A Climate Room for Precise Regulation of Temperature and Humidity in Connection with a

Temperature-Regulated Nest Site for Wood Ants

Author(s): Martje Kruk-de Bruin, D. Ch. Brandt, F. J. S. W. Körner
Source: Oecologia, Vol. 24, No. 4, (1976), pp. 335-341
Published by: Springer in cooperation with the International Association for Ecology
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4215292
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Oecologia (Beri.) 24, 335-341 (1976) CJ?COlOglU
? by Springer-Verlag 1976

A Climate Room for Precise Regulation

of Temperature and Humidity in Connection

with a Temperature-Regulated Nest Site for Wood Ants

Martje Kruk-de Bruin, D.Ch. Brandt, and F.J.S.W. K?rner

Zoological Laboratory, Department of Animal Ecology, University of Leiden,

Kaiserstraat 63, Leiden, The Netherlands

Summary. A climate room is described for precise regulation of temperature

and humidity. Humidity is regulated by regulation of the dew-point tempera-
ture of the air. The ranges for both dew-point and air temperature are
from 2? C to 45? C. The precision of regulation for the temperature is ?
0.05? C, for the dew-point temperature ?0.1? C. In the climate room very
homogeneous temperatures can be obtained (?0.1? C). The relative humidity
is homogeneous within ?1%.
It is also possible to make air temperature different from floor tempera-
ture. The dimensions of the experimental room are 200 ? 50 ? 17 cm.
A temperature-regulated nest site for Red Wood Ants is also described.

Introduction

In our ecological investigations on the Red Wood Ant (Formica polyctena

Forst) we studied the influence of weather factors like temperature and humidity
on the foraging activity. As in nature the influence of each of these factors
could not be analysed separately, laboratory experiments in a climate room
were needed. Since a climate room which would fit our needs is not on the
market, we had to manufacture it ourselves. It appeared that such a room
could be built at relatively low costs.
Next to the climate room we constructed a nest site in which the temperature
is regulated. This enabled us to do experiments with the ants living at their
normal nest temperature af about 25? C and at other temperatures.
In developing the climate room we took into account the following consider-
ations:
1. Range. As in nature the activity of the ants seemed to be restricted to
temperatures from about 6 to 45? C we designed the climate room so that
temperatures can be realized from 2? C up to 45? C or even higher. For regulation
of the humidity a regulation of the dew-point temperature of the air from
2-45? C or higher was chosen.
336 M. Kruk-de Bruin et al.

2. Precision. As it seemed that the ants were very sensitive to slight changes
and differences in climatic factors the temperature of the climate room was
regulated with a precision of 0.1? C (?0.05? C), the dew-point temperature
with a precision of 0.2? C (?0.1? C).
3. Homogeneity. The supposed sensitivity of the ants forced us to build
a room which would be homogeneous in temperature and humidity. Many
of the usual climate rooms are inhomogeneous and larger than strictly needed
for the experiments. In that case ventilation and climatic conditions are easily
disturbed by obstacles, by the body heat of the observer(s), by going in and
out, etc. Moreover, it appeared that the ants' activity itself is disturbed by
the presence of the observer. To exclude all these influences the climate room
was given such dimensions (200 ? 50 ? 17 cm) that inside there is only space
for the animals. Observation of the animals by eye or camera was made possible
by using a glass ceiling.
In order to obtain homogeneity of temperature we paid special attention
to the floor of the room and to the air layer just above the floor, because
the ants only walk there. For temperatures adjusted at 10? C below or above
the ambient room temperature (about 20? C) the temperature of the air layer
locally did not fluctuate more than 0.2? C (?0.1? C).
The regulated dew-point temperature was homogeneous throughout the ex-
perimental room, within a precision of ?0.1? C. As a consequence of the fluctua-
tions of both the temperature and dew-point temperature of ?0.1? C, the relative
humidity at the floor level is constant within ?1%.
4. Repetition and Adjustment. Finally we wanted to have in our experiments
the possibility to repeat easily and accurately certain climatic conditions after
a regime of different circumstances. Our set-up enabled us to achieve this.
Nest site. Because in nature nest temperatures in summer range between
25? and 30? C and in winter may drop to about 5? C (Kneitz, 1969), we made
the experimental nest adjustable in a temperature range from 5-30? C.
Because little is known about the humidity in the nest, we left the regulation
of this factor to the ants themselves.

