Howard Topoff - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Howard Topoff
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Behavioral and Ecological Sociobiology, 1980
... Two of the males moved to the base of the fig tree; three others stationed themselves under t... more ... Two of the males moved to the base of the fig tree; three others stationed themselves under two nearby trees, the branches of which formed an escape route for the baboon. ... When a suitableprey colony of termites, wasps, or ants is discovered, army ants at the raiding ...
Natural history. New York NY, 1996
Поиск в библиотеке, Расширенный поиск. ...
Columbia University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 1987
Journal of The New York Entomological Society, 1985
-The orientation behavior of Polyergus breviceps was studied in an oak-juniper woodland in southe... more -The orientation behavior of Polyergus breviceps was studied in an oak-juniper woodland in southeastern Arizona. Target colonies of Formica gnava were scattered in all compass directions around the Polyergus nests. Tests conducted at the front of the slave-raid swarm showed that optical stimuli, especially polarized light, are the principal cues for worker orientation. There was no evidence that the ants were following a chemical trail previously deposited by a successful scout. After the slave raid, workers of Polyergus returned to their home nest by responding simultaneously to optical cues and to a chemical trail that they had deposited during the outbound raid. Although it is possible that naive individuals, scouting for the first time, may indeed rely more heavily on a chemical trail, all evidence to date indicates that experienced scouts utilize optical orientation. The parasitic formicine ant genus Polyergus consists of four species, all character ized by a worker caste that is specialized for conducting group raids on colonies of the related genus Formica (Yasuno, 1964; Talbot, 1967; Dobrzanska, 1978; Topoff et al., 1984). Although up to 75% of the raided pupae are eaten (Kwait and Topoff, 1984), those that are reared through eclosion subsequently assume the chores of foraging, brood-rearing and nest maintenance for the mixed-species colony. Compared with other groups of ants, relatively little is known about the processes of communication and orientation utilized by scouts and raiders during the slave raids. In studies of Polyergus lucidus, Talbot (1967) and Marlin (1969) emphasized chemical communication, and concluded that individual scouts deposit a trail from the target Formica colony back to their home nest. In a recent study of the western species P. breviceps in Arizona (Topoffet al., 1984), we discovered that scouts utilize optical orientation when returning from colonies of Formica gnava to their home nest, and when leading nestmates on the slave raid. During the raid, both scout and raiders deposit a chemical trail. After the raid all individuals return by a combination of optical orientation and following the chemical trail deposited on the outbound trip. The reliance of P. breviceps scouts on optical cues in our study may have been enhanced by the unique ecology of our desert study site. All Formica nests in this area were located to the south of the experimental Polyergus colony, in the narrow riparian zone created by Cave Creek. As a result, practically all scouting and slave 1 Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003. 2 Department of Biology, City College of CUNY, New York, New York 10031. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.45 on Fri, 02 Sep 2016 05:44:22 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 1042 JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY Vol. 93(3) raiding took place in the same general direction. Under these conditions, experienced scouts may require only optical cues for successful orientation. In this paper, we report the results of comparable orientation studies, conducted in an oak-juniper habitat where target Formica colonies are scattered in all compass directions around Polyergus nests. The goal of the study was to determine whether the role of chemical orientation would be increased in this more "complex" habitat. MATERIALS AND METHODS Studies of orientation were conducted at the Southwestern Research Station of The American Museum of Natural History, located 5 km west of Portal, Arizona. At an altitude of 1,646 m, the dominant vegetation consists of Arizona oak, alligator ju niper, and Chihuahua pine. Two colonies of P. breviceps were used for the study, during July and August of 1983. To elucidate the stimuli utilized by Polyergus for orientation during scouting and raiding, a series of tests was performed as the ants moved to (outbound) and from (inbound) target colonies of Formica gnava. All studies were conducted between 1600 and 1730 hours (MST), as the ants crossed a predetermined, 2-m wide test area that was relatively devoid of trees. For the inbound test series, observations of the ants' behavior were made after a slave raid, when the number of returning ants crossing the test area was at or near its peak. As indices of the ants' "confusion," we recorded: (1) the number of turns greater than 450 made by test individuals; and (2) the direction in which the ants were oriented (with respect to their home nest) at the end of the test interval. This bearing used 00 as the homeward direction, which was assigned if the ant's posterior-to-anterior axis pointed with a range of 450 to the left or right of the 0? direction. The 900, 1800, and 2700 positions were similarly designated. Each of 15 ants was observed for 30 s, starting when the subject first contacted the test area. For the inbound test series, each of the following conditions was conducted two times: (a) Control: To provide baseline data for…
The Natural History Reader in Animal Behavior, 1987
The Biology of Social Insects, 2019
Human civilization has its origins in our ability t use other species to provide food and labor?i... more Human civilization has its origins in our ability t use other species to provide food and labor?in the pro? cess we call domestication. Although human beings seem to have a special talent for exploiting other animals, it is not our domain exclusively. Other species have developed and refined such one-sided relationships?in the process we call parasitism. Parasitism is decidedly an asymmetric affair, with the parasite living at the expense of its host, and sometimes even killing the host. Most familiar to us are the physi? ological parasites, such as viruses or fleas, which attach themselves to the skin or internal organs of larger organ? isms. But, to the comparative psychol? ogist, a more fascinating relationship between animals is the one known as
Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 1972
Even when the burrows of earthworms were vertical, the walls were different: earthworms coat thei... more Even when the burrows of earthworms were vertical, the walls were different: earthworms coat their burrows with mucus and leave pellets of soil in them; carabids pack the wall smooth and keep the shaft clear of loose soil. Fur-thermore, no seeds were found in earthworm ...
Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 1975
FIG. 1.A 3-flagellar form of Pseudomonas A isolated from the oral exudates of D. similis larvae.... more FIG. 1.A 3-flagellar form of Pseudomonas A isolated from the oral exudates of D. similis larvae. 7,500x. ... An Ant Nest That Facilitates Removing Individuals at All Stages of Development1 ... HOWARD TOPOFF Department of Psychology, Hunter College of The City University ...
Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 1975
Many species of larval antlions construct conical pits in dry, fine grained substrates (eg, sand)... more Many species of larval antlions construct conical pits in dry, fine grained substrates (eg, sand) and feed on small arthropods that fall into the pits. Mc-Cook (1907) and other early investigators (Turner 1915, Wheeler 1930) concluded that the pit was con-structed "by a backward ...
Insectes Sociaux, 1984
Mixed-species colonies of Polyergus lucidus and Fdrmica schaufussi xvere studied in New York. Sla... more Mixed-species colonies of Polyergus lucidus and Fdrmica schaufussi xvere studied in New York. Slave raids were conducted in late afternoon, past the peak in diurnal temperature. Multiple raids on different Formica colonies xvere common, as ~vere re-raids on the same colony. In laboratory nests, about 75 % of the raided Formica brood was eaten. Of 27 days on ,which raids occurred in the laboratory, 25 ~vere on Formica nests scouted on the day of the raid. Polyergus scouts are among the oldest individuals in
Journal of the New York Entomological Society, 1975
The responses of workers of the army ant Neivamyrmex nigrescens to illumination and to the presen... more The responses of workers of the army ant Neivamyrmex nigrescens to illumination and to the presence of conspecifics were compared during the nomadic and statary phases. During the statary phase the ants were more photonegative and exhibited a stronger tendency to ...
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Behavioral and Ecological Sociobiology, 1980
... Two of the males moved to the base of the fig tree; three others stationed themselves under t... more ... Two of the males moved to the base of the fig tree; three others stationed themselves under two nearby trees, the branches of which formed an escape route for the baboon. ... When a suitableprey colony of termites, wasps, or ants is discovered, army ants at the raiding ...
Natural history. New York NY, 1996
Поиск в библиотеке, Расширенный поиск. ...
Columbia University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 1987
Journal of The New York Entomological Society, 1985
-The orientation behavior of Polyergus breviceps was studied in an oak-juniper woodland in southe... more -The orientation behavior of Polyergus breviceps was studied in an oak-juniper woodland in southeastern Arizona. Target colonies of Formica gnava were scattered in all compass directions around the Polyergus nests. Tests conducted at the front of the slave-raid swarm showed that optical stimuli, especially polarized light, are the principal cues for worker orientation. There was no evidence that the ants were following a chemical trail previously deposited by a successful scout. After the slave raid, workers of Polyergus returned to their home nest by responding simultaneously to optical cues and to a chemical trail that they had deposited during the outbound raid. Although it is possible that naive individuals, scouting for the first time, may indeed rely more heavily on a chemical trail, all evidence to date indicates that experienced scouts utilize optical orientation. The parasitic formicine ant genus Polyergus consists of four species, all character ized by a worker caste that is specialized for conducting group raids on colonies of the related genus Formica (Yasuno, 1964; Talbot, 1967; Dobrzanska, 1978; Topoff et al., 1984). Although up to 75% of the raided pupae are eaten (Kwait and Topoff, 1984), those that are reared through eclosion subsequently assume the chores of foraging, brood-rearing and nest maintenance for the mixed-species colony. Compared with other groups of ants, relatively little is known about the processes of communication and orientation utilized by scouts and raiders during the slave raids. In studies of Polyergus lucidus, Talbot (1967) and Marlin (1969) emphasized chemical communication, and concluded that individual scouts deposit a trail from the target Formica colony back to their home nest. In a recent study of the western species P. breviceps in Arizona (Topoffet al., 1984), we discovered that scouts utilize optical orientation when returning from colonies of Formica gnava to their home nest, and when leading nestmates on the slave raid. During the raid, both scout and raiders deposit a chemical trail. After the raid all individuals return by a combination of optical orientation and following the chemical trail deposited on the outbound trip. The reliance of P. breviceps scouts on optical cues in our study may have been enhanced by the unique ecology of our desert study site. All Formica nests in this area were located to the south of the experimental Polyergus colony, in the narrow riparian zone created by Cave Creek. As a result, practically all scouting and slave 1 Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003. 2 Department of Biology, City College of CUNY, New York, New York 10031. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.45 on Fri, 02 Sep 2016 05:44:22 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 1042 JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY Vol. 93(3) raiding took place in the same general direction. Under these conditions, experienced scouts may require only optical cues for successful orientation. In this paper, we report the results of comparable orientation studies, conducted in an oak-juniper habitat where target Formica colonies are scattered in all compass directions around Polyergus nests. The goal of the study was to determine whether the role of chemical orientation would be increased in this more "complex" habitat. MATERIALS AND METHODS Studies of orientation were conducted at the Southwestern Research Station of The American Museum of Natural History, located 5 km west of Portal, Arizona. At an altitude of 1,646 m, the dominant vegetation consists of Arizona oak, alligator ju niper, and Chihuahua pine. Two colonies of P. breviceps were used for the study, during July and August of 1983. To elucidate the stimuli utilized by Polyergus for orientation during scouting and raiding, a series of tests was performed as the ants moved to (outbound) and from (inbound) target colonies of Formica gnava. All studies were conducted between 1600 and 1730 hours (MST), as the ants crossed a predetermined, 2-m wide test area that was relatively devoid of trees. For the inbound test series, observations of the ants' behavior were made after a slave raid, when the number of returning ants crossing the test area was at or near its peak. As indices of the ants' "confusion," we recorded: (1) the number of turns greater than 450 made by test individuals; and (2) the direction in which the ants were oriented (with respect to their home nest) at the end of the test interval. This bearing used 00 as the homeward direction, which was assigned if the ant's posterior-to-anterior axis pointed with a range of 450 to the left or right of the 0? direction. The 900, 1800, and 2700 positions were similarly designated. Each of 15 ants was observed for 30 s, starting when the subject first contacted the test area. For the inbound test series, each of the following conditions was conducted two times: (a) Control: To provide baseline data for…
The Natural History Reader in Animal Behavior, 1987
The Biology of Social Insects, 2019
Human civilization has its origins in our ability t use other species to provide food and labor?i... more Human civilization has its origins in our ability t use other species to provide food and labor?in the pro? cess we call domestication. Although human beings seem to have a special talent for exploiting other animals, it is not our domain exclusively. Other species have developed and refined such one-sided relationships?in the process we call parasitism. Parasitism is decidedly an asymmetric affair, with the parasite living at the expense of its host, and sometimes even killing the host. Most familiar to us are the physi? ological parasites, such as viruses or fleas, which attach themselves to the skin or internal organs of larger organ? isms. But, to the comparative psychol? ogist, a more fascinating relationship between animals is the one known as
Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 1972
Even when the burrows of earthworms were vertical, the walls were different: earthworms coat thei... more Even when the burrows of earthworms were vertical, the walls were different: earthworms coat their burrows with mucus and leave pellets of soil in them; carabids pack the wall smooth and keep the shaft clear of loose soil. Fur-thermore, no seeds were found in earthworm ...
Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 1975
FIG. 1.A 3-flagellar form of Pseudomonas A isolated from the oral exudates of D. similis larvae.... more FIG. 1.A 3-flagellar form of Pseudomonas A isolated from the oral exudates of D. similis larvae. 7,500x. ... An Ant Nest That Facilitates Removing Individuals at All Stages of Development1 ... HOWARD TOPOFF Department of Psychology, Hunter College of The City University ...
Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 1975
Many species of larval antlions construct conical pits in dry, fine grained substrates (eg, sand)... more Many species of larval antlions construct conical pits in dry, fine grained substrates (eg, sand) and feed on small arthropods that fall into the pits. Mc-Cook (1907) and other early investigators (Turner 1915, Wheeler 1930) concluded that the pit was con-structed "by a backward ...
Insectes Sociaux, 1984
Mixed-species colonies of Polyergus lucidus and Fdrmica schaufussi xvere studied in New York. Sla... more Mixed-species colonies of Polyergus lucidus and Fdrmica schaufussi xvere studied in New York. Slave raids were conducted in late afternoon, past the peak in diurnal temperature. Multiple raids on different Formica colonies xvere common, as ~vere re-raids on the same colony. In laboratory nests, about 75 % of the raided Formica brood was eaten. Of 27 days on ,which raids occurred in the laboratory, 25 ~vere on Formica nests scouted on the day of the raid. Polyergus scouts are among the oldest individuals in
Journal of the New York Entomological Society, 1975
The responses of workers of the army ant Neivamyrmex nigrescens to illumination and to the presen... more The responses of workers of the army ant Neivamyrmex nigrescens to illumination and to the presence of conspecifics were compared during the nomadic and statary phases. During the statary phase the ants were more photonegative and exhibited a stronger tendency to ...