德国雷根斯堡大学1月29日发表公报说，生病的蚂蚁会主动离开蚁穴，在远离家的地方孤独死去。
雷根斯堡大学动物学院的生物学家在实验中观察到，生病的蚂蚁会离开巢穴并孤独地在外死去。进一步研究证实，这种主动行为并不是某种特定疾病的病征，也不会出现在其他健康蚂蚁的身上。
研究人员说，类似的现象也出现在其他群居动物中，如大象和狮子。群居动物的这种行为或许是为了防止疾病在种群内传播，保障种群延续。
有关论文发表在最新一期美国《当代生物学》（Current Biology）杂志网络版上。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
Current Biology, 28 January 2010 DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2009.12.031
Moribund Ants Leave Their Nests to Die in Social Isolation
Jürgen Heinze, Bartosz Walter
Animal societies provide perfect conditions for the spread of infections and are therefore expected to employ mechanisms that reduce the probability of transmitting pathogens to group members [1,2,3,4]. Death in nature rarely results from old age but commonly results from diseases. Leaving one's group to die in seclusion might be an efficient way of minimizing the risk of infecting kin. Anecdotal observations of moribund individuals deserting from their groups exist for several species, including humans (e.g., [5]), but have rarely been substantiated by quantitative analysis. Furthermore, to confirm that dying in solitude has evolved because of its altruistic benefits requires refuting the alternative explanation of pathogen manipulation of host behavior. Here we show that workers of the ant Temnothorax unifasciatus dying from fungal infection, uninfected workers whose life expectancy was reduced by exposure to 95% CO2[6,7], and workers dying spontaneously in observation colonies exhibited the same suite of behavior of isolating themselves from their nestmates days or hours before death. Actively leaving the nest and breaking off all social interactions thus occurred regardless of whether individuals were infected or not. Social withdrawal might be a commonly overlooked altruistic trait serving the inclusive fitness interests of dying individuals in social animals.
