SOCIAL AND BIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE ANT NOVOMESSOR ALBISETOSUS (MAYR).
Item
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Title
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SOCIAL AND BIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE ANT NOVOMESSOR ALBISETOSUS (MAYR).
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Identifier
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AAI8601672
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identifier
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8601672
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Creator
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MCDONALD, PHILIP.
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Contributor
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Howard Topoff
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Date
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1985
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Psychobiology
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Abstract
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In Part I, temporal polyethism, the division of labor according to age, is used as a gauge for behavioral development in an ant. By removing various age groups from the colony and changing the number and composition of brood, it was found that behavioral development could be accelerated and retarded relative to a baseline. When older workers were removed, young workers progressed through age related tasks in one third of the baseline time. Removal of young workers caused older workers, which had not been observed touching queen or brood for 4-6 months, to once more tend brood and queen. It is hypothesized that there are two types of stimuli coming from the larvae which affect behavioral development. Larval and eclosion stimulation are of particular importance in the social organization of the colony. Part II is a study of the development of protean behavior against army ants by laboratory and field colonies. Protean behavior includes escape with or without brood, and aggressive defense. All protean behaviors developed in ants raised in isolation. However, evidence is presented suggesting that experience with army ants can alter the course of this development. Part III deals with the development of ovaries, trail pheromone, and exoskeleton hardness in workers of selected ages. It was found that certain stages in the development of these structures correspond with important behavioral changes. Behavioral and structural changes are considered not as separately occurring phenomena, but as a dynamic complex of developmental processes.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Psychology
