Polarised moonlight guides nocturnal bull ants home
For the first time in any animal, we show that nocturnal bull ants use the exceedingly dim polarisation pattern produced by the moon for overnight navigation. The sun or moon can provide directional information via their position; however, they can often be obstructed by clouds, canopy, or the horiz...
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| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2024-12-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/97615 |
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| author | Cody A Freas Ajay Narenda Trevor Murray Ken Cheng |
| author_facet | Cody A Freas Ajay Narenda Trevor Murray Ken Cheng |
| author_sort | Cody A Freas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For the first time in any animal, we show that nocturnal bull ants use the exceedingly dim polarisation pattern produced by the moon for overnight navigation. The sun or moon can provide directional information via their position; however, they can often be obstructed by clouds, canopy, or the horizon. Despite being hidden, these bodies can still provide compass information through the polarised light pattern they produce/reflect. Sunlight produces polarised light patterns across the overhead sky as it enters the atmosphere, and solar polarised light is a well-known compass cue for navigating animals. Moonlight produces an analogous pattern, albeit a million times dimmer than sunlight. Here, we show evidence that polarised moonlight forms part of the celestial compass of navigating nocturnal ants. Nocturnal bull ants leave their nest at twilight and rely heavily on the overhead solar polarisation pattern to navigate. Yet many foragers return home overnight when the sun cannot guide them. We demonstrate that these bull ants use polarised moonlight to navigate home during the night, by rotating the overhead polarisation pattern above homing ants, who alter their headings in response. Furthermore, these ants can detect this cue throughout the lunar month, even under crescent moons, when polarised light levels are at their lowest. Finally, we show the long-term incorporation of this moonlight pattern into the ants’ path integration system throughout the night for homing, as polarised sunlight is incorporated throughout the day. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e554175e45724c398cc5d7bc8fb3b309 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj-art-e554175e45724c398cc5d7bc8fb3b3092025-08-20T02:34:15ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2024-12-011310.7554/eLife.97615Polarised moonlight guides nocturnal bull ants homeCody A Freas0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7026-1255Ajay Narenda1Trevor Murray2Ken Cheng3School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, AustraliaSchool of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, AustraliaSchool of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, AustraliaSchool of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, AustraliaFor the first time in any animal, we show that nocturnal bull ants use the exceedingly dim polarisation pattern produced by the moon for overnight navigation. The sun or moon can provide directional information via their position; however, they can often be obstructed by clouds, canopy, or the horizon. Despite being hidden, these bodies can still provide compass information through the polarised light pattern they produce/reflect. Sunlight produces polarised light patterns across the overhead sky as it enters the atmosphere, and solar polarised light is a well-known compass cue for navigating animals. Moonlight produces an analogous pattern, albeit a million times dimmer than sunlight. Here, we show evidence that polarised moonlight forms part of the celestial compass of navigating nocturnal ants. Nocturnal bull ants leave their nest at twilight and rely heavily on the overhead solar polarisation pattern to navigate. Yet many foragers return home overnight when the sun cannot guide them. We demonstrate that these bull ants use polarised moonlight to navigate home during the night, by rotating the overhead polarisation pattern above homing ants, who alter their headings in response. Furthermore, these ants can detect this cue throughout the lunar month, even under crescent moons, when polarised light levels are at their lowest. Finally, we show the long-term incorporation of this moonlight pattern into the ants’ path integration system throughout the night for homing, as polarised sunlight is incorporated throughout the day.https://elifesciences.org/articles/97615insecthymenopteraantbull antMyrmecia |
| spellingShingle | Cody A Freas Ajay Narenda Trevor Murray Ken Cheng Polarised moonlight guides nocturnal bull ants home eLife insect hymenoptera ant bull ant Myrmecia |
| title | Polarised moonlight guides nocturnal bull ants home |
| title_full | Polarised moonlight guides nocturnal bull ants home |
| title_fullStr | Polarised moonlight guides nocturnal bull ants home |
| title_full_unstemmed | Polarised moonlight guides nocturnal bull ants home |
| title_short | Polarised moonlight guides nocturnal bull ants home |
| title_sort | polarised moonlight guides nocturnal bull ants home |
| topic | insect hymenoptera ant bull ant Myrmecia |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/97615 |
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