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Frank DD, Kronauer DJC. The Budding Neuroscience of Ant Social Behavior. Annu Rev Neurosci 2024; 47:167-185. [PMID: 38603564 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-083023-102101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Ant physiology has been fashioned by 100 million years of social evolution. Ants perform many sophisticated social and collective behaviors yet possess nervous systems similar in schematic and scale to that of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, a popular solitary model organism. Ants are thus attractive complementary subjects to investigate adaptations pertaining to complex social behaviors that are absent in flies. Despite research interest in ant behavior and the neurobiological foundations of sociality more broadly, our understanding of the ant nervous system is incomplete. Recent technical advances have enabled cutting-edge investigations of the nervous system in a fashion that is less dependent on model choice, opening the door for mechanistic social insect neuroscience. In this review, we revisit important aspects of what is known about the ant nervous system and behavior, and we look forward to how functional circuit neuroscience in ants will help us understand what distinguishes solitary animals from highly social ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic D Frank
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA; ,
| | - Daniel J C Kronauer
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY, USA
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA; ,
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2
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Jesusanmi OO, Amin AA, Domcsek N, Knight JC, Philippides A, Nowotny T, Graham P. Investigating visual navigation using spiking neural network models of the insect mushroom bodies. Front Physiol 2024; 15:1379977. [PMID: 38841209 PMCID: PMC11151298 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1379977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Ants are capable of learning long visually guided foraging routes with limited neural resources. The visual scene memory needed for this behaviour is mediated by the mushroom bodies; an insect brain region important for learning and memory. In a visual navigation context, the mushroom bodies are theorised to act as familiarity detectors, guiding ants to views that are similar to those previously learned when first travelling along a foraging route. Evidence from behavioural experiments, computational studies and brain lesions all support this idea. Here we further investigate the role of mushroom bodies in visual navigation with a spiking neural network model learning complex natural scenes. By implementing these networks in GeNN-a library for building GPU accelerated spiking neural networks-we were able to test these models offline on an image database representing navigation through a complex outdoor natural environment, and also online embodied on a robot. The mushroom body model successfully learnt a large series of visual scenes (400 scenes corresponding to a 27 m route) and used these memories to choose accurate heading directions during route recapitulation in both complex environments. Through analysing our model's Kenyon cell (KC) activity, we were able to demonstrate that KC activity is directly related to the respective novelty of input images. Through conducting a parameter search we found that there is a non-linear dependence between optimal KC to visual projection neuron (VPN) connection sparsity and the length of time the model is presented with an image stimulus. The parameter search also showed training the model on lower proportions of a route generally produced better accuracy when testing on the entire route. We embodied the mushroom body model and comparator visual navigation algorithms on a Quanser Q-car robot with all processing running on an Nvidia Jetson TX2. On a 6.5 m route, the mushroom body model had a mean distance to training route (error) of 0.144 ± 0.088 m over 5 trials, which was performance comparable to standard visual-only navigation algorithms. Thus, we have demonstrated that a biologically plausible model of the ant mushroom body can navigate complex environments both in simulation and the real world. Understanding the neural basis of this behaviour will provide insight into how neural circuits are tuned to rapidly learn behaviourally relevant information from complex environments and provide inspiration for creating bio-mimetic computer/robotic systems that can learn rapidly with low energy requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amany Azevedo Amin
- Sussex AI, School of Engineering and Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Norbert Domcsek
- Sussex AI, School of Engineering and Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - James C. Knight
- Sussex AI, School of Engineering and Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Philippides
- Sussex AI, School of Engineering and Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas Nowotny
- Sussex AI, School of Engineering and Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Graham
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
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3
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Albers T, Delnoij S, Schramma N, Jalaal M. Billiards with Spatial Memory. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2024; 132:157101. [PMID: 38682997 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.132.157101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Many classes of active matter develop spatial memory by encoding information in space. We present a framework based on mathematical billiards, wherein particles remember their past trajectories. Despite its deterministic rules, such a system is strongly nonergodic and exhibits intermittent statistics and complex pattern formation. We show how these features emerge from the dynamic change of topology. Our work illustrates how the dynamics of a single-body system can dramatically change with spatial memory, laying the groundwork to further explore systems with complex memory kernels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thijs Albers
- Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Stijn Delnoij
- Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Nico Schramma
- Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maziyar Jalaal
- Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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4
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Barrie R, Haalck L, Risse B, Nowotny T, Graham P, Buehlmann C. Trail using ants follow idiosyncratic routes in complex landscapes. Learn Behav 2024; 52:105-113. [PMID: 37993707 PMCID: PMC10924020 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-023-00615-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
A large volume of research on individually navigating ants has shown how path integration and visually guided navigation form a major part of the ant navigation toolkit for many species and are sufficient mechanisms for successful navigation. One of the behavioural markers of the interaction of these mechanisms is that experienced foragers develop idiosyncratic routes that require that individual ants have personal and unique visual memories that they use to guide habitual routes between the nest and feeding sites. The majority of ants, however, inhabit complex cluttered environments and social pheromone trails are often part of the collective recruitment, organisation and navigation of these foragers. We do not know how individual navigation interacts with collective behaviour along shared trails in complex natural environments. We thus asked here if wood ants that forage through densely cluttered woodlands where they travel along shared trails repeatedly follow the same routes or if they choose a spread of paths within the shared trail. We recorded three long homing trajectories of 20 individual wood ants in their natural woodland habitat. We found that wood ants follow idiosyncratic routes when navigating along shared trails through highly complex visual landscapes. This shows that ants rely on individual memories for habitual route guidance even in cluttered environments when chemical trail information is available. We argue that visual cues are likely to be the dominant sensory modality for the idiosyncratic routes. These experiments shed new light on how ants, or insects in general, navigate through complex multimodal environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Barrie
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Lars Haalck
- Institute for Geoinformatics and Institute for Computer Science, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Benjamin Risse
- Institute for Geoinformatics and Institute for Computer Science, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Thomas Nowotny
- School of Engineering and Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QJ, UK
| | - Paul Graham
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK
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5
