Root-sourced chemical signal

The compounds that we will consider here, in contrast, serve quite specific needs of various organisms, and for this reason we will call them special chemical compounds. Different species may employ the same special compound, in some cases for the same purpose and in other cases for different ends. For example, the carbon dioxide arising from the respiration of a crowd of ants is an aggregation signal that invites solitary ants to join their nestmates. Corn rootworms, however, use the carbon dioxide that living corn roots emit into the soil as a signal, leading them to their food. Different species may also employ diverse compounds for essentially the same purpose. Various ant species mark their food trails with different chemicals to keep their food sources secret from one another. 

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