Description of the Climate Room

For the complete set-up of the climate room the following units are used:
two temperature-controlled waterbaths, two cooling baths, one saturator and
an experimental space with well-isolating walls, placed in a waterbasin with
nearly the same surface and a depth of 8 cm. The experimental room has
a glass ceiling and is covered by an "air compartment" of 13 cm height, with
a Thermopane ceiling (Fig. 1). ("Thermopane" is a double-glass window filled
with dry nitrogen.)

Temperature Regulation

The temperature in the experimental room is controlled by regulating the temper-

ature of its floor and ceiling. When both floor and ceiling have the same
Climate Room for Precise Regulation of Temperature and Humidity 337

Fig. 1. Schematic view of the climate set-up. A waterbasin; ? experimental room; C air compartment;
Al temperature-controlled waterbath with cooling-circuit for cooling-bath Au, regulating the temper-
ature of the floor; Bt saturator for regulation of humidity in the experimental room; C? temperature
controlled waterbath cooling-circuit for cooling-bath C//} regulating the temperature of the ceiling;
At 1 satured air from the saturator is led into a space contiguous to the experimental room;
2 honeycomb screen through which air is led to and from the experimental room; 5 slit for
outlet of air (1 cm) ; 4 places for ventilator and heat exchanger; 5 aluminium floor of the experimental
room; 6 glass ceiling of the experimental room; 7 Thermopane window; 8 heating spiral to prevent
condensation of the saturized air coming from the saturator. a and b the measuring sites of
the temperature gradients, displayed in Figure 2

temperature, the temperature throughout the experimental room is very homo-

geneous.
The temperature of the aluminium floor (2 mm thick) is regulated by the
temperature of the water in the basin. This water is pumped around in a
circuit including a temperature-controlled waterbath of 40 1 (with a precision
of ?0.05? C). The water is led into the basin through a tube laying lengthwise
at its inside. Through 20 taps at equal distances parallel and equal streams
of water go to the opposite side of the basin. Here a large flow-over pipe
(diameter of 10 cm and provided with large openings along its length) leads
the water back to the temperature-controlled waterbath. Measurements with
thermocouples in the middle, in the corners, and at the edges of the floor
showed differences of less than 0.1? C.
The temperature of the glass ceiling is regulated by the temperature of
the air circulating in the compartment above. This upper compartment is some-
what longer than the experimental room itself; its dimensions are
250 ? 50 ? 13 cm. The air in this compartment is circulated by two ventilators
placed at the short sides. They blow the air along a heat exchanger placed
just beside them. The walls at the short sides are rounded off to guarantee
a good circulation. The temperature of the heat exchangers is controlled by
water pumped through them in a circuit with a temperature controlled waterbath
of 9 1 in it.
In our set-up the temperature in the middle of the glass ceiling (Fig. 1,
place a) was slightly different from that at the short sides (Fig. 1, places b).
338 M. Kruk-de Bruin et al.

40 temperaturein C
Fig. 2. Temperature gradients measured in the experimental room and the air compartment at
floor temperature adjusted at 5.4? C (a) and at 40.0? C (o). The graph represents the measurements
at the places with the largest temperature differences, i.e. at the places a and b in Figure 1. The
temperature of the surrounding room in both cases was about 10? C. To obtain a floor temperature
deviating strongly from the ambient room temperature (e.g. 40.0? C as in the graph) it appeared
necessary to increase the temperature of the air compartment above the desired temperature in
the experimental room. For temperatures far below the ambient room temperature the opposite
measures have to be taken. At the air temperatures of 5.4 and 40.0? C the dew-point temperatures
throughout the room were 2.4 and 17.0? C, respectively. From these data the relative humidities
can be calculated along the gradients. At floor level they were 81 ?1% and 26 ?0.3% respectively.
By choosing the appropriate dew-point temperature any other relative humidity can be realised,
independent of the air temperature

Figure 2 shows the temperature gradient in the experimental room and in

the air compartment in the extreme situation that the temperature of the floor
is regulated at 5.4? C and at 40.0? C, while the temperature of the surrounding
room is about 10? C. Normally the latter is kept at about 20 ?4? C. Temperatures
in Figure 2 were measured with thermocouples at the places with the largest
difference, i.e. in the middle and at the short side near the wall of the experimen-
tal room and the air compartment (Fig. 1, places a and b, respectively).
At a room temperature of about 18-20? C 12 h were minimally needed
to warm up the whole experimental room from 5^45? C. Cooling from 45-5? C
took 24 h. This is of course dependent on the capacities of the baths.

