On the Chemical Disguise of a Physogastric Termitophilous Rove Beetle

Authors

  • Cassiano Sousa Rosa Universidade Federal do Triangulo Mineiro
  • Paulo Fellipe Cristaldo Universidade Federal de Sergipe
  • Daniela Faria Florencio Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido
  • Alessandra Marins Universidade Federal de Viçosa
  • Eraldo R Lima Universidade Federal de Viçosa
  • Og DeSouza Universidade Federal de Viçosa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v65i1.1942

Keywords:

cohabitation, Constrictotermes cyphergaster, Corotoca melantho, symbiosis

Abstract

Inter-specific symbiotic links are often reinforced by morphological, physiological, or behavioural trait modification undergone by the associated species. In some cases, such as in physogastric termitophile staphylinids, such modifications do facilitate the social interaction. Here we inspect chemical traits of the physogastric staphylinid Corotoca melantho (Insecta: Coleoptera) and its termite host Constrictotermes cyphergaster (Insecta: Blattodea: Isoptera), aiming to verify whether staphylinids resemble their host. First, we compared CHC profiles of hosts and guests within and among termitaria, to gather evidence on the origin of such profiles in guests. Then, we examined nitrogen and carbon isotopic signatures of these cohabitants to inspect whether chemical disguise is achieved by predation of host workers by staphylinids. Beetles presented CHC more similar to the CHC of their cohabiting termites than to (i) their conspecifics and (ii) termites from another nest, thereby favouring the hypothesis on CHC acquisition by guests. Isotopic signatures revealed that such similarities could not be majorly determined by share nutrition between these cohabitants. In general, our results evidenced that chemical disguise in termitophiles may function as a strategy for social integration in morphological mimics.

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Author Biography

Paulo Fellipe Cristaldo, Universidade Federal de Sergipe

Departamento de Ecologia

Laboratório de Interações Ecológicas

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Published

2018-03-31

How to Cite

Rosa, C. S., Cristaldo, P. F., Florencio, D. F., Marins, A., Lima, E. R., & DeSouza, O. (2018). On the Chemical Disguise of a Physogastric Termitophilous Rove Beetle. Sociobiology, 65(1), 38–47. https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v65i1.1942

Issue

Vol. 65 No. 1 (2018)

Section

Research Article - Termites

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