Anecdotal evidence exists of profound behavioral changes prior to and during earthquakes in many organisms including arthropods such as ants. Behavioral analysis has often, in light of these reports, been proposed as a means of earthquake prediction. We report here a serendipitous study of ant trail dynamics and aerobic catabolism immediately prior to, during, and on three control days after the powerful Landers earthquake (June 1992; Richter magnitude 7.4). Using a prototype Sable Systems field metabolic/video/thermometric data acquisition system, we examined trail traffic rates (in both directions: to and from the nest), the mass distribution of foragers entering and leaving the nest (the species on which we worked, Messor pergandei, is polymorphic), running speed, and metabolic rate prior to, during, and after the Landers earthquake. Are earthquake precursors and earthquakes detected by ant colonies? Anecdotal reports of earthquake effects on ant behavior have been reported. Did the Landers earthquake have any effect on any measured aspect of ant behavior or catabolism? You will have to see the poster to find out.
Species 1: Hymenoptera Formicidae Messor pergandei
Keywords: behavior, physiology
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA