Abstract
Desert ants (Cataglyphis fortis) navigate by a combination of path integration and landmark-based route memories. Their ability to correct sloped path segments to their ground distances enables them to orientate accurately even in undulating terrain. In this study, we tested whether or not ants incorporate vertical components of an itinerary into their route memory in similar ways as they do with visual landmarks and horizontal changes of direction. In two separate experiments, we trained desert ants to walk over artificial hills and later tested their acceptance of slopes within novel contexts. In the first paradigm, ants had to traverse a hill only on their outbound run, but not on their homebound trip. In a follow-up experiment, we confronted ramp-trained animals with descents in a completely new temporal and spatial context. The animals transferred their newly acquired acceptance of slopes from the outbound to the homebound run as well as to novel foraging trips. Cataglyphis obviously dissociates the experience of sloped path segments from the original context in which they appeared, thus reducing their significance as a navigational aid.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Rüdiger Wehner for his continuous support and many discussions and for helpful comments on the manuscript. We further thank the members of the Maharès expedition 2006 for providing excellent living and working conditions. We are especially grateful to Anne Hanschke and Julja Koch for their valuable assistance in the field. This research was financially supported by the Volkswagen-Stiftung (grant to B.R.). The experiments comply with the “Principles of animal care”, publication No. 86-23, revised 1985 of the National Institute of Health, and also with the current laws of Tunisia.
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Grah, G., Ronacher, B. Three-dimensional orientation in desert ants: context-independent memorisation and recall of sloped path segments. J Comp Physiol A 194, 517–522 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-008-0324-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-008-0324-4