The power of poop: Defecation behaviors and social hygiene in insects
Abstract
Feeding and defecation are necessary biological processes. Although the main purpose of defecation is waste elimination, it has also had a profound influence on the evolution of animal behavior and ecological interactions. Due to the capacity of fecal material to support the growth of microbes, including potential pathogens, defecation has direct consequences on animal health. To counter these risks, insects have evolved a range of unique behavioral and physiological adaptations, often involving microbial symbionts; these adaptations are particularly important for social insects, which are at an especially increased risk of fecal exposure and associated disease due to more crowded living conditions and high site fidelity.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1828074
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1855193
- Grant/Contract Number:
- DE‐AC02‐ 05CH11231; AC02-05CH11231
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- PLoS Pathogens
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: PLoS Pathogens Journal Volume: 17 Journal Issue: 10; Journal ID: ISSN 1553-7374
- Publisher:
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; Insects; Beetles; Microbiome; Termites; Animal behavior; Fungal pathogens; Nesting habits; Defecation
Citation Formats
Cole, Marissa E., Ceja-Navarro, Javier A., Mikaelyan, Aram, and Jabra-Rizk, ed., Mary Ann. The power of poop: Defecation behaviors and social hygiene in insects. United States: N. p., 2021.
Web. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1009964.
Cole, Marissa E., Ceja-Navarro, Javier A., Mikaelyan, Aram, & Jabra-Rizk, ed., Mary Ann. The power of poop: Defecation behaviors and social hygiene in insects. United States. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1009964
Cole, Marissa E., Ceja-Navarro, Javier A., Mikaelyan, Aram, and Jabra-Rizk, ed., Mary Ann. Thu .
"The power of poop: Defecation behaviors and social hygiene in insects". United States. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1009964.
@article{osti_1828074,
title = {The power of poop: Defecation behaviors and social hygiene in insects},
author = {Cole, Marissa E. and Ceja-Navarro, Javier A. and Mikaelyan, Aram and Jabra-Rizk, ed., Mary Ann},
abstractNote = {Feeding and defecation are necessary biological processes. Although the main purpose of defecation is waste elimination, it has also had a profound influence on the evolution of animal behavior and ecological interactions. Due to the capacity of fecal material to support the growth of microbes, including potential pathogens, defecation has direct consequences on animal health. To counter these risks, insects have evolved a range of unique behavioral and physiological adaptations, often involving microbial symbionts; these adaptations are particularly important for social insects, which are at an especially increased risk of fecal exposure and associated disease due to more crowded living conditions and high site fidelity.},
doi = {10.1371/journal.ppat.1009964},
journal = {PLoS Pathogens},
number = 10,
volume = 17,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Oct 28 00:00:00 EDT 2021},
month = {Thu Oct 28 00:00:00 EDT 2021}
}
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1009964
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1009964
Other availability
Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.
Works referenced in this record:
Good housekeeping: why do shelter-dwelling caterpillars fling their frass?
journal, April 2003
- Weiss, Martha R.
- Ecology Letters, Vol. 6, Issue 4
Waste management by ants: the enhancing role of larvae
journal, October 2020
- Pereira, Hugo; Jossart, Margaux; Detrain, Claire
- Animal Behaviour, Vol. 168
Feces production as a form of social immunity in an insect with facultative maternal care
journal, March 2015
- Diehl, Janina MC; Körner, Maximilian; Pietsch, Michael
- BMC Evolutionary Biology, Vol. 15, Issue 1
The Evolution of Function in Plant Secondary Metabolites
journal, May 2003
- Theis, Nina; Lerdau, Manuel
- International Journal of Plant Sciences, Vol. 164, Issue S3
Biology of Dendroctonus punctatus (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)
journal, March 1995
- Furniss, Malcolm M.
- Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Vol. 88, Issue 2
Inhibition of Metarhizium anisopliae by the gut bacterial flora of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria: Evidence for an antifungal toxin
journal, May 1986
- Dillon, R. J.; Charnley, A. K.
- Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, Vol. 47, Issue 3
Socially transmitted gut microbiota protect bumble bees against an intestinal parasite
journal, November 2011
- Koch, H.; Schmid-Hempel, P.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 108, Issue 48
Reduced Environmental Microbial Diversity on the Cuticle and in the Galleries of a Subterranean Termite Compared to Surrounding Soil
journal, January 2021
- Aguero, Carlos M.; Eyer, Pierre-André; Crippen, Tawni L.
