Cause, development, function, and evolution: Toward a behavioral ecology of rescue behavior in ants.

Abstract

In a species of Mediterranean desert-dwelling ant, Cataglyphis piliscapa (formerly, C. cursor), some individuals, mostly foragers, engage in highly orchestrated behavior to free a trapped nestmate. Their behavior, which we have labeled rescue, is a heritable trait in this species, and it appears fully formed within a few days of an ant's emergence as an adult. Not only is the rescue behavior by these ant specialists precisely targeted, but also it involves a complex, dynamic sequence of behavioral patterns. That is, each rescue operation is responsive both to the specific circumstances of the nestmate's entrapment and to the way in which that particular rescue operation unfolds, relying on the rescuer's short-term memory of its previous actions to increase efficiency and to decrease energy expenditure. Rescue appears in several other ant species as well, and, although the specific behavioral patterns and contexts vary across species, the outcome-namely, releasing a distressed nestmate-remains the same. Here, we describe research designed to address questions about the function, evolution, cause, and development of rescue behavior in C. piliscapa-a behavior ecological approach-drawing on research in other species, and by other researchers, both to highlight comparative similarities and differences and, importantly, to draw attention to still unanswered questions. In addition, by shedding light on the rescue behavior of ants, we also hope to engender increased attention to, and research on, this extraordinary form of helping behavior in multiple other taxa.