Hair plate mechanoreceptors associated with body segments are not necessary for three-dimensional path integration in desert ants, Cataglyphis fortis
Hair plate mechanoreceptors associated with body segments are not necessary for three-dimensional path integration in desert ants, Cataglyphis fortis
复制标题
与身体节段相关的毛板机械感受器对于沙漠蚂蚁 Cataglyphis fortis 的三维路径整合来说不是必需的
DOI：
--
复制
发表时间：
2007
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
R. Wehner
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Matthias Wittlinger;H. Wolf;R. Wehner
在蚁类中，与颈部和叶柄相关的毛区（翼柄-叶柄和叶柄-叶柄关节）在妊娠过程中起着重要作用。在这里，我们研究了这些毛发受体在（甲蚁）沙漠蚂蚁Cataglyphis fortis的三维（3-D）路径整合中的可能作用。Cataglyphis在翻山时判断地面距离，即使在（不可预测的）不平坦的地形中也能正确定位。我们通过剃掉毛发或固定毛发板监测的关节来消除这些毛发传感器在重力感应中的功能。由于它们的重力感知的主要组成部分被消除了，人们会期望蚂蚁忽略，或者至少是错误地估计，在出站的旅程中，在山上的上升和下降。因此，蚂蚁在计算归巢距离时，应该考虑（更长的）实际行走轨迹，而不是基本距离。令人惊讶的是，剃毛和固定毛发感受器都不会影响正确的路径整合，无论是在不平坦的地形上（3d）还是在平坦的表面上。如果有的话，蚂蚁低估了归航距离，这可能反映了一种普遍的、以安全为导向的导航策略。那些将胃固定在水平位置进行出外旅行的动物如此戏剧性地低估了它们的归途，以至于后一种解释站不住脚。
SUMMARY In formicine ants, the hair fields associated with the neck and the petiole (alitrunk–petiole and petiole–gaster joints) have long been established to function in graviception. Here, we examine a possible role of these hair receptors in three-dimensional (3-D) path integration of the (formicine) desert ant, Cataglyphis fortis. Cataglyphis judge the ground distance when travelling over hills, allowing correct homing even in (unpredictably) uneven terrain. We eliminated the function of these hair sensors in graviception either by shaving the hairs or by immobilising the joints monitored by the hair plates. With that major component of their sense of graviception eliminated, one would expect the ants to disregard, or at least misgauge, the ascents and descents performed across hills during outbound journey. The ants should thus consider the (much longer) actual walking trajectory, instead of the base distance, when calculating their homing distance. Surprisingly, neither shaving nor immobilisation of the hair sensillae affected correct path integration, across both uneven terrain (3-D) and level surface. If anything, the ants underestimated homing distance, which may reflect a general, safety-oriented navigation strategy. Animals that had performed the outbound journey with their gaster fixed in a horizontal position underestimated their homing so dramatically that this latter explanation cannot hold.