---
OA_type: closed access
_id: '19302'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "Social interaction networks of insect colonies facilitate efficient information
    exchange and\r\ndemonstrate adaptive changes to mitigate disease transmission.
    While circadian rhythms\r\ninfluence individual behaviour, their role in shaping
    colony-level defences against pathogens\r\nremains unexplored. Here, we investigate
    whether social networks of the black garden ant,\r\nLasius niger, exhibit circadian
    rhythms and how these rhythms influence disease vulnerability\r\nwhen colonies
    are exposed to a pathogen during the day or the night.\r\nWe first establish baseline
    daily variations in activity and network dynamics in pathogen-free\r\ncolonies,
    revealing constitutive daily fluctuations in disease susceptibility. Subsequently,
    we\r\nexamine pathogen-induced changes in sanitary care and network dynamics by
    exposing\r\nforagers to a natural pathogen (Metarhizium brunneum) during either
    the day or the night.\r\nIndividual pathogen loads were measured after a nine-hour
    post-exposure period to evaluate\r\ntransmission outcomes.\r\nOur results demonstrate
    that diurnal ant colonies maintain robust circadian patterns in network\r\nproperties
    while flexibly adapting to pathogen exposure. Ants upregulate sanitary care\r\nirrespective
    of exposure timing, prioritising the protection of the valuable colony centre\r\nconsisting
    of nurses and the queen. These findings underscore the robustness and adaptability\r\nof
    ant colonies in balancing circadian rhythms with effective social immune responses."
acknowledged_ssus:
- _id: LifeSc
acknowledgement: Thank you to the Lab Support Facility at ISTA. Thank you to the European
  Research Council (ERC) for their funding under the European Union’s Horizon 2020
  research and innovation program (ERC Consolidator Grant EPIDEMICSonCHIP, No. 771402,
  to Sylvia Cremer, and ERC Starting Grant DISEASE, No. 802628, to Nathalie Stroeymeyt).
alternative_title:
- ISTA Thesis
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Linda
  full_name: Sartoris, Linda
  id: 2B9284CA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Sartoris
citation:
  ama: Sartoris L. The effect of circadian rhythm on organisational immunity of ant
    colonies. 2025. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-19302">10.15479/AT-ISTA-19302</a>
  apa: Sartoris, L. (2025). <i>The effect of circadian rhythm on organisational immunity
    of ant colonies</i>. Institute of Science and Technology Austria. <a href="https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-19302">https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-19302</a>
  chicago: Sartoris, Linda. “The Effect of Circadian Rhythm on Organisational Immunity
    of Ant Colonies.” Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-19302">https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-19302</a>.
  ieee: L. Sartoris, “The effect of circadian rhythm on organisational immunity of
    ant colonies,” Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2025.
  ista: Sartoris L. 2025. The effect of circadian rhythm on organisational immunity
    of ant colonies. Institute of Science and Technology Austria.
  mla: Sartoris, Linda. <i>The Effect of Circadian Rhythm on Organisational Immunity
    of Ant Colonies</i>. Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2025, doi:<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-19302">10.15479/AT-ISTA-19302</a>.
  short: L. Sartoris, The Effect of Circadian Rhythm on Organisational Immunity of
    Ant Colonies, Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2025.
