Abstract
Termites are known for building some of the most elaborate architectures observed in the animal world. We here analyse some topological properties of three dimensional networks of galleries built by termites of the genus Cubitermes. These networks are extremely sparse, in spite of the fact that there is no building cost associated with higher connectivity. In addition, more “central” vertices (in term of betweenness or degree) are preferentially localised at spatial positions far from the external nest walls (more than in a null network model calibrated to exactly the same spatial arrangement of vertices). We argue that both sparseness and the particular spatial location of “central” vertices may be adaptive, because they provide an ecological advantage for nest defence against the attacks from other insects.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Anthonisse, J.M.: The rush in a directed graph. Technical report, Stichting Matematisch Centrum, Amsterdam (1971)
Boccaletti, S., Latora, V., Moreno, Y., Chavez, M., Hwang, D.: Complex Networks: Structure and Dynamics. Physics Reports-review section of Physics Letters 424(4-5), 175–308 (2006)
Brandes, U.: A Faster Algorithm for Betweenness Centrality. Journal of Mathematical Sociology 25(2), 163–177 (2001)
Dejean, A., Fénéron, R.: Predatory Behaviour in the Ponerine Ant, Centromyrmex bequaerti: a Case of Termitolesty. Behavioural Processes 47, 125–133 (1999)
Dejean, A., Durand, J.L., Bolton, B.: Ants Inhabiting Cubitermes Termitaries in African Rain Forests. Biotropica 28(4), 701–713 (1996)
Desneux, J.: Les Constructions Hypogées des Apicotermes Termites de l’Afrique Tropicale. Annales du Musée Royal du Congo Belge Tervuren 17, 7–98 (1952)
Erdös, P., Rényi, A.: On Random Graphs. Publicationes Mathematicae 6, 290–297 (1959)
Freeman, L.C.: A Set of Measures of Centrality Based on Betweenness. Sociometry 40, 35–41 (1977)
Goss, S., Aron, S., Deneubourg, J.L., Pasteels, J.M.: Self-organized Shortcuts in the Argentine Ant. Naturwissenschaften 76, 579–581 (1989)
Grassé, P.P.: Termitologia, Tome 2: Fondation des Sociétés, Construction. Masson, Paris (1984)
Grassé, P.P.: Termitologia, Tome 3: Comportement - Socialité - Écologie - Evolution - Systematique Masson, Paris (1986)
Hansell, M.: Animal Architecture. Oxford University Press, USA (2005)
Hölldobler, B., Wilson, E.O.: The ants. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge (1990)
Korb, J., Linsenmair, K.E.: Ventilation of termite mounds: new results require a new model. Behavioral Ecology 11, 486–494 (2000)
Lüscher, M.: Der Sauerstoffverbrauch bei Termiten und die Ventilation des Nestes bei Macrotermes natalensis (Haviland). Acta Trop. 12, 289–307 (1955)
Peleg, D., Schäffer, A.: Graph Spanners. Journal of Graph Theory 13, 99–116 (1989)
Propp, J., Wilson, D.: How to Get a Perfectly Random Sample from a Generic Markov Chain and Generate a Random Spanning Tree of a Directed Graph. Journal of Algorithms 27, 170–210 (1998)
Theraulaz, G., Bonabeau, E.: Coordination in Distributed Building. Science 269(5224), 686–688 (1995)
Theraulaz, G., Bonabeau, E., Deneubourg, J.L.: The Origin of Nest Complexity in Social Insects. Complexity 3(6), 15–25 (1998)
Turner, J.S.: The Extended Organism: the Physiology of Animal-built Structures. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (2000)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Perna, A., Jost, C., Valverde, S., Gautrais, J., Theraulaz, G., Kuntz, P. (2008). The Topological Fortress of Termites. In: Liò, P., Yoneki, E., Crowcroft, J., Verma, D.C. (eds) Bio-Inspired Computing and Communication. BIOWIRE 2007. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 5151. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92191-2_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92191-2_15
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-92190-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-92191-2
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)