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Wood ants learn the magnetic direction of a route but express uncertainty because of competing directional cues

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posted on 2023-06-10, 05:09 authored by Thomas S Collett, Andy PhilippidesAndy Philippides
Wood ants were trained indoors to follow a magnetically specified route that went from the centre of an arena to a drop of sucrose at the edge. The arena, placed in a white cylinder, was in the centre of a 3D coil system generating an inclined Earth-strength magnetic field in any horizontal direction. The specified direction was rotated between each trial. The ants' knowledge of the route was tested in trials without food. Tests given early in the day, before any training, show that ants remember the magnetic route direction overnight. During the first 2 s of a test, ants mostly faced in the specified direction, but thereafter were often misdirected, with a tendency to face briefly in the opposite direction. Uncertainty about the correct path to take may stem in part from competing directional cues linked to the room. In addition to facing along the route, there is evidence that ants develop magnetically directed home and food vectors dependent upon path integration. A second experiment asked whether ants can use magnetic information contextually. In contrast to honeybees given a similar task, ants failed this test. Overall, we conclude that magnetic directional cues can be sufficient for route learning.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

The Journal of experimental biology

ISSN

0022-0949

Publisher

The Company of Biologists

Issue

16

Volume

225

Page range

jeb244416 1-12

Event location

England

Department affiliated with

  • Informatics Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2022-10-18

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2022-10-18

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2022-10-18

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