Morphological determinants of bite force capacity in insects: a biomechanical analysis of polymorphic leaf-cutter ants
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The extraordinary success of social insects is partially based on division oflabour, i.e. individuals exclusively or preferentially perform specific tasks.Task preference may correlate with morphological adaptations so implyingtask specialization, but the extent of such specialization can be difficult todetermine. Here, we demonstrate how the physical foundation of sometasks can be leveraged to quantitatively link morphology and performance.We study the allometry of bite force capacity inAtta vollenweiderileaf-cutterants, polymorphic insects in which the mechanical processing of plantmaterial is a key aspect of the behavioural portfolio. Through a morpho-metric analysis of tomographic scans, we show that the bite force capacityof the heaviest colony workers is twice as large as predicted by isometry.This disproportionate‘boost’is predominantly achieved through increasedinvestment in muscle volume; geometrical parameters such as mechanicaladvantage, fibre length or pennation angle are likely constrained by theneed to maintain a constant mandibular opening range. We analyse this pre-ference for an increase in size-specific muscle volume and the adaptations ininternal and external head anatomy required to accommodate it with simplegeometric and physical models, so providing a quantitative understandingof the functional anatomy of the musculoskeletal bite apparatus in insects
Date Issued
2021-09-08
Date Acceptance
2021-08-16
Citation
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE, 2021, 18 (182)
ISSN
1742-5689
Publisher
ROYAL SOC
Journal / Book Title
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
Volume
18
Issue
182
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
Sponsor
Commission of the European Communities
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000695361900003&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
851705
Subjects
Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
functional morphology
biomechanics
insect
allometry
muscle arrangement
fibre tracking
DIVISION-OF-LABOR
PERIPLANETA-AMERICANA BLATTODEA
CEPHALOTES L HYMENOPTERA
CUTTING ANTS
FORAGER POLYMORPHISM
HEAD ANATOMY
ATTA
FORMICIDAE
CASTE
SIZE
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 20210424