- Microbial Ecology, Vol. 81, Issue 4
Nest Etiquette—Where Ants Go When Nature Calls
journal, February 2015
- Czaczkes, Tomer J.; Heinze, Jürgen; Ruther, Joachim
- PLOS ONE, Vol. 10, Issue 2
Nest sanitation through defecation: antifungal properties of wood cockroach feces
journal, November 2013
- Rosengaus, Rebeca B.; Mead, Kerry; Du Comb, William S.
- Naturwissenschaften, Vol. 100, Issue 11
Inhibition of Metarhizium anisopliae in the alimentary tract of the eastern subterranean termite Reticulitermes flavipes
journal, June 2009
- Chouvenc, Thomas; Su, Nan-Yao; Robert, Alain
- Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, Vol. 101, Issue 2
Synthetic blend of larval frass volatiles repel oviposition in the invasive box tree moth, Cydalima perspectalis
journal, February 2017
- Molnár, Béla P.; Tóth, Zoltán; Kárpáti, Zsolt
- Journal of Pest Science, Vol. 90, Issue 3
Social Immunity: Emergence and Evolution of Colony-Level Disease Protection
journal, January 2018
- Cremer, Sylvia; Pull, Christopher D.; Fürst, Matthias A.
- Annual Review of Entomology, Vol. 63, Issue 1
Foraging behaviour of the exotic wasp Vespula germanica (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) on a native caterpillar defoliator
journal, September 2017
- Pietrantuono, A. L.; Moreyra, S.; Lozada, M.
- Bulletin of Entomological Research, Vol. 108, Issue 3
Diversity and Antimicrobial Activity of Actinomycetes from Fecal Sample of Rhinoceros Beetle Larvae [장수풍뎅이 유충의 분변에 존재하는 방선균의 다양성 및 항균활성]
journal, June 2013
- Lee, Hye-Won; Ahn, Jae-Hyung; Kim, Minwook
- The Korean Journal of Microbiology, Vol. 49, Issue 2
High Gut Microbiota Diversity Provides Lower Resistance against Infection by an Intestinal Parasite in Bumblebees
journal, August 2018
- Näpflin, Kathrin; Schmid-Hempel, Paul
- The American Naturalist, Vol. 192, Issue 2
Volatile Infochemicals from Rhyzopertha dominica Larvae and Larval Feces Involved in Theocolax elegans Host Habitat Location
journal, February 2021
- Giunti, Giulia; Campolo, Orlando; Caccamo, Pasquale
- Insects, Vol. 12, Issue 2
Comparative Genomics Reveals Prophylactic and Catabolic Capabilities of Actinobacteria within the Fungus-Farming Termite Symbiosis
journal, April 2021
- Murphy, Robert; Benndorf, René; de Beer, Z. Wilhelm
- mSphere, Vol. 6, Issue 2
Biology of Pityophthorus pulchellus tuberculatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in Lodgepole Pine in Northern Idaho
journal, April 2018
- Furniss, Malcolm M.; Kegley, Sandra J.
- Environmental Entomology, Vol. 47, Issue 4
Biology of Some Immature Nephopterix in the Eastern United States (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Phycitinae) 1
journal, May 1976
- Doerksen, G. P.; Neunzig, H. H.
- Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Vol. 69, Issue 3
Presence and Diversity of Streptomyces in Dendroctonus and Sympatric Bark Beetle Galleries Across North America
journal, January 2011
- Hulcr, Jiri; Adams, Aaron S.; Raffa, Kenneth
- Microbial Ecology, Vol. 61, Issue 4
Defecation Behavior and Ecology of Insects
journal, January 2006
- Weiss, Martha R.
- Annual Review of Entomology, Vol. 51, Issue 1
Characterization of Actinomycetes Strains Isolated from the Intestinal Tract and Feces of the Larvae of the Longhorn Beetle Cerambyx welensii
journal, December 2020
- Santamaría, Ramón I.; Martínez-Carrasco, Ana; Sánchez de la Nieta, Ricardo
- Microorganisms, Vol. 8, Issue 12
Nutrient-Poor Breeding Substrates of Ambrosia Beetles Are Enriched With Biologically Important Elements
journal, April 2021
- Lehenberger, Maximilian; Foh, Nina; Göttlein, Axel
- Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol. 12
Detection of Nosema apis and N. ceranae in honeybee bottom scraps and frass in naturally infected hives
journal, June 2012
- Copley, Tanya R.; Giovenazzo, Pierre; Jabaji, Suha H.
- Apidologie, Vol. 43, Issue 6
Symbiont-derived β-1,3-glucanases in a social insect: mutualism beyond nutrition
journal, November 2014
- Rosengaus, Rebeca B.; Schultheis, Kelley F.; Yalonetskaya, Alla
- Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol. 5