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Schwarz S, Wystrach A, Cheng K, Kelly DM. Landmarks, beacons, or panoramic views: What do pigeons attend to for guidance in familiar environments? Learn Behav 2024; 52:69-84. [PMID: 38379118 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-023-00610-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Birds and social insects represent excellent systems for understanding visually guided navigation. Both animal groups use surrounding visual cues for homing and foraging. Ants extract sufficient spatial information from panoramic views, which naturally embed all near and far spatial information, for successful homing. Although egocentric panoramic views allow for parsimonious explanations of navigational behaviors, this potential source of spatial information has been mostly neglected during studies of vertebrates. Here we investigate how distinct landmarks, a beacon, and panoramic views influence the reorientation behavior in pigeons (Columba livia). Pigeons were trained to search for a location characterized by a beacon and several distinct landmarks. Transformation tests manipulated aspects of the landmark configuration, allowing for a dissociation among navigational strategies. Quantitative image and path analyses provided support that the panoramic view was used by the pigeons. Although the results from some individuals support the use of beaconing, overall the pigeons relied predominantly on the panoramic view when spatial cues provided conflicting information regarding the goal location. Reorientation based on vector and bearing information derived from distinct landmarks as well as environmental geometry failed to account fully for the results. Thus, the results of our study support that pigeons can use panoramic views for reorientation in familiar environments. Given that the current model for landmark use by pigeons posits the use of different vectors from an object, a global panorama-matching strategy suggests a fundamental change in the theory of how pigeons use surrounding visual cues for localization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Schwarz
- Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, 190 Dysart Road, 190 Duff Roblin Building, Winnipeg, MB, R3T, 2N2, Canada
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062, Toulouse Cedex, 09, France
- Institute of Biology, Karl-Franzen University, Graz, Universtitätsplatz 2, 8010, Austria
| | - Antoine Wystrach
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier, 31062, Toulouse Cedex, 09, France
| | - Ken Cheng
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Debbie M Kelly
- Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, 190 Dysart Road, 190 Duff Roblin Building, Winnipeg, MB, R3T, 2N2, Canada.
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, 212 Biological Sciences Building, Winnipeg, MB, R3T, 2N2, Canada.
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6
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Mair A, Bisazza A, Dadda M, Santacà M. Shortest path choice in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Behav Processes 2024; 214:104983. [PMID: 38081441 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2023.104983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Many animals regularly move between different locations within their home range. During these journeys, individuals are expected to use the shortest path, because this strategy minimizes energy expenditure and reduces exposure to adverse conditions, such as predation. The ability to find the shortest distance route has been demonstrated in ants, migrating birds and a few mammals. We investigated whether a freshwater fish, Danio rerio, exhibits this ability. Small groups of zebrafish were allowed to move between the two compartments of their tank using two paths differing in length. They developed a preference for the shorter path gradually over the six days of the experiment. Subjects' accuracy in choosing the shorter path varied from below 60%, with a 20% length disparity, to 80% when one path was twice as long as the other. In a second experiment, zebrafish were initially allowed to practice in groups and then tested individually. We found evidence of individual and sex differences in performance, with males performing more accurately than females. However, due to our experimental design, we cannot conclusively determine whether these differences are indeed cognitive or influenced by confounding factors during the group phase of the experiment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Mair
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Angelo Bisazza
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padua Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Marco Dadda
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Maria Santacà
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
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7
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Konnerth MM, Foster JJ, el Jundi B, Spaethe J, Beetz MJ. Monarch butterflies memorize the spatial location of a food source. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231574. [PMID: 38113939 PMCID: PMC10730289 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Spatial memory helps animals to navigate familiar environments. In insects, spatial memory has extensively been studied in central place foragers such as ants and bees. However, if butterflies memorize a spatial location remains unclear. Here, we conducted behavioural experiments to test whether monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) can remember and retrieve the spatial location of a food source. We placed several visually identical feeders in a flight cage, with only one feeder providing sucrose solution. Across multiple days, individual butterflies predominantly visited the rewarding feeder. Next, we displaced a salient landmark close to the feeders to test which visual cue the butterflies used to relocate the rewarding feeder. While occasional landmark displacements were ignored by the butterflies and did not affect their decisions, systematic displacement of both the landmark and the rewarding feeder demonstrated that the butterflies associated the salient landmark with the feeder's position. Altogether, we show that butterflies consolidate and retrieve spatial memory in the context of foraging.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Marcel Konnerth
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Bayern, Germany
| | - James J. Foster
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
| | - Basil el Jundi
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Johannes Spaethe
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Bayern, Germany
| | - M. Jerome Beetz
- Zoology II, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Bayern, Germany
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8
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Goulard R, Heinze S, Webb B. Emergent spatial goals in an integrative model of the insect central complex. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011480. [PMID: 38109465 PMCID: PMC10760860 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The insect central complex appears to encode and process spatial information through vector manipulation. Here, we draw on recent insights into circuit structure to fuse previous models of sensory-guided navigation, path integration and vector memory. Specifically, we propose that the allocentric encoding of location provided by path integration creates a spatially stable anchor for converging sensory signals that is relevant in multiple behavioural contexts. The allocentric reference frame given by path integration transforms a goal direction into a goal location and we demonstrate through modelling that it can enhance approach of a sensory target in noisy, cluttered environments or with temporally sparse stimuli. We further show the same circuit can improve performance in the more complex navigational task of route following. The model suggests specific functional roles for circuit elements of the central complex that helps explain their high preservation across insect species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roman Goulard
- Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Stanley Heinze
- Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Barbara Webb
- Institute for Perception, Action, and Behaviour, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
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9
