Blinkered teaching: tandem running by visually impaired ants
Blinkered teaching: tandem running by visually impaired ants
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DOI：
10.1007/s00265-010-1057-2
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发表时间：
2011-04-01
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Franks, Nigel R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Franklin, Elizabeth L.;Richardson, Thomas O.;Franks, Nigel R.
在串联运行过程中，一只工蚁招募另一只工蚁获取重要资源。在这里，我们开始研究如何依赖于串联领导和追随者的视觉线索，通过画在他们的复眼损害他们的视力。在串联奔跑过程中，有两种方式可以使天胸利用视觉。首先，追随者可能会通过保持在视线范围内来跟踪领导者的行动。我们的研究结果表明，蚂蚁不会以这种方式使用视觉。例如，在所有四种类型的双人跑中（领导者或追随者，两者都有，或者两个参与者都没有视力障碍），进展最顺利的速度约为3毫米/秒。这表明领导者和追随者在串联跑步时的交流不是基于视觉，而是纯粹的触觉和信息素。其次，领导者和追随者可能使用视觉导航，我们的研究结果支持这种可能性，但也表明这些蚂蚁有其他导航方法。视力受损的蚂蚁更有可能跟随而不是领导，但它们可以扮演任何一个角色，即使它们有许多视力完全正常的同伴。这可能有助于解释为什么蚂蚁不把重点放在它们视力受损最严重的同伴身上。两名参与者都有视力并且可能需要时间来学习地标的野生型双人跑步，总体上比其他治疗方法要慢得多，更平稳，更少曲折。所有四类串联运行显著增加平均瞬时速度和瞬时加速度的平均绝对变化在他们的旅程。此外，与视力正常的同伴组队，他们的速度随时间的增长比其他治疗要快。总的来说，我们的研究结果表明，在串联奔跑过程中，视力是用于导航的，但这些蚂蚁也可能在招募过程中使用其他定向系统，并学习如何到达新的巢穴。我们的研究结果表明，蚂蚁的教学方法是非常稳健和灵活的。
During tandem runs, one ant worker recruits another to an important resource. Here, we begin to investigate how dependent are tandem leaders and followers on visual cues by painting over their compound eyes to impair their vision. There are two ways in which Temnothorax albipennis might use vision during tandem running. First, the follower might track the movements of the leader by keeping it in sight. Our results suggest that the ants do not use vision in this way. For example, in all four classes of tandem run (those with either leader or follower, both, or neither of their participants with visual impairments) progress was most smooth at about 3 mm/s. This suggests that communication between leaders and followers during tandem runs is not based on vision and is purely tactile and pheromonal. Second, the leader and the follower might be using vision to navigate and our results support this possibility but also suggest that these ants have other methods of navigation. Ants with visual impairments were more likely to follow than to lead, but could occupy either role, even though they had many fully sighted nestmates. This might help to explain why the ants did not focus grooming on their most visually impaired nestmates. Wild-type tandem runs, with both participants fully sighted and presumably taking time to learn landmarks, were overall significantly slower, smoother, and a little less tortuous, than the other treatments. All four classes of tandem run significantly increased mean instantaneous speeds and mean absolute changes in instantaneous acceleration over their journeys. Moreover, tandems with sighted followers increased their speed with time more than the other treatments. In general, our findings suggest that eyesight is used for navigation during tandem running but that these ants also probably use other orientation systems during such recruitment and to learn how to get to new nest sites. Our results suggest that the ants' methods of teaching and learning are very robust and flexible.