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2025-03-06T12:16:54Z
date_published: 2025-02-24T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-03-02T23:31:14Z
day: '24'
ddc:
- '577'
degree_awarded: PhD
department:
- _id: GradSch
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.15479/AT-ISTA-19302
ec_funded: 1
file:
- access_level: closed
  checksum: 7e9466dcf3681454211b74b5107e9f7b
  content_type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
  creator: lsartori
  date_created: 2025-03-07T10:16:11Z
  date_updated: 2026-02-23T23:30:03Z
  embargo_to: open_access
  file_id: '19310'
  file_name: Thesis_Linda_Sartoris.docx
  file_size: 7129583
  relation: source_file
- access_level: closed
  checksum: 2ccfcf32f0590bb0ec1a488e606a73f5
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: lsartori
  date_created: 2025-03-11T10:42:20Z
  date_updated: 2026-03-02T23:31:13Z
  description: for printing purposes only
  embargo_to: open_access
  file_id: '19384'
  file_name: thesis_Sartoris_for_print.pdf
  file_size: 3199703
  relation: other
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: 1d1f3c1279065b1a7f407ff6d1ee1503
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: lsartori
  date_created: 2025-03-11T10:52:00Z
  date_updated: 2026-02-23T23:30:03Z
  embargo: 2026-02-23
  file_id: '19385'
  file_name: Thesis_Linda_Sartoris.pdf
  file_size: 3183186
  relation: main_file
file_date_updated: 2026-03-02T23:31:13Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
month: '02'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: '85'
project:
- _id: 2649B4DE-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
  call_identifier: H2020
  grant_number: '771402'
  name: Epidemics in ant societies on a chip
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2663-337X
publication_status: published
publisher: Institute of Science and Technology Austria
status: public
supervisor:
- first_name: Sylvia
  full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
  id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Cremer
  orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
title: The effect of circadian rhythm on organisational immunity of ant colonies
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by_nc_nd.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
    (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
  short: CC BY-NC-ND (4.0)
type: dissertation
user_id: 8b945eb4-e2f2-11eb-945a-df72226e66a9
year: '2025'
...
---
_id: '10568'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Genetic adaptation and phenotypic plasticity facilitate the migration into
    new habitats and enable organisms to cope with a rapidly changing environment.
    In contrast to genetic adaptation that spans multiple generations as an evolutionary
    process, phenotypic plasticity allows acclimation within the life-time of an organism.
    Genetic adaptation and phenotypic plasticity are usually studied in isolation,
    however, only by including their interactive impact, we can understand acclimation
    and adaptation in nature. We aimed to explore the contribution of adaptation and
    plasticity in coping with an abiotic (salinity) and a biotic (Vibrio bacteria)
    stressor using six different populations of the broad-nosed pipefish Syngnathus
    typhle that originated from either high [14–17 Practical Salinity Unit (PSU)]
    or low (7–11 PSU) saline environments along the German coastline of the Baltic
    Sea. We exposed wild caught animals, to either high (15 PSU) or low (7 PSU) salinity,
    representing native and novel salinity conditions and allowed animals to mate.
    After male pregnancy, offspring was split and each half was exposed to one of
    the two salinities and infected with Vibrio alginolyticus bacteria that were evolved
    at either of the two salinities in a fully reciprocal design. We investigated
    life-history traits of fathers and expression of 47 target genes in mothers and
    offspring. Pregnant males originating from high salinity exposed to low salinity
    were highly susceptible to opportunistic fungi infections resulting in decreased
    offspring size and number. In contrast, no signs of fungal infection were identified
    in fathers originating from low saline conditions suggesting that genetic adaptation
    has the potential to overcome the challenges encountered at low salinity. Offspring
    from parents with low saline origin survived better at low salinity suggesting
    genetic adaptation to low salinity. In addition, gene expression analyses of juveniles
    indicated patterns of local adaptation, trans-generational plasticity and developmental
    plasticity. In conclusion, our study suggests that pipefish are locally adapted
    to the low salinity in their environment, however, they are retaining phenotypic
    plasticity, which allows them to also cope with ancestral salinity levels and
    prevailing pathogens.
acknowledgement: We are grateful for the help of Kristina Dauven, Andreas Ebner, Janina
  Röckner, and Paulina Urban for fish collection in the field and fish maintenance.
  Furthermore, we thank Fabian Wendt for setting up the aquaria system and Tatjana
  Liese, Paulina Urban, Jakob Gismann, and Thorsten Reusch for support with DNA extraction
  and analysis of pipefish population structure. The authors acknowledge support of
  Isabel Tanger, Agnes Piecyk, Jonas Müller, Grace Walls, Sebastian Albrecht, Julia
  Böge, and Julia Stefanschitz for their support in preparing cDNA and running of
  Fluidigm chips. A special thank goes to Diana Gill for general lab support, ordering
  materials and just being the good spirit of our molecular lab, to Till Bayer for
  bioinformatics support and to Melanie Heckwolf for fruitful discussion and feedback
  on the manuscript. HG is very grateful for inspirational office space with ocean
  view provided by Lisa Hentschel and family. This manuscript has been released as
  a pre-print at BIORXIV.