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Zhang N, Yong EH. Dynamics, statistics, and task allocation of foraging ants. Phys Rev E 2023; 108:054306. [PMID: 38115539 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.108.054306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Ant foraging is one of the most fascinating examples of cooperative behavior observed in nature. It is well studied from an entomology viewpoint, but there is currently a lack of mathematical synthesis of this phenomenon. We address this by constructing an ant foraging model that incorporates simple behavioral rules within three task groups of the ant colony during foraging (foragers, transporters, and followers), pheromone trails, and memory effects. The motion of an ant is modeled as a discrete correlated random walk, with a characteristic zigzag path that is congruent with experimental data. We simulate the foraging cycle, which consists of ants searching for food, transporting food, and depositing chemical trails to recruit and orient more ants (en masse) to the food source. This allows us to gain insights into the basic mechanism of the cooperative interactions between ants and the dynamical division of labor within an ant colony during foraging to achieve optimal efficiency. We observe a disorder-order phase transition from the start to the end of a foraging process, signaling collective motion at the population level. Finally, we present a set of time delay ODEs that corroborates with numerical simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nuoya Zhang
- Division of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637371, Singapore
| | - Ee Hou Yong
- Division of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637371, Singapore
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10
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Mathejczyk TF, Babo ÉJ, Schönlein E, Grinda NV, Greiner A, Okrožnik N, Belušič G, Wernet MF. Behavioral responses of free-flying Drosophila melanogaster to shiny, reflecting surfaces. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023; 209:929-941. [PMID: 37796303 PMCID: PMC10643280 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01676-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
Abstract
Active locomotion plays an important role in the life of many animals, permitting them to explore the environment, find vital resources, and escape predators. Most insect species rely on a combination of visual cues such as celestial bodies, landmarks, or linearly polarized light to navigate or orient themselves in their surroundings. In nature, linearly polarized light can arise either from atmospheric scattering or from reflections off shiny non-metallic surfaces like water. Multiple reports have described different behavioral responses of various insects to such shiny surfaces. Our goal was to test whether free-flying Drosophila melanogaster, a molecular genetic model organism and behavioral generalist, also manifests specific behavioral responses when confronted with such polarized reflections. Fruit flies were placed in a custom-built arena with controlled environmental parameters (temperature, humidity, and light intensity). Flight detections and landings were quantified for three different stimuli: a diffusely reflecting matt plate, a small patch of shiny acetate film, and real water. We compared hydrated and dehydrated fly populations, since the state of hydration may change the motivation of flies to seek or avoid water. Our analysis reveals for the first time that flying fruit flies indeed use vision to avoid flying over shiny surfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas F Mathejczyk
- Division of Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie and Pharmazie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Édouard J Babo
- Division of Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie and Pharmazie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Erik Schönlein
- Division of Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie and Pharmazie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Nikolai V Grinda
- Division of Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie and Pharmazie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Greiner
- Division of Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie and Pharmazie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Nina Okrožnik
- Division of Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie and Pharmazie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gregor Belušič
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Mathias F Wernet
- Division of Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie and Pharmazie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
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11
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Pongrácz P, Dobos P, Faragó T, Kubinyi E, Lenkei R. Body size awareness matters when dogs decide whether to detour an obstacle or opt for a shortcut. Sci Rep 2023; 13:17899. [PMID: 37857698 PMCID: PMC10587091 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45241-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Body-awareness is one of the fundamental modules of self-representation. We investigated how body-awareness could contribute to dogs' decision making in a novel spatial problem where multiple solutions are possible. Family dogs (N = 68) had to obtain a treat from behind a transparent fence. They had two options: either detour around the fence (7 m), or take a shortcut through a doorway (2 m). We had three conditions: small door open, large door open, and doors closed. Our results indicated that dogs assess the size of the doorway, and if they find it too small, they decide to detour instead, while in the case of the open large door, they rather opted for the shortcut without hesitation. Shorter headed dogs tended to choose open doors more often, while longer headed dogs rather chose detours, probably because of their better peripheral vision. While body size awareness did not manifest differently in dogs with short or long heads, we showed for the first time a connection between head shape and physical cognition in dogs. We showed that dogs rely on their body-awareness in a naturalistic setting where multiple solutions exist simultaneously. Dogs make decisions without lengthy trial-and-error learning and choose between options based on their body-awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Péter Pongrácz
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/C, 1117, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Petra Dobos
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/C, 1117, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tamás Faragó
- MTA-ELTE Lendület "Momentum" Companion Animal Research Group, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Ethology, Neuroethology of Communication Lab, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Enikő Kubinyi
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/C, 1117, Budapest, Hungary
- MTA-ELTE Lendület "Momentum" Companion Animal Research Group, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Rita Lenkei
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/C, 1117, Budapest, Hungary
- MTA-ELTE Lendület "Momentum" Companion Animal Research Group, Budapest, Hungary
- Doctoral School of Biology, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
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12
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Wani AR, Chowdhury B, Luong J, Chaya GM, Patel K, Isaacman-Beck J, Shafer O, Kayser MS, Syed MH. Stem cell-specific ecdysone signaling regulates the development and function of a Drosophila sleep homeostat. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.29.560022. [PMID: 37873323 PMCID: PMC10592846 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.29.560022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Complex behaviors arise from neural circuits that are assembled from diverse cell types. Sleep is a conserved and essential behavior, yet little is known regarding how the nervous system generates neuron types of the sleep-wake circuit. Here, we focus on the specification of Drosophila sleep-promoting neurons-long-field tangential input neurons that project to the dorsal layers of the fan-shaped body neuropil in the central complex (CX). We use lineage analysis and genetic birth dating to identify two bilateral Type II neural stem cells that generate these dorsal fan-shaped body (dFB) neurons. We show that adult dFB neurons express Ecdysone-induced protein E93, and loss of Ecdysone signaling or E93 in Type II NSCs results in the misspecification of the adult dFB neurons. Finally, we show that E93 knockdown in Type II NSCs affects adult sleep behavior. Our results provide insight into how extrinsic hormonal signaling acts on NSCs to generate neuronal diversity required for adult sleep behavior. These findings suggest that some adult sleep disorders might derive from defects in stem cell-specific temporal neurodevelopmental programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adil R Wani
- Neural Diversity Lab, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, 219 Yale Blvd Ne, 87131 Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Budhaditya Chowdhury
- The Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA
| | - Jenny Luong
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Gonzalo Morales Chaya
- Neural Diversity Lab, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, 219 Yale Blvd Ne, 87131 Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Krishna Patel
- Neural Diversity Lab, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, 219 Yale Blvd Ne, 87131 Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | | | - Orie Shafer
- The Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA
| | - Matthew S. Kayser
