Ants Are at the First Stage of the Notion of Zero

2019

IJB

Self Cite

Myrmica sabuleti ants have a mental number line on which numbers (non-symbolic displayed amounts) are ranked, the smaller on the left and the larger on the right. Here we try to know if the difference between two successive numbers is identically estimated all along this line or is less and less well estimated with increasing number magnitude. Ants were trained to distinguish two successive numbers differing by one unit (1 vs 2, 2 vs 3, …, 6 vs 7) during 72 hours and tested after 7, 24, 31, 48, 55 and 72 h. The ants responded less well for larger numbers (e.g. their response to 6 vs 7 was weaker than that to 1 vs 2). The relation between the ants' ability in discriminating two successive numbers according to their relative difference was best described by a non-linear function, a logarithmic function providing a higher fit than a power function. A linear function could only significantly better fit the data when the ratio or the mean of the two numbers was taken into account, particularly in the case of the mean when large fluctuations in the ants' discrimination score appeared in the course of increasing training time. In fact, mean and ratio do not express the relative difference between numbers. Second-order polynomial functions could provide higher fitting, but generally non-significant. The ants' mental positioning of numerosity on their number line appears thus to be compressed along a non-linear scale, most likely according to a logarithmic function.

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 84%

Section: Relation Between Discrimination Accuracy and Increasing Magnmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ants’ Mental Positioning of Amounts on a Number Line

Cammaerts¹,

2019

IJB

Self Cite

“…Having brought to the fore a basic notion of zero, perceptible to the senses (i.e. the notion of 'nothing') in the ant M. sabuleti using visual operant conditioning (M. C. Cammaerts & R. Cammaerts, 2019), we examined if such a notion could also be obtained using operant conditioning to olfactory cues. We found that it was possible and our experimental work allowed bringing some more knowledge on the subject.…”

Section: Discussion-conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We have recently shown that the ant Myrmica sabuleti Meinert 1861 can have a basic notion of nothing (zero) through operant conditioning to visual cues and their absence (M. C. Cammaerts & R. Cammaerts 2019). However, this species uses essentially odors for navigating and uses visual cues only in the absence of useful odors (Cammaerts & Rachidi, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ants' Notion of Zero through the Perception of the Absence of an Odor

Cammaerts¹,

2019

IJB

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Workers of the ant Myrmica sabuleti can acquire the notion of ‘nothing’, i.e. a basic concept of zero, through olfactory conditioning, the best when the odor is unpleasant (onion odor) and when the response to the absence of the odor is rewarded. With a pleasant odor (lavender, rosemary or vanilla odor), the ants learn best when the response to the odor is rewarded. To our knowledge this is the first time that olfactory operant conditioning is obtained in animals by rewarding their response to ‘nothing’. The present work also points out: - the impact of the kind and quality of the cue to be learned on the animals’ learning score, - the improvement of a given learning over successive similar learning experiments, - the obtaining of a better learning when the reward is associated with the animals’ preference.

“…However, the discrimination accuracy observed in the present work was somewhat lower than that obtained in previous works on the same species when the cues were unchanged between training and testing. More precisely, during a study on the notion of zero, a mean conditioning score of 78.1% was obtained for the ants' discrimination between 1 and 2 circles, after 48 training hours (Cammaerts & Cammaerts, 2019a, Table 1). In a study on the ants' correct location of the zero (Cammaerts & Cammaerts, 2019d), after two training days, these insects presented a conditioning score of 83.3% (meanly 4.0 vs 0.8 ants) when asked to learn 2 vs 1 elements, and a score of 82.6% (meanly 3.8 vs 0.8 ants) when asked to learn 1 vs 2 elements.…”

Section: Effect Of Shape Color Size and Relative Position Of Elemenmentioning

confidence: 98%

Influence of Shape, Color, Size and Relative Position of Elements on Their Counting by an Ant

Cammaerts¹,

2020

IJB

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It was previously shown that workers of the ant Myrmica sabuleti can discriminate small numbers of elements during testing when these elements were identical to those learned during training. Here we examine if this numerosity ability still subsists if the shape, color, size or location of the elements (dots) to count are modified between training and testing. We found that the ants’ counting ability was not significantly affected by changing one of these features although a somewhat lesser ability was observed. Among the changes, it was that of the relative position of the elements which disrupted the most the ants’ counting ability, followed by a change of their size. A change in the color or the shape affected the least the ants’ counting. These impacts of feature changes in the learned cues on the ants’ counting can be explained by characteristics of the visual perception of the species as well as by its behavioral ecology.