Abstract
Collective decisions regarding food source exploitation in social insects are influenced by a range of parameters, from source quality to individual preference and social information sharing. Those regarding the elevation of the physical trail towards a food source have been neglected. In this work, we investigated the effect of ascending and descending paths from the nest to a food source on collective choice in two ant species Lasius niger and Myrmica rubra. Our hypothesis that returning loaded with food from the high source is more energy efficient was validated by choice experiments: when the sources are simultaneously introduced the high food source is preferentially exploited by both species. The flexibility of colony response was then tested by introducing the preferred source (high) incidentally, after recruitment towards the down food source began. Despite the well-known lack of flexibility of L. niger, both species showed the ability to reallocate their foraging workforce towards the highest food source. The collective choice and the flexibility are based on the difference between the u-turn rates when foragers are facing the ascending or descending branch. We discuss these results in terms of species-specifics characteristics and ecological context.
Highlights
Collective exploitation of food resources in social insects, such as ants or honeybees, is largely based on a high rate of information sharing among workers in the colony
Numerous parameters influencing collective choice have been studied in social insects, including nest-source distance[25], the quality and nature of sources[20, 26] or even effect of geometry on path choice[27,28,29,30,31,32,33] with a main focus on the maximization of foraging gains; there is little direct, empirical evidence to show that animals select routes that minimize costs
Our study aims to characterize the collective responses of L. niger and Myrmica rubra resulting from recruitment competition in binary choice experiments
Summary
Collective exploitation of food resources in social insects, such as ants or honeybees, is largely based on a high rate of information sharing among workers in the colony. This communication results in food recruitment, allowing quick and efficient exploitation of large food sources[1,2,3], focusing their activity preferentially on the best-quality food source (for example, in Apis mellifera[4] or in Lasius niger5), and maximizing energy efficiency[6]. Prioritizing the influence of the leaders in groups that recruit towards a newly discovered food source rather than following a chemical trail gives the system a greater flexibility Owing to their individual memory, the www.nature.com/scientificreports/. Foraging does generally incur costs, and balancing these costs against potential losses from a path to a food source is essential for effective foraging
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