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Chronobiology Sleep Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Mubarak Hussain Syed
- Neural Diversity Lab, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, 219 Yale Blvd Ne, 87131 Albuquerque, NM, USA
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13
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Zhu L, Mangan M, Webb B. Neuromorphic sequence learning with an event camera on routes through vegetation. Sci Robot 2023; 8:eadg3679. [PMID: 37756384 DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adg3679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
For many robotics applications, it is desirable to have relatively low-power and efficient onboard solutions. We took inspiration from insects, such as ants, that are capable of learning and following routes in complex natural environments using relatively constrained sensory and neural systems. Such capabilities are particularly relevant to applications such as agricultural robotics, where visual navigation through dense vegetation remains a challenging task. In this scenario, a route is likely to have high self-similarity and be subject to changing lighting conditions and motion over uneven terrain, and the effects of wind on leaves increase the variability of the input. We used a bioinspired event camera on a terrestrial robot to collect visual sequences along routes in natural outdoor environments and applied a neural algorithm for spatiotemporal memory that is closely based on a known neural circuit in the insect brain. We show that this method is plausible to support route recognition for visual navigation and more robust than SeqSLAM when evaluated on repeated runs on the same route or routes with small lateral offsets. By encoding memory in a spiking neural network running on a neuromorphic computer, our model can evaluate visual familiarity in real time from event camera footage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le Zhu
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, EH8 9AB Edinburgh, UK
| | - Michael Mangan
- Sheffield Robotics, Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, S1 4DP Sheffield, UK
| | - Barbara Webb
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, EH8 9AB Edinburgh, UK
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14
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Mather JA. Ethics and Invertebrates: The Problem Is Us. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2827. [PMID: 37760227 PMCID: PMC10525091 DOI: 10.3390/ani13182827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In the last few decades, science has begun to make great strides at understanding how varied, fascinating, and intelligent invertebrate animals are. Because they are poorly known, the invertebrates that make up about 98% of the animals on the planet have been overlooked. Because they are seen as both simple and unattractive, children and their teachers, as well as the general public, do not think they need care. Because until recently we did not know they can be both intelligent and sensitive-bees can learn from each other, butterflies can navigate huge distances, octopuses are smart, and lobsters can feel pain-we have to give them the consideration they deserve. This collection of papers should help us to see how the lives of invertebrates are tightly linked to ours, how they live, and what they need in terms of our consideration and care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A Mather
- Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada
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15
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Sun X, Fu Q, Peng J, Yue S. An insect-inspired model facilitating autonomous navigation by incorporating goal approaching and collision avoidance. Neural Netw 2023; 165:106-118. [PMID: 37285728 DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2023.05.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Being one of the most fundamental and crucial capacity of robots and animals, autonomous navigation that consists of goal approaching and collision avoidance enables completion of various tasks while traversing different environments. In light of the impressive navigational abilities of insects despite their tiny brains compared to mammals, the idea of seeking solutions from insects for the two key problems of navigation, i.e., goal approaching and collision avoidance, has fascinated researchers and engineers for many years. However, previous bio-inspired studies have focused on merely one of these two problems at one time. Insect-inspired navigation algorithms that synthetically incorporate both goal approaching and collision avoidance, and studies that investigate the interactions of these two mechanisms in the context of sensory-motor closed-loop autonomous navigation are lacking. To fill this gap, we propose an insect-inspired autonomous navigation algorithm to integrate the goal approaching mechanism as the global working memory inspired by the sweat bee's path integration (PI) mechanism, and the collision avoidance model as the local immediate cue built upon the locust's lobula giant movement detector (LGMD) model. The presented algorithm is utilized to drive agents to complete navigation task in a sensory-motor closed-loop manner within a bounded static or dynamic environment. Simulation results demonstrate that the synthetic algorithm is capable of guiding the agent to complete challenging navigation tasks in a robust and efficient way. This study takes the first tentative step to integrate the insect-like navigation mechanisms with different functionalities (i.e., global goal and local interrupt) into a coordinated control system that future research avenues could build upon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuelong Sun
- School of Mathematics and Information Science, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China; Machine Life and Intelligence Research Centre, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Qinbing Fu
- School of Mathematics and Information Science, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China; Machine Life and Intelligence Research Centre, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Jigen Peng
- School of Mathematics and Information Science, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China; Machine Life and Intelligence Research Centre, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
| | - Shigang Yue
- Computational Intelligence Lab (CIL)/School of Computer Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, LN6 7TS, United Kingdom; School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, United Kingdom.
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16
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Couto A, Young FJ, Atzeni D, Marty S, Melo-Flórez L, Hebberecht L, Monllor M, Neal C, Cicconardi F, McMillan WO, Montgomery SH. Rapid expansion and visual specialisation of learning and memory centres in the brains of Heliconiini butterflies. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4024. [PMID: 37419890 PMCID: PMC10328955 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39618-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Changes in the abundance and diversity of neural cell types, and their connectivity, shape brain composition and provide the substrate for behavioral evolution. Although investment in sensory brain regions is understood to be largely driven by the relative ecological importance of particular sensory modalities, how selective pressures impact the elaboration of integrative brain centers has been more difficult to pinpoint. Here, we provide evidence of extensive, mosaic expansion of an integration brain center among closely related species, which is not explained by changes in sites of primary sensory input. By building new datasets of neural traits among a tribe of diverse Neotropical butterflies, the Heliconiini, we detected several major evolutionary expansions of the mushroom bodies, central brain structures pivotal for insect learning and memory. The genus Heliconius, which exhibits a unique dietary innovation, pollen-feeding, and derived foraging behaviors reliant on spatial memory, shows the most extreme enlargement. This expansion is primarily associated with increased visual processing areas and coincides with increased precision of visual processing, and enhanced long term memory. These results demonstrate that selection for behavioral innovation and enhanced cognitive ability occurred through expansion and localized specialization in integrative brain centers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Couto
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Fletcher J Young
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Panama
| | - Daniele Atzeni
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Life Science, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Simon Marty
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | | | - Laura Hebberecht
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Panama
| | | | - Chris Neal
- Wolfson Bioimaging Facility, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | | | | | - Stephen H Montgomery
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa, Panama.
