蟻群有時被當(dāng)成超級生物,，即它們在群落層面上會受到自然選擇的影響,。在對“紅色收獲蟻”（Pogonomyrmex barbatus）的集體行為與群落中生殖成功率之間的關(guān)系所做的一項長期（27年）研究中,，Deborah Gordon發(fā)現(xiàn),，它們的確能表現(xiàn)出這種超級生物特性,。在干旱時期,，“收獲蟻”的覓食往往不像它們在食物豐富時那么多,；它們似乎是等待時機(jī)，直到狀況改善,。這種懂得克制的特征會傳給它們的子群落,，說明它的確可被看作是一個群落層面的特征。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦英文摘要：
Nature doi:10.1038/nature12137
The rewards of restraint in the collective regulation of foraging by harvester ant colonies
Deborah M. Gordon
Collective behaviour, arising from local interactions1, allows groups to respond to changing conditions. Long-term studies have shown that the traits of individual mammals and birds are associated with their reproductive success2, 3, 4, 5, 6, but little is known about the evolutionary ecology of collective behaviour in natural populations. An ant colony operates without central control, regulating its activity through a network of local interactions7. This work shows that variation among harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) colonies in collective response to changing conditions8 is related to variation in colony lifetime reproductive success in the production of offspring colonies. Desiccation costs are high for harvester ants foraging in the desert9, 10. More successful colonies tend to forage less when conditions are dry, and show relatively stable foraging activity when conditions are more humid. Restraint from foraging does not compromise a colony’s long-term survival; colonies that fail to forage at all on many days survive as long, over the colony’s 20–30-year lifespan, as those that forage more regularly. Sensitivity to conditions in which to reduce foraging activity may be transmissible from parent to offspring colony. These results indicate that natural selection is shaping the collective behaviour that regulates foraging activity, and that the selection pressure, related to climate, may grow stronger if the current drought in their habitat persists.
