Skip to main content

Effect of density on traffic and velocity on trunk trails of Formica pratensis

The Science of Nature volume 102, Article number: 17 (2015) Cite this article

Abstract

The allocation of large numbers of workers facilitates the swift intake of locally available resources which is essential for ant colony survival. To organise the traffic between nest and food source, the black-meadow ant Formica pratensis establishes permanent trunk trails, which are maintained by the ants. To unravel the ant organisation and potential traffic rules on these trails, we analysed velocity and lane segregation under various densities by experimentally changing feeding regimes. Even under the highest ant densities achieved, we never observed any traffic jams. On the contrary, velocity increased after supplementary feeding despite an enhanced density. Furthermore, inbound ants returning to the nest had a higher velocity than those leaving the colony. Whilst at low and medium density the ants used the centre of the trail, they used the full width of the trail at high density. Outbound ants also showed some degree of lane segregation which contributes to traffic organisation.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

References

  • Alexander C, Silverstein M, Angel S, Ishikawa S, Abrams D (1975) The Oregon experiment. Center for Environmental Structure Series, vol 3. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashby WR (1947) Principles of the self-organizing dynamic system. J Gen Psychol 37:125–128

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett AF (1990) Thermal-dependence of locomotor capacity. Am J Physiol 259:R253–R258

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burd M, Archer D, Aranwela N, Stradling DJ (2002) Traffic dynamics of the leaf-cutting ant, Atta cephalotes. Am Nat 159:283–293

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Camazine S, Deneubourg J-L, Franks N, Sneyd J, Theraulaz G, Bonabeau E (2001) Self-organization in biological systems. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Camlitepe Y, Aksoy V, Uren N, Yilmaz A, Becenen I (2005) An experimental analysis on the magnetic field sensitivity of the black-meadow ant Formica pratensis Retzius (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Acta Biol Hung 56:215–224

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chowdhury D, Santen L, Schadschneider A (2000) Statistical physics of vehicular traffic and some related systems. Phys Rep 329:199–329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cosens D, Toussaint N (1985) An experimental study of the foraging strategy of the wood ant Formica aquilonia. Anim Behav 33:541–552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Couzin ID, Franks NR (2002) Self-organized lane formation and optimized traffic flow in army ants. Proc R Soc Lond B 270:139–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dallmeyer J, Schumann R, Lattner AD, Timm IJ (2012) Don’t go with the ant flow: ant-inspired traffic routing in urban environments. Proc. 7th International Workshop on Agents in Traffic and Transportation (ATT 2012), Valencia, pp 59–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorigo M, Blum C (2005) Ant colony optimization theory: a survey. Theor Comp Sci 344:243–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dormann CF, Elith J, Bacher S, Buchmann C, Carl G, Carré G, García Marquéz JR, Gruber B, Lafourcade B, Leitão PJ, Münkemüller T, McClean C, Osborne PE, Reineking B, Schröder B, Skidmore AK, Zurell D, Lautenbach S (2013) Collinearity: a review of methods to deal with it and a simulation study evaluating their performance. Ecography 36:27–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dussutour A, Fourcassié V, Helbing D, Deneubourg J-L (2004) Optimal traffic organization in ants under crowded conditions. Nature 428:70–73

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dussutour A, Deneubourg J-L, Fourcassié V (2005) Temporal organization of bi-directional traffic in the ant Lasius niger (L.). J Exp Biol 208:2903–2912

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dussutour A, Beshers S, Deneubourg J-L, Fourcassié V (2007) Crowding increases foraging efficiency in the leaf-cutting ant Atta colombica. Insectes Soc 54:158–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dussutour A, Beshers S, Deneubourg J-L, Fourcassié V (2009) Priority rules govern the organization of traffic on foraging trails under crowding conditions in the leaf-cutting ant Atta colombica. J Exp Biol 212:499–505

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fourcassié V, Dussutour A, Deneubourg J-L (2010) Ant traffic rules. J Exp Biol 213:2357–2363

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Frasnelli E (2013) Brain and behavioral lateralization in invertebrates. Front Psychol 4:Article 939: 1–10

  • Frasnelli E, Iakovlev I, Reznikova Z (2012) Asymmetry in antennal contacts during trophallaxis in ants. Behav Brain Res 232:7–12

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon DM, Paul RE, Thorpe K (1993) What is the function of encounter patterns in ant colonies? Anim Behav 45:1083–1100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gösswald K (1989) Die Waldameisen, vol 1. Aula Verlag, Wiesbaden

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotwald WHJ (1995) Army ants: the biology of social predation. Cornell University Press, Ithaca