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17
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Yourstone J, Varadarajan V, Olsson O. Bumblebee flower constancy and pollen diversity over time. Behav Ecol 2023; 34:602-612. [PMID: 37434641 PMCID: PMC10332455 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arad028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Revised: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Bees often focus their foraging effort on a few or even a single flower species, even if other equally rewarding flower species are present. Although this phenomenon-called flower constancy-has been widely documented during single foraging trips, it is largely unknown if the behavior persists over longer time periods, especially under field conditions with large temporal variations of resources. We studied the pollen diet of individuals from nine different Bombus terrestris colonies for up to 6 weeks, to investigate flower constancy and pollen diversity of individuals and colonies, and how these change over time. We expected high degrees of flower constancy and foraging consistency over time, based on foraging theory and previous studies. Instead, we found that only 23% of the pollen foraging trips were flower constant. The fraction of constant pollen samples did not change over the study period, although repeatedly sampled individuals that were flower constant once often showed different preferences at other sampling occasions. The similarity of pollen composition in samples collected by the same individuals at different occasions dropped with time. This suggests that the flower preferences change in response to shifting floral resources. The average diversity of pollen from single foraging trips was around 2.5 pollen types, while the colony-level pollen diversity was about three times higher. How rapidly preferences change in response to shifting resources, and if this differs between and within bee species depending on factors such as size, should be the focus of future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Yourstone
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, 223 62 Lund, Sweden and
| | - Vidula Varadarajan
- School of Arts and Science, Azim Premji University, Survey No 66, Burugunte Village, Bikkanahalli Main Road, Sarjapura, Bengaluru 562125, India
| | - Ola Olsson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, 223 62 Lund, Sweden and
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18
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Eckel S, Egelhaaf M, Doussot C. Nest-associated scent marks help bumblebees localizing their nest in visually ambiguous situations. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1155223. [PMID: 37389203 PMCID: PMC10300278 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1155223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Social insects such as ants and bees are excellent navigators. To manage their daily routines bumblebees, as an example, must learn multiple locations in their environment, like flower patches and their nest. While navigating from one location to another, they mainly rely on vision. Although the environment in which bumblebees live, be it a meadow or a garden, is visually stable overall, it may be prone to changes such as moving shadows or the displacement of an object in the scenery. Therefore, bees might not solely rely on visual cues, but use additional sources of information, forming a multimodal guidance system to ensure their return home to their nest. Here we show that the home-finding behavior of bumblebees, when confronted with a visually ambiguous scenario, is strongly influenced by natural scent marks they deposit at the inconspicuous nest hole when leaving their nest. Bumblebees search for a longer time and target their search with precision at potential nest locations that are visually familiar, if also marked with their natural scent. This finding sheds light on the crucial role of odor in helping bees find their way back to their inconspicuous nest.
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19
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Alves DA, George EA, Kaur R, Brockmann A, Hrncir M, Grüter C. Diverse communication strategies in bees as a window into adaptations to an unpredictable world. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2219031120. [PMID: 37279263 PMCID: PMC10268221 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2219031120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Communication is a fundamental feature of animal societies and helps their members to solve the challenges they encounter, from exploiting food sources to fighting enemies or finding a new home. Eusocial bees inhabit a wide range of environments and they have evolved a multitude of communication signals that help them exploit resources in their environment efficiently. We highlight recent advances in our understanding of bee communication strategies and discuss how variation in social biology, such as colony size or nesting habits, and ecological conditions are important drivers of variation in communication strategies. Anthropogenic factors, such as habitat conversion, climate change, or the use of agrochemicals, are changing the world bees inhabit, and it is becoming clear that this affects communication both directly and indirectly, for example by affecting food source availability, social interactions among nestmates, and cognitive functions. Whether and how bees adapt their foraging and communication strategies to these changes represents a new frontier in bee behavioral and conservation research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise A. Alves
- Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Lausanne,13418-900Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Ebi A. George
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, Bristol1015, Switzerland
| | - Rajbir Kaur
- School of Biological Sciences, University of BristolBS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
| | - Axel Brockmann
- National Centre for Biological Sciences – Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru560065, India
| | - Michael Hrncir
- Department of Physiology, Bioscience Institute, University of São Paulo05508-090São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Christoph Grüter
- School of Biological Sciences, University of BristolBS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
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20
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Homberg U, Pfeiffer K. Unraveling the neural basis of spatial orientation in arthropods. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023:10.1007/s00359-023-01635-9. [PMID: 37198448 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01635-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
The neural basis underlying spatial orientation in arthropods, in particular insects, has received considerable interest in recent years. This special issue of the Journal of Comparative Physiology A seeks to take account of these developments by presenting a collection of eight review articles and eight original research articles highlighting hotspots of research on spatial orientation in arthropods ranging from flies to spiders and the underlying neural circuits. The contributions impressively illustrate the wide range of tools available to arthropods extending from specific sensory channels to highly sophisticated neural computations for mastering complex navigational challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uwe Homberg
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps University Marburg, 35032, Marburg, Germany.
