Description
The dataset consists of occurrences of Myrmica scabrinodis nests, which were collected in May 2022 to study ants' task switching and immune response in the context of fungal ectoparasite infection. Fungal parasite - Rickia wasmannii occurrences have presence/absence data.
Data Records
The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 40 records.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Kochanowski M, Siedlecki I, Witek M, Ślipiński P (2026). Myrmica scabrinodis and its ectoparasite Rickia wasmannii (Ruczaj, Kraków, Poland 2022). Version 1.6. University of Warsaw. Occurrence dataset. https://ipt.gbif.pl/resource?r=myrmica_ab_2025&v=1.6
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is University of Warsaw. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: aaad20d5-e647-4938-9cbf-ea8dedfcab83. University of Warsaw publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Polish Biodiversity Information Network.
Keywords
Occurrence; Specimen
Contacts
- Metadata Provider ●
- Originator ●
- Point Of Contact
https://orcid.org/https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4687-5104
- Originator
Geographic Coverage
Myrmica scabrinodis nests were sampled on wet meadow in Ruczaj, Kraków (Poland).
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [50.027, 19.863], North East [50.027, 19.863] |
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Taxonomic Coverage
The dataset consists of the ant host (Myrmica scabrinodis) and fungal parasite (Rickia wasmannii).
| Kingdom | Fungi, Metazoa |
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| Phylum | Arthropoda, Ascomycota |
| Class | Insecta, Laboulbeniomycetes |
| Order | Hymenoptera, Laboulbeniales |
| Family | Laboulbeniaceae, Formicidae |
Temporal Coverage
| Start Date / End Date | 2022-05-01 / 2022-05-31 |
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Project Data
No Description available
| Title | Chronic Fungal Infection Accelerates Age Polyethism in Ants Without Altering Immune Response |
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| Funding | This research is part of the project No. 2022/45/P/NZ8/04018 co-funded by the National Science Centre and the European Union Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 945339. |
Sampling Methods
Myrmica scabrinodis nests are located in the grass tussock. The whole tussock was dug with a shovel and transported to the laboratory in plastic bags. In the lab, the artificial nests were established, and infection was confirmed with the stereoscopic microscope.
| Study Extent | The study site was visited once, and 20 colonies of Myrmica scabrinodies were collected; 10 were infected with Rickia wasmannii and 10 were uninfected. Collected ants were transported to the laboratory in plastic bags. In the lab, ants were sorted and counted, and the presence and intensity of infection were measured. Ants were used for behavioural and physiological experiments. |
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Method step description:
- - nest sampling, - infection assessment, - individuals counting
Bibliographic Citations
- Michał Kochanowski, Anna Dubiec, Aleksander Juszczak, Igor Siedlecki, Piotr Ślipiński, Marta Wrzosek, Enikő Csata, Magdalena Witek, Chronic fungal infection accelerates age polyethism in ants without altering immune response, Animal Behaviour, Volume 232, 2026, 123426, ISSN 0003-3472, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123426. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347225003537) Abstract: Foraging is a critical activity for many animals, where individuals face many environmental pressures. Among these, parasite infection is one of the most negative threats, especially in social insects, where parasites can be shared among nestmates inside the nest and can affect colony functioning by altering the division of labour within a colony. In the ant Myrmica scabrinodis, the ectoparasite fungus Rickia wasmannii infects the majority of workers in the colony and is linked to reduced lifespan, enhanced immune responses and altered behaviour. Given that task allocation in M. scabrinodis is age dependent, we tested whether R. wasmannii infection accelerates the transition to foraging due to the ants’ shortened life expectancy. Our results confirmed that colonies with high infection intensity exhibited an earlier onset of foraging behaviour. Additionally, immune response, measured through phenoloxidase activity, was more strongly influenced by worker age than task switching or infection status, with older workers exhibiting higher immune activity. This suggests that while infection accelerates task switching, it does not directly impact immune function. Our findings highlight how chronic fungal infection can disrupt the division of labour in social insect colonies. Keywords: ant; ectoparasite; fungal parasitism; division of labour; insect immunity; insect–fungi interaction; Myrmica scabrinodis; phenoloxidase system; Rickia wasmannii; task switch https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123426
Additional Metadata
| Alternative Identifiers | aaad20d5-e647-4938-9cbf-ea8dedfcab83 |
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| https://ipt.gbif.pl/resource?r=myrmica_ab_2025 |