Humidity Regulation

When the dew-point temperature of the air is known, relative humidity and
saturation deficit can be calculated easily from air temperature and dew-point
temperature (Sutton, 1953; Hygrom?trie Tables, 1961).
Climate Room for Precise Regulation of Temperature and Humidity 339

For regulation of the humidity the air is prepared in a saturator by bubbling

it through a temperature-controlled waterbath with the desired dew-point tem-
perature. The air coming from the bath will be saturated with water vapour
and, hence, will have the correct dew-point temperature. This air is led into
the experimental room, however not directly. Firstly it is blown through a tube
which is heated slightly above the ambient temperature to prevent condensation.
Then it is led through a tube running through the waterbasin to adapt it to
the temperature of the experimental room. Just before leaving the waterbasin
this tube finally branches out into 5 tubules (diameter c. 0.5 cm) which debouch
at 5 equidistant places in a space contiguous to the experimental room (Fig. 1, 1).
The air current from these tubules is equalized by adjustment of the diameter
of the tubules. The parting wall between this space and the experimental room
is a "honeycomb screen" composed of many horizontal small hexagonal pipes.
Passage of the air through this screen secures an even flow of the air in the
experimental room. This we have tested with smoke-laden air. At the opposite
side of the experimental room the air leaves the apparatus through the same
type of screen. Thereafter it is removed through a slit at the top of the space
behind the screen (Fig. 1, 3).
As the capacity of the saturator is 2,500 1/h, the air in the experimental
room is refreshed every 7 min, flowing with a speed of approximately 0.5 cm/s.
We kept the air speed thus low that the ants probably would not be affected.
Control measurements with a psychrometer proved that the desired dew-
point temperature existed actually throughout the experimental room. Measure-
ments at several dew-point temperatures were done on three equidistant places
of the floor and in the corners.

Specifications of the Materials and the Apparatuses

Used for the Set-Up and Some Details of the Construction

The floor of the experimental room is made of 2 mm thick aluminium. To protect it against
water corrosion it is coated with a synthetic enamel (called "metacoat", fabricated by Sikkens)
which combines with aluminium.
The walls of the experimental room are made of hard polyurethane foam, 5 cm thick and
coated with p.v.c.-plate, 2 mm thick. In the walls three openings are made enabling us to handle
the ants, provide food or manipulate otherwise when necessary. These openings can be closed
with isolating p.v.c.-plugs. Fluid food is supplied through a very narrow tube permanently stuck
through the wall. The glass plate of the ceiling rests on draught-stopper to prevent air exchange
with the upper compartment and any possible condensation. Likewise the Thermopane ceiling
(fabricated by "Glaverbel"), consisting of two windows of 140 x60 cm rests on spongy rubber.
Both these glass plates can be taken away easily for all kinds of necessary manipulations in the
compartment.
The frame of the waterbasin is made of wood (chipboard). Inside, this wood is covered with
a layer of polyurethane foam 6 cm thick, which is finished up with a layer of fibre glass and
polyester resin. All conduit-tubes are made of p.v.c.
For the temperature regulation we use temperature-controlled waterbaths (Tamson): for the
floor a 45 1 bath, type TE45 (1,420 Watt+ 1,500 Watt for possible booster heating); for the upper
compartment a 9 1 bath, type TE9 (920 Watt). The capacity of the pump for the upper compartment
is 7.5 1/min, the one serving the waterbasin is stronger, having a capacity of 45 1/min. To obtain
temperatures below or near to the room temperaure cooling of the temperature-controlled waterbaths
is required. Therefore the temperature-controlled waterbaths were fitted out with cooling-circuits
340 M. Kruk-de Bruin et al.

fed by cooling-baths (Tamson, type TK12 and TK20). Their cooling aggregates have a capacity
of 245 and 368 Watt, respectively, and they both contain 3.5 1 cooling fluid. For regulation of
the dew-point temperature we use a V?tsch-apparatus, type VTK01/125 KU (2,000 Watt), with
a maximum capacity of 2,500 1/h. The honeycomb screen used comes from the aircraft industry;
the cells have a diameter of 3 mm, a wall thickness of 0.0025 mm and a length of 4 cm.
Our heat exchangers are made of copper pipes with aluminium discs placed perpendicularly
to the pipe at distances of 0.25 cm. The diameter of the pipes is 10 mm, that of the discs 28 mm.
At each short side of the air compartment, next to the ventilators, seven pipes of 20 cm length
are placed, horizontally and parallel to each other in series connection. The exchange surface
obtained at each side is 0.64 m2.
The type of our ventilators is ETRI96XL, their capacity 25 1/s and their diameter 10.5 cm.

Construction of Nest Site

The nest site is a plastic cylindrical container of 40 cm diameter and 65 cm

height (Fig. 3). This container is filled with 15 cm sand and 20 cm natural
nest material of the ants, like pine needles and twiglets. The bottom of the
container is perforated and submerged in a small waterbasin of 5 cm depth
on supports of 4 cm height. Thus water can be taken up by the nest material.
In the humidity gradient created in this way the ants can select the preferred
places for their eggs and larvae or perhaps even regulate the humidity themselves.
All around the nest cylinder a tube is wound through which water is circulated
coming from a temperature-controlled waterbath of 9 1. This tube (type Calorex)
is half-cylindrical in section, its flat side lying against the container. The tube
is firstly led through the waterbasin beneath the nest to give the water in
this basin the same temperature as that of the temperature-controlled waterbath.

wallof the
climateroom

-r. sand

////7/.//7/7/7//?
Fig. 3. Schematic view of the nest site. The nest container, filled with sand and nest material,
is placed in a waterbasin (/). A half-cylindrical tube (2), first led through the basin, winds all
around the container. The water in this tube comes from a temperature-controlled waterbath
(4), and returns to it via the double-walled glass transit tube to the climate room (3). In the
upper part the container space is closed by a perspex plate (5) and two glass plates (6). The
entire set-up is isolated by layers of foam plastic (7) and styropore (tempex) (8). The waterbasin
can be filled through the waterinlet with gauging rod (9)
Climate Room for Precise Regulation of Temperature and Humidity 341

The whole set-up of the nest is very well isolated because otherwise heat transport
to the nest material is not easily accomplished: except for the top, the nest
site is isolated by layers of foam plastic (8 cm thick) and tempex (6 cm thick),
separated by an air space of 2 cm width. In the upper part the container space
is closed by a perspex plate of 1 cm thick at a height of 55 cm from the bottom,
and further by two glass plates at distances of 10 cm.
At 50 cm above the bottom of the container the nest site is connected
with the climate room by a double-walled glass tube which serves as a transit
for the ants. The inner diameter of this tube is 2 cm, the outer 5 cm. It is
between these two glass walls that the water coming from the heating spiral
around the container returns to the temperature-controlled waterbath. In this
way the transit tube is kept at the same temperature as the nest site.

Experiences and Recommendations

Frequent checks at important spots are needed to keep the whole set-up under
control. We made records with thermocouples connected with a multipoint-strip-
chart recorder (Philips, type PR3500). The thermocouples used had a diameter
of 0.2 mm and were made of copper-constantane.
We advise against making the walls of the waterbasin of wood but recom-
mend a synthetic material. In the described set-up it is also possible to make
the air temperature different from that of the floor.

Acknowledgements. The climate room and nest site are developed during a study subsidized by
the Netherlands Organization for the Advancement of Pure Research (Z.W.O.) (nr. 84-55).
We would like to thank Mr. C. Prins and Mr. P.J.H. Dexel for their assistance in assembling
the apparatus. To Prof. Dr. K. Bakker and Dr. Nora Croin Michielsen we are indebted for
their valuable criticism of the paper. We thank Miss Marjolein van Wijngaarden for typing the
manuscript and Mr. C. Elzenga for preparing the figures.

References

Hygrom?trie Tables: Part III, of Her Majesty's Stationery Office (1961)

Kneitz, G. : Temperaturprofile in Waidameisennestern. Proceedings of the International Union for
the Study of Social Insects, VI Congress, Bern, 95-101 (1969)
Sutton, O.G.: Micrometeorology. London: MacGraw Hill 1953

Received May 20, 1976