| Title |
Gaster flagging by fire ants (Solenopsis spp.): Functional significance of venom dispersal behavior
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Journal of Chemical Ecology, December 1985
|
| DOI | 10.1007/bf01012125 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Martin S. Obin, Robert K. Vander Meer |
| Abstract |
Behavioral and chemical studies with laboratory colonies indicate that the imported fire antSolenopsis invicta Buren (Myrmicinae) disperses venom through the air by raising and vibrating its gaster (i.e., "gaster flagging"). This mechanism of airborne venom dispersal is unreported for any ant species. Foraging workers utilize this air-dispersed venom (up to 500 ng) to repel heterospecifics encountered in the foraging arena, while brood tenders dispense smaller quantities (∼ 1 ng) to the brood surface, presumably as an antibiotic. Brood tenders removed from the brood cell and tested in heteropspecific encounters in the foraging arena exhibited the complete repertoire of agonistic gaster flagging behavior. These observations suggest that airborne venom dispersal by workers is context specific rather than temporal caste specific and that workers can control the quantity of venom released. |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 64 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 2 | 3% |
| United States | 2 | 3% |
| Denmark | 2 | 3% |
| Malaysia | 1 | 2% |
| Austria | 1 | 2% |
| Unknown | 56 | 88% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 12 | 19% |
| Researcher | 11 | 17% |
| Student > Bachelor | 10 | 16% |
| Student > Master | 8 | 13% |
| Professor | 4 | 6% |
| Other | 14 | 22% |
| Unknown | 5 | 8% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 38 | 59% |
| Environmental Science | 4 | 6% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 2 | 3% |
| Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science | 1 | 2% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 1 | 2% |
| Other | 6 | 9% |
| Unknown | 12 | 19% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 12. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 15 January 2024.
All research outputs
#2,925,520
of 25,773,273 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Chemical Ecology
#141
of 2,184 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#997
of 42,632 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Chemical Ecology
#1
of 9 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,773,273 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 88th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,184 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.5. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 93% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 42,632 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 97% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 9 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than all of them