Abstract
It was previously shown that workers of the ant Myrmica sabuleti can discriminate small numbers of elements during testing when these elements were identical to those learned during training. Here we examine if this numerosity ability still subsists if the shape, color, size or location of the elements (dots) to count are modified between training and testing. We found that the ants’ counting ability was not significantly affected by changing one of these features although a somewhat lesser ability was observed. Among the changes, it was that of the relative position of the elements which disrupted the most the ants’ counting ability, followed by a change of their size. A change in the color or the shape affected the least the ants’ counting. These impacts of feature changes in the learned cues on the ants’ counting can be explained by characteristics of the visual perception of the species as well as by its behavioral ecology.
Highlights
Workers of the ant Myrmica sabuleti Meinert 1861 can distinguish different numbers and shapes of elements (Cammaerts, 2008)
It was imperative to examine if these ants could discriminate numbers of elements when those presented during testing differ from those used for training by their shape, size, color or relative position
Such kind of control for extraneous variables co-varying with counting has already been done in studies on numerosity perception involving some invertebrates, vertebrates and humans
Summary
Workers of the ant Myrmica sabuleti Meinert 1861 can distinguish different numbers and shapes of elements (Cammaerts, 2008) They can add and subtract visual elements when having clearly sighted the result of the operation during training (Cammaerts & Cammaerts, 2019b, c, e). It was imperative to examine if these ants could discriminate numbers of elements when those presented during testing differ from those used for training by their shape, size, color or relative position. Such kind of control for extraneous variables co-varying with counting has already been done in studies on numerosity perception involving some invertebrates, vertebrates and humans. In the present work on recognition ability between 1 to 4 elements, we changed the shape, color, size and position of cues between training and testing, only one of these changes being made at a time, in order to assess the effect of each of these changes on the ants’ discrimination between numbers
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