要捕食对象。
进一步对不同属的白蚁的研究发现，不同种白蚁使用不同的踪迹信息素。除了修筑泥被防御的土白蚁有DDE和DOE两个成分用于食物信息交流外，开放空间采食的大白蚁的信息成分只有DOE，且分泌量大能引诱猛蚁，它们分化出了大量兵蚁品级分布于采食队伍周围用于防御猛蚁捕食。而钩白蚁属则只使用痕量的召募活性成分DDE以实现化学“隐形”。捕食者的选择压力使得不同属的白蚁所使用的化学通讯机制不尽相同。
原文链接：
Breaking the cipher: ant eavesdropping on the variational trail pheromone of its termite prey
原文摘要：
Predators may eavesdrop on their prey using innate signals of varying Nature. In regards to social prey, most of the prey signals are derived from social communication and may therefore be highly complex. The most efficient predators select signals that provide the highest benefits. Here, we showed the use of eusocial prey signals by the termite-raiding ant Odontoponera transversa. O. transversa selected the trail pheromone of termites as kairomone in several species of fungus-growing termites (Termitidae: Macrotermitinae: Odontotermes yunnanensis,Macrotermes yunnanensis, Ancistrotermes dimorphus). The most commonly predated termite, O. yunnanensis, was able to regulate the trail pheromone component ratios during its foraging activity. The ratio of the two trail pheromone compounds was correlated with the number of termites in the foraging party. (3Z)-Dodec-3-en-1-ol (DOE) was the dominant trail pheromone component in the initial foraging stages when fewer termites were present. Once a trail was established, (3Z,6Z)-dodeca-3,6-dien-1-ol (DDE) became the major recruitment component in the trail pheromone and enabled mass recruitment of nest-mates to the food source. Although the ants could perceive both components, they revealed stronger behavioural responses to the recruitment component, DDE, than to the common major component, DOE. In other words, the ants use the trail pheromone information as an indication of suitable prey abundance, and regulate their behavioural responses based on the changing trail pheromone component. The eavesdropping behaviour in ants therefore leads to an arms race between predator and prey where the species specific production of trail pheromones in termites is targeted by predatory ant species.
作者：文平
