First In Situ Identification of Ultradian and Infradian Rhythms, and Nocturnal Locomotion Activities of Four Colonies of Red Wood Ants ( Formica rufa-Group).

In situ activity patterns of 2 Formica rufa-group species ( F. pratensis; F. polyctena) were continuously studied at 4 different red wood-ant nests for 6 months in each of the years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2016 and related to weather factors and variations in the Earth's magnetic field. The in situ activity patterns of both species were similarly periodic and exhibited ultradian, and short- and long infradian rhythms under natural LD conditions. Crepuscular and nocturnal activities shorter than or equal to 4 h were observed in both species, especially at the new moon and first quarter after the astronomical twilight in a period of darkness in fall. We hypothesize that local variability in the Earth's magnetic field affects these long-term activity patterns, whereas humidity and temperature were more strongly associated with ultradian rhythms (less than 20 h).

Can a Red Wood-Ant Nest Be Associated with Fault-Related CH4 Micro-Seepage? A Case Study from Continuous Short-Term In-Situ Sampling.

We measured methane (CH4) and stable carbon isotope of methane (δ13C-CH4) concentrations in ambient air and within a red wood-ant (RWA; Formica polyctena) nest in the Neuwied Basin (Germany) using high-resolution in-situ sampling to detect microbial, thermogenic, and abiotic fault-related micro-seepage of CH4. Methane degassing from RWA nests was not synchronized with earth tides, nor was it influenced by micro-earthquake degassing or concomitantly measured RWA activity. Two δ13C-CH4 signatures were identified in nest gas: -69‰ and -37‰. The lower peak was attributed to microbial decomposition of organic matter within the RWA nest, in line with previous observations that RWA nests are hot-spots of microbial CH4. The higher peak has not been reported in previous studies. We attribute this peak to fault-related CH4 emissions moving via fault networks into the RWA nest, which could originate either from thermogenic or abiotic CH4 formation. Sources of these micro-seepages could be Devonian schists, iron-bearing "Klerf Schichten", or overlapping micro-seepage of magmatic CH4 from the Eifel plume. Given the abundance of RWA nests on the landscape, their role as sources of microbial CH4 and biological indicators for abiotically-derived CH4 should be included in estimation of methane emissions that are contributing to climatic change.

Time-of-day-dependent global distribution of lunar surficial water/hydroxyl.

A new set of time-of-day-dependent global maps of the lunar near-infrared water/hydroxyl (H2O/OH) absorption band strength near 2.8 to 3.0 µm constructed on the basis of Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) data is presented. The analyzed absorption band near 2.8 to 3.0 µm indicates the presence of surficial H2O/OH. To remove the thermal emission component from the M3 reflectance spectra, a reliable and physically realistic mapping method has been developed. Our maps show that lunar highlands at high latitudes show a stronger H2O/OH absorption band in the lunar morning and evening than at midday. The amplitude of these time-of-day-dependent variations decreases with decreasing latitude of the highland regions, where below about 30°, absorption strength becomes nearly constant during the lunar day at a similar level as in the high-latitude highlands at midday. The lunar maria exhibit weaker H2O/OH absorption than the highlands at all, but showing a smaller difference from highlands absorption levels in the morning and evening than at midday. The level around midday is generally higher for low-Ti than for high-Ti mare surfaces, where it reaches near-zero values. Our observations contrast with previous studies that indicate a significant concentration of surficial H2O/OH at high latitudes only. Furthermore, although our results generally support the commonly accepted mechanism of H2O/OH formation by adsorption of solar wind protons, they suggest the presence of a more strongly bounded surficial H2O/OH component in the lunar highlands and parts of the mare regions, which is not removed by processes such as diffusion/thermal evaporation and photolysis in the course of the lunar day.

Early Results of Three-Year Monitoring of Red Wood Ants' Behavioral Changes and Their Possible Correlation with Earthquake Events.

Short-term earthquake predictions with an advance warning of several hours or days are currently not possible due to both incomplete understanding of the complex tectonic processes and inadequate observations. Abnormal animal behaviors before earthquakes have been reported previously, but create problems in monitoring and reliability. The situation is different with red wood ants (RWA; Formica rufa-group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)). They have stationary mounds on tectonically active, gas-bearing fault systems. These faults may be potential earthquake areas. For three years (2009-2012), two red wood ant mounds (Formica rufa-group), located at the seismically active Neuwied Basin (Eifel, Germany), have been monitored 24/7 by high-resolution cameras with both a color and an infrared sensor. Early results show that ants have a well-identifiable standard daily routine. Correlation with local seismic events suggests changes in the ants' behavior hours before the earthquake: the nocturnal rest phase and daily activity are suppressed, and standard daily routine does not resume until the next day. At present, an automated image evaluation routine is being applied to the more than 45,000 hours of video streams. Based on this automated approach, a statistical analysis of the ants' behavior will be carried out. In addition, other parameters (climate, geotectonic and biological), which may influence behavior, will be included in the analysis.