Abstract
Periodic oscillations are widespread in biological systems, from heartbeats to predator-prey cycles. However, although oscillatory systems often exhibit modular organisation, how cycles are generated and coordinated across modules remains unclear. Here, we tested how modular nest architecture affects short-term activity cycles in the acorn ant Leptothorax acervorum. Activity cycles were consistently initiated by spontaneous pacemakers in the inner parts of the nest and transmitted toward the outer regions by intermediate ‘transfer’ ants. Compared to single-chamber nests, modular (double-chamber) nests induced partial decoupling of activity between chambers, resulting in reduced colony-wide rhythmicity. However, increased movement speeds of transfer ants in double-chamber nests relative to single-chamber nests enhanced activity transmission, partly restoring coordination between chambers. As well as illustrating how modular structure shapes collective dynamics, our results shed light on how ant colonies solve a fundamental challenge facing many biological systems: maintaining coordination between physically-segregated units.
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Acknowledgements
We thank members of the Stroeymeyt Ant Epidemiology Lab for helpful comments on the manuscript.
Funding
NS acknowledges funding by the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant ‘DISEASE’, no. 802628) and the Swiss NSF (Eccellenza Professorial Fellowship PCEFP3_181209). TOR and NS acknowledge funding by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC grant BB/X511997/1, to the University of Bristol). LK acknowledges funding by the European Research Council (ERC Advanced Grant, ‘resiliANT’, no. 741491).
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Richardson, T.O., Rüegg, M., Pritchard, Z. et al. Modular nest structure influences activity cycle synchronisation in ant colonies.
Commun Biol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10560-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10560-x
Source: Ecology - nature.com
