TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of maze complexity on maze-solving time in a desert ant
AU - Bega, D.
AU - Samocha, Yehonatan
AU - Yitzhak, Nitzan
AU - Saar, Maya
AU - Subach, Aziz
AU - Scharf, Inon
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2019/9
Y1 - 2019/9
N2 - One neglected aspect of research on foraging behavior is that of the effect of obstacles that increase habitat complexity on foraging efficiency. Here, we explored how long it takes individually foraging desert ant workers (Cataglyphis niger) to reach a food reward in a maze, and examined whether maze complexity affects maze-solving time (the time elapsed till the first worker reached the food reward). The test mazes differed in their complexity level, or the relative number of correct paths leading to the food reward, vs. wrong paths leading to dead-ends. Maze-solving time steeply increased with maze complexity, but was unaffected by colony size, despite the positive correlation between colony size and the number of workers that searched for food. The number of workers observed feeding on the food reward 10 min after its discovery decreased with complexity level but not colony size. We compared our experimental results to three simulation models, applying different search methods, ranked them according to their fit to the data and found the self-avoiding random search to fit the best. We suggest possible reasons for the model deviations from the observational findings. Our data emphasize the necessity to refer to habitat complexity when studying foraging behavior.
AB - One neglected aspect of research on foraging behavior is that of the effect of obstacles that increase habitat complexity on foraging efficiency. Here, we explored how long it takes individually foraging desert ant workers (Cataglyphis niger) to reach a food reward in a maze, and examined whether maze complexity affects maze-solving time (the time elapsed till the first worker reached the food reward). The test mazes differed in their complexity level, or the relative number of correct paths leading to the food reward, vs. wrong paths leading to dead-ends. Maze-solving time steeply increased with maze complexity, but was unaffected by colony size, despite the positive correlation between colony size and the number of workers that searched for food. The number of workers observed feeding on the food reward 10 min after its discovery decreased with complexity level but not colony size. We compared our experimental results to three simulation models, applying different search methods, ranked them according to their fit to the data and found the self-avoiding random search to fit the best. We suggest possible reasons for the model deviations from the observational findings. Our data emphasize the necessity to refer to habitat complexity when studying foraging behavior.
KW - Cataglyphis
KW - Exploration
KW - Individual-based model
KW - Movement
KW - Obstacles
KW - Searching behavior
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85068253724&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103893
DO - 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103893
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AN - SCOPUS:85068253724
SN - 0376-6357
VL - 166
JO - Behavioural Processes
JF - Behavioural Processes
M1 - 103893
ER -