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SUMMARY:Social network plasticity decreases disease transmission in the an
 t Lasius niger
DTSTART:20191203T121500
DTSTAMP:20260510T235005Z
UID:069f19758a2488a546f24b786513402159366385c75800b845923f07
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Nathalie  Stroeymeyt\, School of Biological Sciences\, Univer
 sity of Bristol\, UK\nAnimal and human social networks are shaped by multi
 ple selection pressures\, including the need to ensure efficient group fun
 ctioning and communication while simultaneously limiting the spread of inf
 ectious diseases. It has been hypothesised that social animals could furt
 her reduce epidemic risk in the presence of pathogens by altering the tran
 smission properties of their social networks\, yet there is little evidenc
 e for such pathogen-triggered network changes. We tested this hypothesis e
 xperimentally in colonies of the ant Lasius niger using a combination o
 f automated behavioural tracking\, controlled exposure to an infectious pa
 thogen\, precise quantification of individual pathogen load\, and temporal
 ly-explicit transmission simulations. We first describe important constit
 utive properties of the ant social network that simultaneously inhibit ove
 rall transmission and isolate valuable individuals (queen\, brood and youn
 g workers) from disease sources. We then show that the ants adaptively res
 pond to the presence of an infectious pathogen by reinforcing key disease
 -inhibitory properties of their social network\, conferring additional dis
 ease defence to the colony. Finally\, we show that these network changes r
 esult from early behavioural changes in both pathogen-exposed workers and
  their untreated nestmates\, increasing the spatial and social segregation
  between individuals. Our results indicate that the alteration of social o
 rganisation in response to pathogen entry is an effective strategy to miti
 gate the effects of disease in social groups.
LOCATION:SV 1717 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==SV%201717
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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