Evaluating ice nests: Effects of a welfare intervention on long-lived insect societies and their guests
Grantee: Christina Kwapich
Institution: University of Central Florida, United States
Grant amount: $10,000
Grant type: Seed grants
Focal species: Florida harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex badius) and others
Conservation status: Not evaluated
Disciplines: Entomology, wildlife management
Research location: United States
Project summary
US laws increasingly require that species of interest be removed from land marked for development and translocated to suitable sites. For social organisms, the destruction of multi-generational nests, loss of familiar territory, and disruption of demography could negatively influence the welfare of surviving society members, future generations, and dependent symbionts. This project will translocate a population of Florida harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex badius) colonies by burying replica nests made from ice. The team will measure risk-averse behaviors in ants across generations, as well as the stability of colony foraging routes, demography, and the re-colonization of symbiont populations. By monitoring ants in freshly transplanted and historically transplanted colonies, the project will provide data on the effects of social disruption on long-lived animal societies made up of short-lived members.
Why we funded this project
The “ice nest” technique represents a welfare intervention that could mitigate some of the negative effects of social disruption associated with research or land development. By publishing on the feasibility of the ice nest technique, social insect well-being may be given serious consideration in future environmental mitigation and research protocols.