- Center for Mind Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps-University Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, 35032, Marburg, Germany.
| | - Keram Pfeiffer
- Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology (Zoology II), Biocenter, University of Würzburg, 97074, Würzburg, Germany
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21
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Mangan M, Floreano D, Yasui K, Trimmer BA, Gravish N, Hauert S, Webb B, Manoonpong P, Szczecinski N. A virtuous cycle between invertebrate and robotics research: perspective on a decade of Living Machines research. BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS 2023; 18:035005. [PMID: 36881919 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/acc223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Many invertebrates are ideal model systems on which to base robot design principles due to their success in solving seemingly complex tasks across domains while possessing smaller nervous systems than vertebrates. Three areas are particularly relevant for robot designers: Research on flying and crawling invertebrates has inspired new materials and geometries from which robot bodies (their morphologies) can be constructed, enabling a new generation of softer, smaller, and lighter robots. Research on walking insects has informed the design of new systems for controlling robot bodies (their motion control) and adapting their motion to their environment without costly computational methods. And research combining wet and computational neuroscience with robotic validation methods has revealed the structure and function of core circuits in the insect brain responsible for the navigation and swarming capabilities (their mental faculties) displayed by foraging insects. The last decade has seen significant progress in the application of principles extracted from invertebrates, as well as the application of biomimetic robots to model and better understand how animals function. This Perspectives paper on the past 10 years of the Living Machines conference outlines some of the most exciting recent advances in each of these fields before outlining lessons gleaned and the outlook for the next decade of invertebrate robotic research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Mangan
- The University of Sheffield, Mappin St, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
| | - Dario Floreano
- Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, Station 9, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Kotaro Yasui
- Tohoku University, Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, 6-3 Aramaki aza Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
| | - Barry A Trimmer
- Tufts University, Biology, 200 Boston Av, Boston, MA 02111, United States of America
| | - Nick Gravish
- University of California San Diego, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Building EBU II, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States of America
| | - Sabine Hauert
- University of Bristol, Engineering Mathematics, Bristol BS8 1QU, United Kingdom
| | - Barbara Webb
- University of Edinburgh, School of Informatics, 10 Crichton St, Edinburgh EH8 9AB, United Kingdom
| | - Poramate Manoonpong
- College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People's Republic of China
- Bio-Inspired Robotics and Neural Engineering Laboratory, School of Information Science and Technology, Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology, Wangchan Valley, Rayong 21210, Thailand
| | - Nicholas Szczecinski
- West Virginia University, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Morgantown, WV 26506-6201, United States of America
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22
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James L, Reynolds AM, Mellor IR, Davies TGE. A Sublethal Concentration of Sulfoxaflor Has Minimal Impact on Buff-Tailed Bumblebee ( Bombus terrestris) Locomotor Behaviour under Aversive Conditioning. TOXICS 2023; 11:279. [PMID: 36977044 PMCID: PMC10057571 DOI: 10.3390/toxics11030279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Pesticide exposure has been cited as a key threat to insect pollinators. Notably, a diverse range of potential sublethal effects have been reported in bee species, with a particular focus on effects due to exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides. Here, a purpose-built thermal-visual arena was used in a series of pilot experiments to assess the potential impact of approximate sublethal concentrations of the next generation sulfoximine insecticide sulfoxaflor (5 and 50 ppb) and the neonicotinoid insecticides thiacloprid (500 ppb) and thiamethoxam (10 ppb), on the walking trajectory, navigation and learning abilities of the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris audax) when subjected to an aversive conditioning task. The results suggest that only thiamethoxam prevents forager bees from improving in key training parameters (speed and distanced travelled) within the thermal visual arena. Power law analyses further revealed that a speed-curvature power law, previously reported as being present in the walking trajectories of bumblebees, is potentially disrupted under thiamethoxam (10 ppb) exposure, but not under sulfoxaflor or thiacloprid exposure. The pilot assay described provides a novel tool with which to identify subtle sublethal pesticide impacts, and their potential causes, on forager bees, that current ecotoxicological tests are not designed to assess.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura James
- Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK (A.M.R.)
- Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK;
| | - Andrew M. Reynolds
- Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK (A.M.R.)
| | - Ian R. Mellor
- Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK;
| | - T. G. Emyr Davies
- Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK (A.M.R.)
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23
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Buehlmann C, Dell-Cronin S, Diyalagoda Pathirannahelage A, Goulard R, Webb B, Niven JE, Graham P. Impact of central complex lesions on innate and learnt visual navigation in ants. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023:10.1007/s00359-023-01613-1. [PMID: 36790487 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01613-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
Wood ants are excellent navigators, using a combination of innate and learnt navigational strategies to travel between their nest and feeding sites. Visual navigation in ants has been studied extensively, however, we have little direct evidence for the underlying neural mechanisms. Here, we perform lateralized mechanical lesions in the central complex (CX) of wood ants, a midline structure known to allow an insect to keep track of the direction of sensory cues relative to its own orientation and to control movement. We lesioned two groups of ants and observed their behaviour in an arena with a large visual landmark present. The first group of ants were naïve and when intact such ants show a clear innate attraction to the conspicuous landmark. The second group of ants were trained to aim to a food location to the side of the landmark. The general heading of naïve ants towards a visual cue was not altered by the lesions, but the heading of ants trained to a landmark adjacent food position was affected. Thus, CX lesions had a specific impact on learnt visual guidance. We also observed that lateralised lesions altered the fine details of turning with lesioned ants spending less time turning to the side ipsilateral of the lesion. The results confirm the role of the CX in turn control and highlight its important role in the implementation of learnt behaviours that rely on information from other brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Roman Goulard
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, UK.,Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, 223 62, Lund, Sweden
| | - Barbara Webb
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, UK
| | - Jeremy E Niven
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Paul Graham
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK
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24
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Egelhaaf M. Optic flow based spatial vision in insects. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023:10.1007/s00359-022-01610-w. [PMID: 36609568 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-022-01610-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The optic flow, i.e., the displacement of retinal images of objects in the environment induced by self-motion, is an important source of spatial information, especially for fast-flying insects. Spatial information over a wide range of distances, from the animal's immediate surroundings over several hundred metres to kilometres, is necessary for mediating behaviours, such as landing manoeuvres, collision avoidance in spatially complex environments, learning environmental object constellations and path integration in spatial navigation. To facilitate the processing of spatial information, the complexity of the optic flow is often reduced by active vision strategies. These result in translations and rotations being largely separated by a saccadic flight and gaze mode. Only the translational components of the optic flow contain spatial information. In the first step of optic flow processing, an array of local motion detectors provides a retinotopic spatial proximity map of the environment. This local motion information is then processed in parallel neural pathways in a task-specific manner and used to control the different components of spatial behaviour. A particular challenge here is that the distance information extracted from the optic flow does not represent the distances unambiguously, but these are scaled by the animal's speed of locomotion. Possible ways of coping with this ambiguity are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Egelhaaf
- Neurobiology and Center for Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Universitätsstraße 25, 33615, Bielefeld, Germany.
