Abstract
Casting behavior (zigzagging across an odor stream) is common in air/liquid-borne odor tracking in open fields; however, terrestrial odor localization often involves path selection in a familiar environment. To study this, we trained rats to run toward an odor source in a multi-choice olfactory arena with near-laminar airflow. We find that rather than casting, rats run directly toward an odor port, and if this is incorrect, they serially sample other sources. This behavior is consistent and accurate in the presence of perturbations, such as novel odors, background odor, unilateral nostril stitching, and turbulence. We developed a model that predicts that this run-and-scan tracking of air-borne odors is faster than casting, provided there are a small number of targets at known locations. Thus, the combination of best-guess target selection with fallback serial sampling provides a rapid and robust strategy for finding odor sources in familiar surroundings.
Highlights
IntroductionOdor tracking is an essential capability for survival in many animals, and serves to find and identify food, mates, Received September 4, 2015; accepted October 19, 2015; First published November 05, 2015
Smoke plumes were introduced at approximately the same position as the odor source, ie, ϳ3 cm above the floor of the box
We have found that rats achieve high accuracy and robust performance in tracking air-borne odors in a familiar environment, but do not use casting to do this
Summary
Odor tracking is an essential capability for survival in many animals, and serves to find and identify food, mates, Received September 4, 2015; accepted October 19, 2015; First published November 05, 2015. Khan for comments on the paper; Aditya Gilra and K. Parthasarathy for help with design and analysis; and Sanjay Sane for discussions
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