Branching Angles of Ant Trunk Trails as an Optimization Cue

Acosta, Francisco J.; López, Francisco Zamora; Serrano, José

doi:10.1006/jtbi.1993.1020

Cited by 38 publications

(18 citation statements)

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“…Pogonomyrmex ants orient using both visual and chemical cues (H6lldobler, 1976). The observed pattern of removal suggests that the effectiveness of either type of cue may be highest near a trail and decrease with distance from it (Fewell, 1988;Acosta et al, 1993;Haefner and Crist, 1994). However, Gordon (1983) found that distance from trunk trails had no effect on recruitment rate in P barbatus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Spatial Variation in Rates of Seed Removal by Harvester Ants (Pogonomyrmex occidentalis) in a Shrub-steppe Ecosystem

Mull¹,

MacMahon²

1997

American Midland Naturalist

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Spatial Variation in Rates of Seed Removal by Harvester Ants (Pogonomyrmex occidentalis) in a Shrub-steppe Ecosystem

Mull¹,

MacMahon²

1997

American Midland Naturalist

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“…On plants the trails of ants are constrained by the branching angles of the vegetation. In a wide range of ant species pheromone trail networks take on a tree-like shape, with bifurcations of about 50-60 • (1,70,77). Pharaoh ants use the asymmetry in trail bifurcation geometry to indicate polarity: Given that the trail branches at approximately 60 • when leading away from the nest, encountering a bifurcation with both paths deviating by 30 • means one is heading away from the nest.…”

Section: Directional Information In Pheromone Trailsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Note: What some authors consider home-range markings others consider long-lasting trail pheromones. 1 A signal directly conveys information and is deliberately produced for that purpose; a cue conveys information but is incidentally produced. Whether home-range markings are cues or signals is debatable, probably varies between species, and is beyond the scope of this review.…”

Section: Interaction Of Pheromone Trails With Other Types Of Social Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Trail Pheromones: An Integrative View of Their Role in Social Insect Colony Organization

Czaczkes

Grüter

Ratnieks

2015

Annu. Rev. Entomol.

173

159

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Trail pheromones do more than simply guide social insect workers from point A to point B. Recent research has revealed additional ways in which they help to regulate colony foraging, often via positive and negative feedback processes that influence the exploitation of the different resources that a colony has knowledge of. Trail pheromones are often complementary or synergistic with other information sources, such as individual memory. Pheromone trails can be composed of two or more pheromones with different functions, and information may be embedded in the trail network geometry. These findings indicate remarkable sophistication in how trail pheromones are used to regulate colony-level behavior, and how trail pheromones are used and deployed at the individual level.

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“…The agent may make a choice depending on A c c e p t e d m a n u s c r i p t 8 the pheromone concentrations, or may choose at random. The probability of the agent choosing at random is dependent on the error rate ( ), which is dependent on the angle to the options In nature, ant trail bifurcations are radially asymmetrical with the narrower angle pointing towards the nest (Acosta et al, 1993;Jackson et al, 2004). The effect of geometry is frequently ignored in models of trail choice (Goss et al, 1989;Millonas, 1992;Nicolis and Deneubourg, 1999).…”

Section: Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

An agent-based model to investigate the roles of attractive and repellent pheromones in ant decision making during foraging

Robinson

Ratnieks

Holcombe

2008

Journal of Theoretical Biology

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Pharaoh's ants organise their foraging system using three types of trail pheromone. All previous foraging models based on specific ant foraging systems have assumed that only a single attractive pheromone is used. Here we present an agent-based model based on trail choice at a trail bifurcation within the foraging trail network of a Pharaoh's ant colony which includes both attractive (positive) and repellent (negative) trail pheromones. Experiments have previously shown that Pharaoh's ants use both types of pheromone. We investigate how the repellent pheromone affects trail choice and foraging success in our simulated foraging system. We find that both the repellent and attractive pheromones have a role in trail choice, and that the repellent pheromone prevents random fluctuations which could otherwise lead to a positive feedback loop causing the colony to concentrate its foraging on the unrewarding trail. An emergent feature of the model is a high level of variability in the level of repellent pheromone on the unrewarding branch. This is caused by the repellent pheromone exerting negative feedback on its own A c c e p t e d m a n u s c r i p t 2 deposition. We also investigate the dynamic situation where the location of the food is changed after foraging trails are established. We find that the repellent pheromone has a key role in enabling the colony to refocus the foraging effort to the new location. Our results show that having a repellent pheromone is adaptive, as it increases the robustness and flexibility of the colony's overall foraging response.

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Branching Angles of Ant Trunk Trails as an Optimization Cue

Cited by 38 publications

References 0 publications

Spatial Variation in Rates of Seed Removal by Harvester Ants (Pogonomyrmex occidentalis) in a Shrub-steppe Ecosystem

Spatial Variation in Rates of Seed Removal by Harvester Ants (Pogonomyrmex occidentalis) in a Shrub-steppe Ecosystem

Trail Pheromones: An Integrative View of Their Role in Social Insect Colony Organization

An agent-based model to investigate the roles of attractive and repellent pheromones in ant decision making during foraging

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