Leaf-cutter ants are the world’s first farmers, and the principal insect pest and ecosystem engineers in the Neotropics. In this seminar, I will first demonstrate how biomechanical constraints influence behavioural preferences in workers that depend on the mechanical properties of the plant tissue they cut, and on their age. I will then describe direct measurements of the ergonomic costs of leaf cutting, which reveal that there exists a unique worker size-leaf property combination that maximises cutting efficiency. Last, I will discuss efforts to test the hypothesis that ant foraging parties match their size-distribution towards this optimal size, realised through a combination of computer vision, photogrammetry and free 3D gaming engines.
Comprendre le fonctionnement des organismes vivants, telle est l’ambition du Centre de biologie intégrative (CBI), à Toulouse. Pour atteindre cet objectif, le CBI développe des approches multidisciplinaires, multi-échelles des molécules isolées aux organismes entiers et aux sociétés animales, et utilise de nombreux organismes modèles, des bactéries à l'homme.
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