The internal maps of insects

Webb, Barbara

doi:10.1242/jeb.188094

Cited by 67 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 145 publications

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“…Instead, insects tended to briefly visit the perimeter and venture to the center in all the symmetrical arenas. Therefore, our results may be considered supporting evidence for the presence of an internalized representation of space in insects (Giurfa & Capaldi, 1999;Gould, 1986;Menzel et al, 2005;Webb, 2019;Wray, Klein, Mattila, & Seeley, 2008), especially taking into account that neural circuits for the processing of direction were recently discovered (Fisher, Lu, Alessandro, & Wilson, 2019;Kim, Hermundstad, Romani, Abbott, & Jayaraman, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Geometry-based navigation in the dark: Layout symmetry facilitates spatial learning in the house cricket,Acheta domesticus, in the absence of visual cues

Baran

Krzyżowski

Rádai

et al. 2019

Preprint

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There is heavy debate about the mechanisms of spatial navigation by insects. Researchers tend to focus mainly on vision-based models, neglecting non-visual modalities. The capacity to navigate by layout symmetry has been reported in vertebrates. Nevertheless, there has been no direct evidence for such an ability in insects, especially regarding center finding. To provide novel insight into the ongoing debate, we developed a non-visual paradigm for testing navigation by layout geometry. We tested the house crickets to find a cool spot positioned centrally in heated arenas of different shapes. We found that the symmetry of the arena significantly facilitates how crickets learn to find the center of the arena, both in terms of time spent on the cool spot and the latency of locating it. Because there were no visual cues, this observation challenges visiocentric models. As alternatives, we discuss the possibility of nonvisual space representation, or non-spatial search strategy.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Geometry-based navigation in the dark: Layout symmetry facilitates spatial learning in the house cricket,Acheta domesticus, in the absence of visual cues

Baran

Krzyżowski

Rádai

et al. 2019

Preprint

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“…The results demonstrate similar visual avoidance of the object under both dim and bright light conditions. Although this agrees with bumblebees' natural foraging behaviour in bright daylight as well as during dusk, the result is unexpected since under dim light visual perception should be compromised (Warrant and McIntyre 1992). The only significant difference was a slower flight speed in dim light, perhaps allowing for longer integration time for object and speed recognition.…”

Section: Overview Of Special Issue Contributionssupporting

confidence: 76%

Arthropod spatial cognition

Pfeffer

Wolf

2020

Anim Cogn

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The feats of arthropods, and of the well-studied insects and crustaceans in particular, have fascinated scientists and laymen alike for centuries. Arthropods show a diverse repertoire of cognitive feats, of often unexpected sophistication. Despite their smaller brains and resulting lower neuronal capacity, the cognitive abilities of arthropods are comparable to, or may even exceed, those of vertebrates, depending on the species compared. Miniature brains often provide parsimonious but smart solutions for complex behaviours or ecologically relevant problems. This makes arthropods inspiring subjects for basic research, bionics, and robotics. Investigations of arthropod spatial cognition have originally concentrated on the honeybee, an animal domesticated for several thousand years. Bees are easy to keep and handle, making this species amenable to experimental study. However, there are an estimated 5–10 million arthropod species worldwide, with a broad diversity of lifestyles, ecology, and cognitive abilities. This high diversity provides ample opportunity for comparative analyses. Comparative study, rather than focusing on single model species, is well suited to scrutinise the link between ecological niche, lifestyle, and cognitive competence. It also allows the discovery of general concepts that are transferable between distantly related groups of organisms. With species diversity and a comparative approach in mind, this special issue compiles four review articles and ten original research reports from a spectrum of arthropod species. These contributions range from the well-studied hymenopterans, and ants in particular, to chelicerates and crustaceans. They thus present a broad spectrum of glimpses into current research on arthropod spatial cognition, and together they cogently emphasise the merits of research into arthropod cognitive achievements.

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“…PI state also does not help an ant decide how to respond to a prominent visual feature that occurs twice at different distances along a route . These results indicate that PI and visual place or route learning do not combine to form a 'cognitive map', a point considered in more detail by Webb (2019). More elaborate interactions between PI and visual cues to location are found in rodents (Savelli and Knierim, 2019).…”

Section: Some Uses and Limitations Of Pimentioning

confidence: 77%

Path integration: how details of the honeybee waggle dance and the foraging strategies of desert ants might help in understanding its mechanisms

Collett

2019

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Path integration is a navigational strategy that gives an animal an estimate of its position relative to some starting point. For many decades, ingenious and probing behavioural experiments have been the only window onto the operation of path integration in arthropods. New methods have now made it possible to visualise the activity of neural circuits in Drosophila while they fly or walk in virtual reality. Studies of this kind, as well as electrophysiological recordings from single neurons in the brains of other insects, are revealing details of the neural mechanisms that control an insect's direction of travel and other aspects of path integration. The aim here is first to review the major features of path integration in foraging desert ants and honeybees, the current champion path integrators of the insect world, and second consider how the elaborate behaviour of these insects might be accommodated within the framework of the newly understood neural circuits. The discussion focuses particularly on the ability of ants and honeybees to use a celestial compass to give direction in Earth-based coordinates, and of honeybees to use a landscape panorama to provide directional guidance for path integration. The possibility is raised that well-ordered behaviour might in some cases substitute for complex circuitry. A 5 min Activation Distance from centre (cm) 0 3 6 B C 10 cm REVIEW

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The internal maps of insects

Cited by 67 publications

References 145 publications

Geometry-based navigation in the dark: Layout symmetry facilitates spatial learning in the house cricket,Acheta domesticus, in the absence of visual cues

Geometry-based navigation in the dark: Layout symmetry facilitates spatial learning in the house cricket,Acheta domesticus, in the absence of visual cues

Arthropod spatial cognition

Path integration: how details of the honeybee waggle dance and the foraging strategies of desert ants might help in understanding its mechanisms

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