Collective responses to heterospecifics emerge from individual differences in aggression.

ABSTRACT: Variation in individual behavior among group members impacts collective outcomes. The ability of both individuals and groups to outcompete others can determine access to resources. The invasive Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, dominates resources and displaces native species. To determine how access to resources by groups of L. humile is impacted by their behavioral composition, we first determined that L. humile workers consistently vary in aggressive behavior. We then asked if variation in aggression within a group influences the group's ability to access a resource in the presence of cues of a native species, Tapinoma sessile. We found that the behavioral composition of L. humile groups impacted the groups' collective response to cues of T. sessil

SUBMITTER: Neumann KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6562301 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature