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Vector-based and landmark-guided navigation in desert ants inhabiting landmark-free and landmark-rich environments
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 08:17 authored by Cornelia BuehlmannCornelia Buehlmann, Ken Cheng, Ruediger WehnerTwo species of desert ants – the North African Cataglyphis fortis and the central Australian Melophorus bagoti – differ markedly in the visual complexity of their natural habitats: featureless salt pans and cluttered, steppe-like terrain, respectively. Here we ask whether the two species differ in their navigational repertoires, in particular, whether in homing they place different emphasis on their vector-based and landmark-based routines. In trying to answer this question, we applied the same experimental paradigms to individual foragers of either species on either continent: training and/or testing with and/or without artificial landmark arrays. We found that the open-terrain species C. fortis runs off its (path integration) home vector much more readily even in unfamiliar landmark settings than the cluttered-terrain species M. bagoti. These data support the hypothesis that C. fortis has a higher propensity to rely on vector-mediated navigation, whereas in the same experimental situations M. bagoti more easily switches to landmark-guided behaviour. In the actual navigational performances, such species-specific propensities are most likely shaped by environment-dependent individual experiences.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Journal of Experimental BiologyISSN
1477-9145Publisher
Company of BiologistsExternal DOI
Issue
17Volume
214Page range
2845-2853Department affiliated with
- Evolution, Behaviour and Environment Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Insect Navigation Research Group Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes