Meeting Abstract
Millions of acorns and hickory nuts fall to the ground every year, seeds that may one day give life to a new tree or perhaps fuel the hibernation of a foraging squirrel. Few people however, realize that acorns are also host to a wide range of ecological dynamics. Parasitized by insects including wasps, moths, and beetles, the fruit of these seeds may feed the growth of many different larvae, the feeding-behavior of which contributes to the hollowing out of an internal cavity. This cavity, deserted after the larvae mature, and the entrance or exit hole associated with the insect who was responsible for its construction, may become a home for many different soil dwelling invertebrates and is an especially preferred nest site for a number of species of ants including Temnothorax, Leptothorax, and Myrmica. Due to their tempo, convenient collection, and small to moderate colony sizes, the acorn ants, including T. curvispinosus, T. longispinosus, and T. americanus, also happen to be important model organisms for studying collective behavior and decision making. Acorns with T. curvispinosus colonies inside were collected in Rhode Island and visualized with x-ray microtomography. After being submersed in liquid nitrogen, the acorns were warmed to room temperature and mounted for scanning in a SkyScan 1272 (Bruker) micro CT. The acorns were scanned with resolution of 17-26 microns. Projection x-ray images were reconstructed using NRecon software (Bruker) and volume data subsequently analyzed using ImageVis3D and Seg3D (NIH/NIGMS Center for Integrative Biomedical Computing). This research was funded in part by NSF Award Number 1531850 to SDK.
