---
_id: '732'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: 'Background: Social insects form densely crowded societies in environments
with high pathogen loads, but have evolved collective defences that mitigate the
impact of disease. However, colony-founding queens lack this protection and suffer
high rates of mortality. The impact of pathogens may be exacerbated in species
where queens found colonies together, as healthy individuals may contract pathogens
from infectious co-founders. Therefore, we tested whether ant queens avoid founding
colonies with pathogen-exposed conspecifics and how they might limit disease transmission
from infectious individuals. Results: Using Lasius Niger queens and a naturally
infecting fungal pathogen Metarhizium brunneum, we observed that queens were equally
likely to found colonies with another pathogen-exposed or sham-treated queen.
However, when one queen died, the surviving individual performed biting, burial
and removal of the corpse. These undertaking behaviours were performed prophylactically,
i.e. targeted equally towards non-infected and infected corpses, as well as carried
out before infected corpses became infectious. Biting and burial reduced the risk
of the queens contracting and dying from disease from an infectious corpse of
a dead co-foundress. Conclusions: We show that co-founding ant queens express
undertaking behaviours that, in mature colonies, are performed exclusively by
workers. Such infection avoidance behaviours act before the queens can contract
the disease and will therefore improve the overall chance of colony founding success
in ant queens.'
article_number: '219'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Christopher
full_name: Pull, Christopher
id: 3C7F4840-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Pull
orcid: 0000-0003-1122-3982
- first_name: Sylvia
full_name: Cremer, Sylvia
id: 2F64EC8C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Cremer
orcid: 0000-0002-2193-3868
citation:
ama: Pull C, Cremer S. Co-founding ant queens prevent disease by performing prophylactic
undertaking behaviour. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 2017;17(1). doi:10.1186/s12862-017-1062-4
apa: Pull, C., & Cremer, S. (2017). Co-founding ant queens prevent disease by
performing prophylactic undertaking behaviour. BMC Evolutionary Biology.
BioMed Central. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-017-1062-4
chicago: Pull, Christopher, and Sylvia Cremer. “Co-Founding Ant Queens Prevent Disease
by Performing Prophylactic Undertaking Behaviour.” BMC Evolutionary Biology.
BioMed Central, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-017-1062-4.
ieee: C. Pull and S. Cremer, “Co-founding ant queens prevent disease by performing
prophylactic undertaking behaviour,” BMC Evolutionary Biology, vol. 17,
no. 1. BioMed Central, 2017.
ista: Pull C, Cremer S. 2017. Co-founding ant queens prevent disease by performing
prophylactic undertaking behaviour. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17(1), 219.
mla: Pull, Christopher, and Sylvia Cremer. “Co-Founding Ant Queens Prevent Disease
by Performing Prophylactic Undertaking Behaviour.” BMC Evolutionary Biology,
vol. 17, no. 1, 219, BioMed Central, 2017, doi:10.1186/s12862-017-1062-4.
short: C. Pull, S. Cremer, BMC Evolutionary Biology 17 (2017).
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:48:12Z
date_published: 2017-10-13T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-09-28T11:31:32Z
day: '13'
ddc:
- '576'
- '592'
department:
- _id: SyCr
doi: 10.1186/s12862-017-1062-4
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
isi:
- '000412816800001'
file:
- access_level: open_access
checksum: 3e24a2cfd48f49f7b3643d08d30fb480
content_type: application/pdf
creator: system
date_created: 2018-12-12T10:17:18Z
date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:47:55Z
file_id: '5271'
file_name: IST-2017-882-v1+1_12862_2017_Article_1062.pdf
file_size: 949857
relation: main_file
file_date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:47:55Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 17'
isi: 1
issue: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '10'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: 25DC711C-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
call_identifier: FP7
grant_number: '243071'
name: 'Social Vaccination in Ant Colonies: from Individual Mechanisms to Society
Effects'
publication: BMC Evolutionary Biology
publication_identifier:
issn:
- '14712148'
publication_status: published
publisher: BioMed Central
publist_id: '6937'
pubrep_id: '882'
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
record:
- id: '819'
relation: dissertation_contains
status: public
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Co-founding ant queens prevent disease by performing prophylactic undertaking
behaviour
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: c635000d-4b10-11ee-a964-aac5a93f6ac1
volume: 17
year: '2017'
...