Ants alter their nest networks to prevent epidemics, study finds

Research from the University of Bristol has found that ants make a number of clever architectural changes to their nests to prevent the spread of disease.

Studying, published in the magazine Science, found nests built colonies those exposed to the disease had much more widespread entrances and were more segregated, with fewer direct connections between chambers.

Lead study author Luke Leckie, Ph.D. The biological sciences researcher from the University of Bristol said: “We already know that ants change their digging behavior in response to other soil factors such as temperature and soil composition. This is the first time a non-human animal has been shown to alter the structure of its environment to reduce disease transmission.”

Ants have a range of behavioral responses to disease that help build social immunity against pathogen elimination. fungal spores with mouth parts and spraying exposed colony members with a disinfectant poison so that the germ-carrying ants self-isolate to protect the wider colony.

In the wild, ants dig complex, three-dimensional nests with tunnels and chambers that serve various functions, such as storing food or protecting young. The researchers used micro-CT, an advanced 3D scanning technique, to find out how ants exposed to microbes excavate their nests compared to a healthy colony.

The researchers studied two groups of 180 worker ants, who were placed in two containers of soil and began digging nests. After 24 hours, 20 additional ants were added to each nest, with one group exposed to fungal spores. The ants were then left to dig for another six days and microCT scans were taken periodically.

After the researchers built 3D models of the nests, they simulated the spread of the disease. Modeling has shown that modified nests reduce the risk of infecting people with high, potentially lethal doses.

Through these architectural changes, disease-prone ants protect vulnerable compartments that hold food supplies and their young.

Luke said: “One of our most surprising discoveries was that when we turned on ants' self-isolation in simulations, the impact of self-isolation on reducing disease transmission was even stronger in nests exposed to microbes than in control nests.”

The research may inspire future human approaches to managing social space given the increased threat of epidemics.

Like anthills, human cities are complex networks of spatial structures. Balancing the flow of good things such as resources, information and people while limiting disease transmission is becoming increasingly important as the threat of epidemics grows around the world.