Abstract
We studied the behavioral coordination mechanisms underlying morphogenesis in shelter construction by the termite Procornitermes araujoi. We detected positive feedback in both digging and pellet deposition behavior. The literature suggests two stimuli for these positive feedbacks: the emerging structure itself or volatile chemical marking added to the construction material. The experiments showed that the most important stimulus is the change in structure, but indirect evidence suggests that there is also some chemical marking involved. Beyond shedding light on the behavioral mechanisms of termite shelter construction, these results also stress the necessity of direct experimental approaches in order to identify and properly weight different coordination mechanisms underlying morphogenesis in biological systems.
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Acknowledgments
CJ acknowledges financial aid for traveling and experiments from a CAPES/Cofecub Brazil—France cooperation Grant in 2009 (No. 633/09) and from the UNESP—French Embassy visiting professor cooperation program in 2012. We thank P. Bardunias and two anonymous referees for their constructive comments on this manuscript. R. Constantino from the University of Brasilia helped with the identification of the termites.
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Fouquet, D., Costa-Leonardo, A.M., Fournier, R. et al. Coordination of construction behavior in the termite Procornitermes araujoi: structure is a stronger stimulus than volatile marking. Insect. Soc. 61, 253–264 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-014-0350-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-014-0350-x