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25
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Poissonnier LA, Tait C, Lihoreau M. What is really social about social insect cognition? Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1001045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
It is often assumed that social life imposes specific cognitive demands for animals to communicate, cooperate and compete, ultimately requiring larger brains. The “social brain” hypothesis is supported by data in primates and some other vertebrates, but doubts have been raised over its applicability to other taxa, and in particular insects. Here, we review recent advances in insect cognition research and ask whether we can identify cognitive capacities that are specific to social species. One difficulty involved in testing the social brain hypothesis in insects is that many of the model species used in cognition studies are highly social (eusocial), and comparatively little work has been done in insects that live in less integrated social structures or that are solitary. As more species are studied, it is becoming clear that insects share a rich cognitive repertoire and that these abilities are not directly related to their level of social complexity. Moreover, some of the cognitive mechanisms involved in many social interactions may not differ from those involved in non-social behaviors. We discuss the need for a more comparative and neurobiologically grounded research agenda to better understand the evolution of insect brains and cognition.
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26
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Cormons MJ, Zeil J. Digger wasps Microbembex monodonta SAY (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) rely exclusively on visual cues when pinpointing their nest entrances. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0282144. [PMID: 36989296 PMCID: PMC10058119 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability of insects to navigate and home is crucial to fundamental tasks, such as pollination, parental care, procuring food, and finding mates. Despite recent advances in our understanding of visual homing in insects, it remains unclear exactly how ground-nesting Hymenoptera are able to precisely locate their often inconspicuous or hidden reproductive burrow entrances. Here we show that the ground-nesting wasp Microbembex monodonta locates her hidden burrow entrance with the help of local landmarks, but only if their view of the wider panorama is not blocked. Moreover, the wasps are able to pinpoint the burrow location to within a few centimeters when potential olfactory, tactile and auditory cues are locally masked. We conclude that M. monodonta locate their hidden burrows relying exclusively on local visual cues in the context of the wider panorama. We discuss these results in the light of the older and more recent literature on nest recognition and homing in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jochen Zeil
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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27
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Freas CA, Spetch ML. Varieties of visual navigation in insects. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:319-342. [PMID: 36441435 PMCID: PMC9877076 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01720-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Revised: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The behaviours and cognitive mechanisms animals use to orient, navigate, and remember spatial locations exemplify how cognitive abilities have evolved to suit a number of different mobile lifestyles and habitats. While spatial cognition observed in vertebrates has been well characterised in recent decades, of no less interest are the great strides that have also been made in characterizing and understanding the behavioural and cognitive basis of orientation and navigation in invertebrate models and in particular insects. Insects are known to exhibit remarkable spatial cognitive abilities and are able to successfully migrate over long distances or pinpoint known locations relying on multiple navigational strategies similar to those found in vertebrate models-all while operating under the constraint of relatively limited neural architectures. Insect orientation and navigation systems are often tailored to each species' ecology, yet common mechanistic principles can be observed repeatedly. Of these, reliance on visual cues is observed across a wide number of insect groups. In this review, we characterise some of the behavioural strategies used by insects to solve navigational problems, including orientation over short-distances, migratory heading maintenance over long distances, and homing behaviours to known locations. We describe behavioural research using examples from a few well-studied insect species to illustrate how visual cues are used in navigation and how they interact with non-visual cues and strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cody A. Freas
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB Canada ,School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Marcia L. Spetch
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB Canada
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Visual navigation: properties, acquisition and use of views. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2022:10.1007/s00359-022-01599-2. [PMID: 36515743 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-022-01599-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 11/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Panoramic views offer information on heading direction and on location to visually navigating animals. This review covers the properties of panoramic views and the information they provide to navigating animals, irrespective of image representation. Heading direction can be retrieved by alignment matching between memorized and currently experienced views, and a gradient descent in image differences can lead back to the location at which a view was memorized (positional image matching). Central place foraging insects, such as ants, bees and wasps, conduct distinctly choreographed learning walks and learning flights upon first leaving their nest that are likely to be designed to systematically collect scene memories tagged with information provided by path integration on the direction of and the distance to the nest. Equally, traveling along routes, ants have been shown to engage in scanning movements, in particular when routes are unfamiliar, again suggesting a systematic process of acquiring and comparing views. The review discusses what we know and do not know about how view memories are represented in the brain of insects, how they are acquired and how they are subsequently used for traveling along routes and for pinpointing places.
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Baran B, Krzyżowski M, Rádai Z, Francikowski J, Hohol M. Geometry-based navigation in the dark: layout symmetry facilitates spatial learning in the house cricket, Acheta domesticus, in the absence of visual cues. Anim Cogn 2022; 26:755-770. [PMID: 36369419 PMCID: PMC10066172 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01712-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe capacity to navigate by layout geometry has been widely recognized as a robust strategy of place-finding. It has been reported in various species, although most studies were performed with vision-based paradigms. In the presented study, we aimed to investigate layout symmetry-based navigation in the house cricket, Acheta domesticus, in the absence of visual cues. For this purpose, we used a non-visual paradigm modeled on the Tennessee Williams setup. We ensured that the visual cues were indeed inaccessible to insects. In the main experiment, we tested whether crickets are capable of learning to localize the centrally positioned, inconspicuous cool spot in heated arenas of various shapes (i.e., circular, square, triangular, and asymmetric quadrilateral). We found that the symmetry of the arena significantly facilitates crickets’ learning to find the cool spot, indicated by the increased time spent on the cool spot and the decreased latency in locating it in subsequent trials. To investigate mechanisms utilized by crickets, we analyzed their approach paths to the spot. We found that crickets used both heuristic and directed strategies of approaching the target, with the dominance of a semi-directed strategy (i.e., a thigmotactic phase preceding direct navigation to the target). We propose that the poor performance of crickets in the asymmetrical quadrilateral arena may be explained by the difficulty of encoding its layout with cues from a single modality.
