The Collective Mind of African Giant Ants

[labelwench]

Allow me to rephrase the question. I am aware that it is the queen who looks after the 'family matters', lol.....

Is the queen able to mate with any other variant that is 'ant' in order to regain genetic diversity if such is threatened, as an example.

Thanks,

Lorrina

[Graybeard]

Allow me to rephrase the question. I am aware that it is the queen who looks after the 'family matters', lol.....

Is the queen able to mate with any other variant that is 'ant' in order to regain genetic diversity if such is threatened, as an example.

Thanks,

Lorrina

I am unsure ..... The definition of a 'species' as opposed to 'variation within a species'

Variation within a species: No matter the variation, copulation is capable of producing offspring.

Species: Variations have become so different so that copulation does not produce offspring.

This is because the 'variations' between different populations within a species, (that have become isolated or live in a different location and do not interact) reach a point where the two strands of DNA cannot join.

This is what happened between us (Homo Sapiens) and Neanderthal .... we were both Heidelbergensis .... until our variations prevented progeny from forming. We lived in Africa ... they (Neanderthal) took off for love in a cold climate (Europe)

When we next met, we were two different species.

my thoughts ... greg

[labelwench]

Apparently we have some ant aficionados in Canada. This young man makes the process quite entertaining once you get past the first minute or so. Thank you for your replies and thoughts on why the ants might be making this change in reproductive behavior.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pi2G6dUGH8

[Graybeard]

I am at work an can't watch it now ... but will do so as soon as.

I like Ants because they are simple to observe, and a front row seat cost nothing, and the show displays at every level. From the 'intelligence' of the colony (a colony is just a multi-celled critter like us IMO) to the individuality of each liddle ignorant Ant.

And you can interact, by genocide, by sugar sprinkles, by imprisonment, by ethnic cleansing ... and you won't go to jail for crimes against Ants. These experiments you can learn an enormous amount from.


rotflmao .... greg

[Graybeard]

Cloning was Life's first method of reproduction, cells splitting etc. Many species that still reproduce by cloning are found in very stable environments. eg: Deserts, or unique pockets of environment that have not changed for millennia.

Wollemi Pines are such a species. And despite the fact that we now propagate them world wide they still have 'cloned' DNA. I tink.

CLICK

cool bananas ... greg

[Graybeard]

Yesterday's post

(a colony is just a multi-celled critter like us IMO)

Today's Science Daily

An Exciting Ratio

The 0.75 scaling exponent for colony metabolic rate strikes Mr. Waters as important because it indicates that colony metabolism is influenced in a way similar to what most individual organisms experience.


"As creatures go from small to large, their mass-specific metabolic rate decreases. It's a broad pattern in biology," he said. "When you graph these patterns, you can see how metabolism decreases as a creature gets bigger, and the exponent is usually near 0.75."


Yet a colony of ants experienced this decline as though it was one single "super-organism." Mr. Waters noted that the team isn't sure why this is so, but he has a few ideas.


"Ants need to stay in contact with each other in a colony, and it's possible that in larger colonies, certain ants take on the role of a network hub to keep the other ants in the colony more in touch with each other," he said. "That would relax the demand placed on the other ants."


He added that a larger size might afford a colony a division of labor not possible in a smaller colony. Individuals in a smaller colony would have to work harder to satisfy basic energy demands.


Implications

According to Mr. Waters, because ant colonies behave metabolically like individual organisms, studying how a colony's size changes its metabolism could offer useful insight for developing theories about medication dosage in humans.


"It's hard to figure out how size affects metabolic rate in individuals because it's not easy to change an individual's size," he said. "With an ant colony, it's as easy as adding or removing individual ants."


This is not to say that ant colonies function like individual humans. Rather, ant colonies could serve as a model for testing theories about the role of networks among cells in human metabolism.


FULL ARTICLE



cool bananas ... greg

[labelwench]

Cloning was Life's first method of reproduction, cells splitting etc. Many species that still reproduce by cloning are found in very stable environments. eg: Deserts, or unique pockets of environment that have not changed for millennia.

Wollemi Pines are such a species. And despite the fact that we now propagate them world wide they still have 'cloned' DNA. I tink.

CLICK

cool bananas ... greg

On the subject of Pine Trees, a new variety of Lodgepole Pine was recently discovered in the southern Yukon.

Pinus contorta Douglas ex Loudon var. yukonensis W. L Strong (Yukon pine), a new variety, is described from south–central Yukon, Canada. It is a stout tree with long lower branches, often with paired lower and forked upper stems, and weakly platy to smooth gray bark on the lower stem, when < 70 years old; with bark on the lower stem becoming furrowed and platy on older trees. This contrasts with the narrow columnar habit, simple stem, and scaly bark associated with the more common inland var. latifolia. In several respects, var. yukonensis is more similar to var. contorta (a coastal variant), although occupying a different ecological regime and spatially disjunct (i.e., a high latitude and high elevation variant). Variety yukonensis may represent the taxon alluded to in previous leaf oil terpene and genetic studies, and a possible Beringian survivor.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...824.x/abstract

[Graybeard]

I couldn't find a picture of it ....

Its possible it is also a descendant of the original ...... The woolemi is one of 19 descendants of the original Jurassic tree. Each one of the 19 having found stable pocket environment.

This pic is of the 'bunya' variety .... but really all 19 are just variations of the original, thru isolation



can you see the pic ..... Robert has having problems with pics lately ?

greg

[labelwench]

Absolutely stunning manifestation.

Completely fills the mind and senses.

The amazing Pinus Invisablis.

Sorry, Greg.

The picture didn't come through.

(I couldn't resist......)

[Graybeard]

Bummer .... I really don't know why .....