Feromônio \'No entry\' em Monomorium pharaonis: réplica experimental

Abstract

Chemical signs are widely used by ants in many situations. Among others, one of the most important is in foraging trails. These trails are used in communication and extensively described in the literature as having a positive character, serving to attract and recruit new individuals for certain tasks. There are many mechanisms by which the ants modulate the trails' characteristics, but one of the most interesting is the 'No entry' pheromone. It has been described only for Monomorium pharaonis and consists of a repellent pheromone that serves to mark unrewarded paths or paths that are no longer of interest. Because it is a type of pheromone less studied, our aim was to replicate the original experiment in Monomorium pharaonis. We also set out to do some additional experiments to test the control. The results do not corroborate those of the original experiment and point to the nonexistence of the 'No entry' pheromone.Although the number of U-turns was similar to the original experiment, the proportion of ants choosing the 'No entry' side and the control side was 48% and 52%, that is, the expected proportion according to randomness. We suggest some hypotheses for the differences found, including the control. We also emphasize the importance of replicating experiments in science before assuming them as absolute truth, as a way of suggesting improvements to experimental protocols and to ensure that future experiments and hypotheses based on a new result are more grounded. We also invite animal behavior researchers to embrace the importance of replication, not to challenge data obtained by other groups, but as an important exercise in standardization of protocols and suggest improvements so that the data obtained, which may be discrepant at first glance, be comparable, and gain more statistical power and, consequently, more value within science.