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Tuesday "Noon" Seminar: Nov. 14
12:30-1:45 p.m. in Biosciences West (map of building location), Room 208 |
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Talk Abstract Ant foraging is often associated with conspicuous mass recruitment through pheromone trails, however most ant species do not forage in this way. Many species, especially those with small colony sizes, do not use pheromone trails as means of recruitment to food sources. How do these ants organize their foraging? Foragers could be behaving like solitary insects, or a colony-level strategy could be at work. I introduce an individual-based model of ant foraging which allows me to change the individual behavior, and to quantify the influence on the colony's foraging success. The model is based on the observations of foraging of the ant Temnothorax rugatulus, a species characterized by small colony sizes and the lack of mass recruitment. With the model, I show that the optimal number of ants leaving the nest for foraging is dependent on their ability to learn the location of a food source as well as the distribution of food in the environment. Surprisingly, a strongly curved or a fairly straight search path for food does not influence their collective foraging success. Likewise, higher speed and accuracy of learning the path to a food source fails to increase the colony's food intake. I will relate the simulation data to observations of Temnothorax. Thereby, I will emphasize the importance of the strategies and abilities of individuals to understand the functioning and success of the colony. |
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