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Thermal tolerances differ between diurnal and nocturnal foragers in the ant Ectatomma ruidum

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Abstract

Physiological constraints can limit thermal niche breadth in organisms, particularly for small-bodied ectotherms. Daily temperature fluctuations often surpass annual (seasonal) temperature variation in the tropics, suggesting diel temperature cycles could drive thermal specialization by individuals that are active at different times of the day. We used foraging workers of the Neotropical ant Ectatomma ruidum to assess whether diurnally and nocturnally active workers differed in thermal tolerance. We compared critical thermal maxima (CTmax) of nocturnal and diurnal foraging workers to explore thermal niche specialization over the diel cycle. We predicted that diurnally active workers would have higher CTmax because they occupy a warmer thermal niche. As predicted, diurnal foragers exhibited significantly higher CTmax (mean 1.1 °C difference) than nocturnal foragers. Diurnal and nocturnal foragers were similar in body size, and there was no relationship between worker size and CTmax. We discuss possible mechanisms for this pattern, and the implications of within- versus between-colony differences in CTmax.

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Acknowledgements

Kaitlin Baudier, Jennifer Stynoski, Patricia Salerno and three anonymous reviewers made valuable comments on the paper. Thanks to the staff of the OTS Palo Verde Biological Station for logistical assistance. S. O’D. was supported by Drexel University startup funds and the Organization for Tropical Studies.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    C. Esch

  2. Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras Campus, Rio Piedras, PR, USA

    J. P. Jimenez

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    C. Peretz

  4. Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    H. Uno

  5. Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA

    H. Uno

  6. Department of Biodiversity Earth and Environmental Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    S. O’Donnell

Authors
  1. C. Esch
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  2. J. P. Jimenez
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  3. C. Peretz
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  4. H. Uno
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  5. S. O’Donnell
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. O’Donnell.

Appendix: Raw data

Appendix: Raw data

Colony #

Individual

CTmax (°C)

Time (min)

Body length (mm)

Species

Date: 11 June 2016

Mapache Trail at 4:10 am

 1

A

44

130

9.2

E. ruidum

 1

B

43

120

9.8

E. ruidum

 1

C

43

120

8.1

E. ruidum

 2

A

43

120

9.4

E. ruidum

 2

B

43

120

8.2

E. ruidum

 3

A

43

120

7.4

E. ruidum

 3

B

43

120

8.7

E. ruidum

 3

C

42

115

7.5

E. ruidum

 4

A

42

115

8.3

E. ruidum

 4

B

42

115

9.1

E. ruidum

 4

C

41

100

8.8

E. ruidum

Date: 11 June 2016

Mapache Trail at 2:35 pm

 5

A

44

105

7.5

E. ruidum

 6

A

44

105

6.8

E. ruidum

 6

B

44

105

8.3

E. ruidum

 6

C

44

105

7.6

E. ruidum

 7

A

44

82

7.9

E. ruidum

 7

B

44

82

8.8

E. ruidum

 7

C

44

82

9

E. ruidum

Date: 12 June 2016

Mapache Trial at 4:13 am

 8

A

43

97

6.9

E. ruidum

 8

B

44

102

6.8

E. ruidum

 9

A

42

88

6.9

E. ruidum

 9

B

44

102

7.2

E. ruidum

 9

C

44

102

7.5

E. ruidum

Date: 12 June 2016

Mapache Trial at 1:40 pm

 10

A

44

96

6.9

E. ruidum

 10

B

44

96

7.5

E. ruidum

 11

A

44

96

7.5

E. ruidum

 11

B

44

96

7.1

E. ruidum

 11

C

44

96

7.1

E. ruidum

 12

A

44

96

7.5

E. ruidum

 12

B

44

96

6.5

E. ruidum

 13

A

44

96

7.3

E. ruidum

 13

B

44

96

7.5

E. ruidum

 13

C

45

102

7

E. ruidum

 14

A

44

96

7.5

E. ruidum

 14

B

43

90

7.1

E. ruidum

 14

C

44

96

8

E. ruidum

 15

A

44

96

8

E. ruidum

 15

B

43

90

8.7

E. ruidum

 15

C

44

96

6.2

E. ruidum

 16

A

44

96

8.1

E. ruidum

 16

B

44

96

7.3

E. ruidum

 16

C

44

96

7.9

E. ruidum

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Esch, C., Jimenez, J.P., Peretz, C. et al. Thermal tolerances differ between diurnal and nocturnal foragers in the ant Ectatomma ruidum . Insect. Soc. 64, 439–444 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-017-0555-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-017-0555-x

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