Adapting to Uncertainty: Foraging Strategies in <i>Dinoponera quadriceps</i> (Formicidae: Ponerinae)
When searching for food, animals often make decisions about where to go, how long to stay in a foraging area, and whether to return to the most recently visited spot. These decisions can be enhanced by cognitive traits and adjusted based on previous experience. In social insects, such as ants, forag...
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2024-11-01
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| author | Igor Eloi Waldemar Alves Silva-Neto Wallisen Tadashi Hattori Arrilton Araújo |
| author_facet | Igor Eloi Waldemar Alves Silva-Neto Wallisen Tadashi Hattori Arrilton Araújo |
| author_sort | Igor Eloi |
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| description | When searching for food, animals often make decisions about where to go, how long to stay in a foraging area, and whether to return to the most recently visited spot. These decisions can be enhanced by cognitive traits and adjusted based on previous experience. In social insects, such as ants, foraging efficiency has an impact at both the individual and colony levels. The present study investigated the effect of the distance to, capture success, food size, and the reward rate on decisions of where to forage in <i>Dinoponera quadriceps</i>, a ponerine ant that forages solitarily and makes individual foraging decisions, in laboratory studies. We also investigated the influence of learning on the workers’ performance over successive trips to search for food by measuring the patch residence time in each foraging trip. Four scenarios were created that differed in the food reward rates, the food size offered, and the distances from the colony to the food site. Our work demonstrated that as a general rule, the <i>D. quadriceps</i> workers return to the place where a prey item was found on the previous trip, regardless of the distance, food size, and reward rate. When the ants did not capture prey, they were more likely to change their route to search for food. Our results also indicated a learning process for the routes of exploration, as well as the food site conditions for exploration. After repeated trips, the foragers reduced the patch residence time in areas where they did not capture food and quickly changed foraging areas, increasing their foraging efficiency. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| spelling | doaj-art-9284c42de7e946ce8f3fda4cb4d669ea2025-08-20T02:00:34ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502024-11-01151294810.3390/insects15120948Adapting to Uncertainty: Foraging Strategies in <i>Dinoponera quadriceps</i> (Formicidae: Ponerinae)Igor Eloi0Waldemar Alves Silva-Neto1Wallisen Tadashi Hattori2Arrilton Araújo3Laboratório de Biologia Comportamental, Departamento de Fisiologia e Comportamento, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-970, RN, BrazilLaboratório de Biologia Comportamental, Departamento de Fisiologia e Comportamento, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-970, RN, BrazilDepartamento de Saúde Coletiva, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38405-320, MG, BrazilLaboratório de Biologia Comportamental, Departamento de Fisiologia e Comportamento, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal 59078-970, RN, BrazilWhen searching for food, animals often make decisions about where to go, how long to stay in a foraging area, and whether to return to the most recently visited spot. These decisions can be enhanced by cognitive traits and adjusted based on previous experience. In social insects, such as ants, foraging efficiency has an impact at both the individual and colony levels. The present study investigated the effect of the distance to, capture success, food size, and the reward rate on decisions of where to forage in <i>Dinoponera quadriceps</i>, a ponerine ant that forages solitarily and makes individual foraging decisions, in laboratory studies. We also investigated the influence of learning on the workers’ performance over successive trips to search for food by measuring the patch residence time in each foraging trip. Four scenarios were created that differed in the food reward rates, the food size offered, and the distances from the colony to the food site. Our work demonstrated that as a general rule, the <i>D. quadriceps</i> workers return to the place where a prey item was found on the previous trip, regardless of the distance, food size, and reward rate. When the ants did not capture prey, they were more likely to change their route to search for food. Our results also indicated a learning process for the routes of exploration, as well as the food site conditions for exploration. After repeated trips, the foragers reduced the patch residence time in areas where they did not capture food and quickly changed foraging areas, increasing their foraging efficiency.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/15/12/948patch residency timesolitary foragingantsforaging dynamics |
| spellingShingle | Igor Eloi Waldemar Alves Silva-Neto Wallisen Tadashi Hattori Arrilton Araújo Adapting to Uncertainty: Foraging Strategies in <i>Dinoponera quadriceps</i> (Formicidae: Ponerinae) Insects patch residency time solitary foraging ants foraging dynamics |
| title | Adapting to Uncertainty: Foraging Strategies in <i>Dinoponera quadriceps</i> (Formicidae: Ponerinae) |
| title_full | Adapting to Uncertainty: Foraging Strategies in <i>Dinoponera quadriceps</i> (Formicidae: Ponerinae) |
| title_fullStr | Adapting to Uncertainty: Foraging Strategies in <i>Dinoponera quadriceps</i> (Formicidae: Ponerinae) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adapting to Uncertainty: Foraging Strategies in <i>Dinoponera quadriceps</i> (Formicidae: Ponerinae) |
| title_short | Adapting to Uncertainty: Foraging Strategies in <i>Dinoponera quadriceps</i> (Formicidae: Ponerinae) |
| title_sort | adapting to uncertainty foraging strategies in i dinoponera quadriceps i formicidae ponerinae |
| topic | patch residency time solitary foraging ants foraging dynamics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/15/12/948 |
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