    Google Scholar 

  • Guisan A, Zimmermann NE (2000) Predictive habitat distribution models in ecology. Ecol Model 135:147–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helbing D (2001) Traffic and related self-driven many-particle systems. Rev Mod Phys 73:1067–1141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heuts BA, Cornelissen P, Lambrechts DYM (2003) Different attack modes of Formica species in interspecific one-on-one combats with other ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Ann Zool (Wars) 53:205–216

    Google Scholar 

  • Hölldobler B, Wilson EO (1990) The ants. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Holt SJ (1955) On the foraging activity of the wood ant. J Anim Ecol 24:1–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt ER, O´Shea-Weller T, Albery GF, Bridger TH, Gumn M, Franks NR (2014) Ants show a leftward turning bias when exlporing unknown nest sites. Biol Lett 10:20140945

  • John A, Schadschneider A, Chowdhury D, Nishinari K (2009) Trafficlike collective movement of ants on trails: absence of jammed phase. Phys Rev Lett 102:108001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kerner BS (2004) The physics of traffic. Springer, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lamb AE, Ollason JG (1994) Trail-laying and recruitment to sugary foods by foraging red wood-ants Formica aquilonia Yarrow (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Behav Process 31:111–124

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Litman T (2014) Smart congestion relief. Comprehensive evaluation of traffic congestion costs and congestion reduction strategies. Victoria Transport Policy Institute, Victoria

    Google Scholar 

  • Mailleux A-C, Detrain C, Deneubourg J-L (2005) Triggering and persistence of trail-laying in foragers of the ant Lasius niger. J Insect Physiol 51:297–304

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miura T, Matsumoto T (1998a) Foraging organization of the open-air processional lichen-feeding termite Hospitalitermes (Isoptera, Termitidae) in Borneo. Insectes Soc 45:17–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miura T, Matsumoto T (1998b) Open-air litter foraging in the nasute termite Longipeditermes longipes (Isoptera: Termitidae). J Insect Behav 11:179–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perna A, Latty T (2014) Animal transportation networks. J R Soc Interface 11:20140334

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Quinet Y, Pasteels JM (1991) Spatiotemporal evolution of the trail network in Lasius fuliginosus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Belgian J Zool 121:55–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinet Y, Pasteels JM (1996) Spatial specialization of the foragers and foraging strategy in Lasius fuliginosus (Latreille) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Insectes Soc 43:333–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinet Y, de Biseau JC, Pasteels JM (1997) Food recruitment as a component of the trunk-trail foraging behaviour of Lasius fuliginosus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Behav Process 40:75–83

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roces F, Núñez JA (1993) Information about food quality influences load-size selection in recruited leaf-cutting ants. Anim Behav 45:135–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosengren R (1971) Route fidelity, visual memory and recruitment behaviour in foraging wood ants of the genus Formica (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Acta Zoolog Fenn 133:1–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosengren R (1977) Foraging strategy of wood ants (Formica rufa group). I. Age polyethism and topographic traditions. Acta Zoolog Fenn 149:1–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Seifert B (2007) Die Ameisen Mittel- und Nordeuropas. Lutra, Tauer

  • Treiber M, Kesting A (2010) Verkehrsdynamik und –simulation. Springer, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Von dem Bussche J, Spaar R, Schmid H, Schröder B (2008) Modelling the recent and potential future spatial distribution of the Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus) and Blackbird (T. merula) in Switzerland. J Ornithol 149:529–544

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson EO (1971) Social insects. Science 172:406–408

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wirth R, Herz H, Ryel RJ, Beyschlag W, Hölldobler B (2003) Herbivory of leaf-cutting ants—a case study on Atta colombica in the tropical rainforest of Panama. Springer, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leibnitz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) e.V., Eberswalder Straße 84, 15374, Müncheberg (Mark), Germany

    C. Hönicke

  2. Department of Molecular Ecology, Institute of Biology, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Hoher Weg 4, 06099, Halle (Saale), Germany

    P. Bliss & R. F. A. Moritz

  3. Department of Animal Ecology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, 14469, Potsdam, Germany

    C. Hönicke

Authors
  1. C. Hönicke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. P. Bliss
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. R. F. A. Moritz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. Hönicke.

Additional information

Communicated by: Sven Thatje

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hönicke, C., Bliss, P. & Moritz, R.F.A. Effect of density on traffic and velocity on trunk trails of Formica pratensis . Sci Nat 102, 17 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-015-1267-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-015-1267-6

Keywords

  • Density
  • Trunk trail
  • Traffic
  • Lateralization
  • Formica pratensis