article_number: '626442'
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Henry
  full_name: Goehlich, Henry
  last_name: Goehlich
- first_name: Linda
  full_name: Sartoris, Linda
  id: 2B9284CA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Sartoris
- first_name: Kim-Sara
  full_name: Wagner, Kim-Sara
  last_name: Wagner
- first_name: Carolin C.
  full_name: Wendling, Carolin C.
  last_name: Wendling
- first_name: Olivia
  full_name: Roth, Olivia
  last_name: Roth
citation:
  ama: Goehlich H, Sartoris L, Wagner K-S, Wendling CC, Roth O. Pipefish locally adapted
    to low salinity in the Baltic Sea retain phenotypic plasticity to cope with ancestral
    salinity levels. <i>Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</i>. 2021;9. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.626442">10.3389/fevo.2021.626442</a>
  apa: Goehlich, H., Sartoris, L., Wagner, K.-S., Wendling, C. C., &#38; Roth, O.
    (2021). Pipefish locally adapted to low salinity in the Baltic Sea retain phenotypic
    plasticity to cope with ancestral salinity levels. <i>Frontiers in Ecology and
    Evolution</i>. Frontiers Media. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.626442">https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.626442</a>
  chicago: Goehlich, Henry, Linda Sartoris, Kim-Sara Wagner, Carolin C. Wendling,
    and Olivia Roth. “Pipefish Locally Adapted to Low Salinity in the Baltic Sea Retain
    Phenotypic Plasticity to Cope with Ancestral Salinity Levels.” <i>Frontiers in
    Ecology and Evolution</i>. Frontiers Media, 2021. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.626442">https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.626442</a>.
  ieee: H. Goehlich, L. Sartoris, K.-S. Wagner, C. C. Wendling, and O. Roth, “Pipefish
    locally adapted to low salinity in the Baltic Sea retain phenotypic plasticity
    to cope with ancestral salinity levels,” <i>Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</i>,
    vol. 9. Frontiers Media, 2021.
  ista: Goehlich H, Sartoris L, Wagner K-S, Wendling CC, Roth O. 2021. Pipefish locally
    adapted to low salinity in the Baltic Sea retain phenotypic plasticity to cope
    with ancestral salinity levels. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 9, 626442.
  mla: Goehlich, Henry, et al. “Pipefish Locally Adapted to Low Salinity in the Baltic
    Sea Retain Phenotypic Plasticity to Cope with Ancestral Salinity Levels.” <i>Frontiers
    in Ecology and Evolution</i>, vol. 9, 626442, Frontiers Media, 2021, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.626442">10.3389/fevo.2021.626442</a>.
  short: H. Goehlich, L. Sartoris, K.-S. Wagner, C.C. Wendling, O. Roth, Frontiers
    in Ecology and Evolution 9 (2021).
date_created: 2021-12-20T07:53:19Z
date_published: 2021-03-25T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-08-17T06:27:22Z
day: '25'
ddc:
- '597'
department:
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.3389/fevo.2021.626442
external_id:
  isi:
  - '000637736300001'
file:
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: 8d6e2b767bb0240a9b5a3a3555be51fd
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: alisjak
  date_created: 2021-12-20T10:44:20Z
  date_updated: 2021-12-20T10:44:20Z
  file_id: '10572'
  file_name: 2021_Frontiers_Goehlich.pdf
  file_size: 3175085
  relation: main_file
  success: 1
file_date_updated: 2021-12-20T10:44:20Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '         9'
isi: 1
keyword:
- ecology
- evolution
- behavior and systematics
- trans-generational plasticity
- genetic adaptation
- local adaptation
- phenotypic plasticity
- Baltic Sea
- climate change
- salinity
- syngnathids
language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
month: '03'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 2296-701X
publication_status: published
publisher: Frontiers Media
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Pipefish locally adapted to low salinity in the Baltic Sea retain phenotypic
  plasticity to cope with ancestral salinity levels
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 4359f0d1-fa6c-11eb-b949-802e58b17ae8
volume: 9
year: '2021'
...