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Texas field crickets (Gryllus texensis) use visual cues to place learn but perform poorly when intra- and extra-maze cues conflict. Learn Behav 2022; 50:306-316. [DOI: 10.3758/s13420-022-00532-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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31
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Insect navigation: Bumblebees walk the walk. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R746-R748. [PMID: 35820386 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
A new study shows that bumblebees can display path integration while walking in a small laboratory arena. This opens a new avenue for studying how insects' brains can encode direction and distance.
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32
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Gómez-Moracho T, Durand T, Lihoreau M. The gut parasite Nosema ceranae impairs olfactory learning in bumblebees. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:275951. [PMID: 35726829 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.244340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Pollinators are exposed to numerous parasites and pathogens when foraging on flowers. These biological stressors may affect critical cognitive abilities required for foraging. Here, we tested whether exposure to Nosema ceranae, one of the most widespread parasites of honey bees also found in wild pollinators, impacts cognition in bumblebees. We investigated different forms of olfactory learning and memory using conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex. Seven days after feeding parasite spores, bumblebees showed lower performances in absolute, differential, and reversal learning than controls. The consistent observations across different types of olfactory learning indicates a general negative effect of N. ceranae exposure that did not specifically target particular brain areas or neural processes. We discuss the potential mechanisms by which N. ceranae impairs bumblebee cognition and the broader consequences for populations of pollinators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamara Gómez-Moracho
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Tristan Durand
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Mathieu Lihoreau
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
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33
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Othayoth R, Strebel B, Han Y, Francois E, Li C. A terrain treadmill to study animal locomotion through large obstacles. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:275753. [PMID: 35724269 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
A challenge to understanding locomotion in complex 3-D terrain with large obstacles is to create tools for controlled, systematic experiments. Recent terrain arenas allow observations at small spatiotemporal scales (∼10 body length or cycles). Here, we create a terrain treadmill to enable high-resolution observation of animal locomotion through large obstacles over large spatiotemporal scales. An animal moves through modular obstacles on an inner sphere, while a rigidly-attached, concentric, transparent outer sphere rotates with the opposite velocity via closed-loop feedback to keep the animal atop. During sustained locomotion, a discoid cockroach moved through pillar obstacles for up to 25 minutes (2500 cycles) over 67 m (1500 body lengths). Over 12 trials totaling∼1 hour, the animal was maintained within a radius of 1 body length (4.5 cm) on top of the sphere 90% of the time. The high-resolution observation enables study of diverse locomotor behaviors and quantification of animal-obstacle interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ratan Othayoth
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, USA
| | - Blake Strebel
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, USA
| | - Yuanfeng Han
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, USA
| | - Evains Francois
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, USA
| | - Chen Li
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, USA
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Gatto E, Loukola OJ, Petrazzini MEM, Agrillo C, Cutini S. Illusional Perspective across Humans and Bees. Vision (Basel) 2022; 6:vision6020028. [PMID: 35737416 PMCID: PMC9231007 DOI: 10.3390/vision6020028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
For two centuries, visual illusions have attracted the attention of neurobiologists and comparative psychologists, given the possibility of investigating the complexity of perceptual mechanisms by using relatively simple patterns. Animal models, such as primates, birds, and fish, have played a crucial role in understanding the physiological circuits involved in the susceptibility of visual illusions. However, the comprehension of such mechanisms is still a matter of debate. Despite their different neural architectures, recent studies have shown that some arthropods, primarily Hymenoptera and Diptera, experience illusions similar to those humans do, suggesting that perceptual mechanisms are evolutionarily conserved among species. Here, we review the current state of illusory perception in bees. First, we introduce bees’ visual system and speculate which areas might make them susceptible to illusory scenes. Second, we review the current state of knowledge on misperception in bees (Apidae), focusing on the visual stimuli used in the literature. Finally, we discuss important aspects to be considered before claiming that a species shows higher cognitive ability while equally supporting alternative hypotheses. This growing evidence provides insights into the evolutionary origin of visual mechanisms across species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elia Gatto
- Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Olli J. Loukola
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, FI-90014 Oulu, Finland;
| | | | - Christian Agrillo
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy; (M.E.M.P.); (C.A.)
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy;
| | - Simone Cutini
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy;
- Padua Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, 35129 Padova, Italy
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35
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Moreyra S, Lozada M. Spatial configuration learning in
Vespula germanica
forager wasps. Ethology 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Moreyra
- Laboratorio Ecotono, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medio Ambiente (INIBIOMA), CONICET Universidad Nacional del Comahue (CRUB) Bariloche Argentina
| | - Mariana Lozada
- Laboratorio Ecotono, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medio Ambiente (INIBIOMA), CONICET Universidad Nacional del Comahue (CRUB) Bariloche Argentina
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36
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No effect of dual exposure to sulfoxaflor and a trypanosome parasite on bumblebee olfactory learning. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8611. [PMID: 35597818 PMCID: PMC9124203 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12714-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Bees are important pollinators in wild and agricultural ecosystems, and understanding the factors driving their global declines is key to maintaining these pollination services. Learning, which has been a focus of previous ecotoxicological studies in bees, may play a key role in driving colony fitness. Here we move beyond the standard single-stressor approach to ask how multiple stressors, an agrochemical (sulfoxaflor, a relatively new insecticide) and a parasite (Crithidia bombi, a prevalent gut parasite of bumblebees), impact learning in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. We developed a modified version of the classic proboscis extension reflex assay to assess the combined effects of acute oral sulfoxaflor exposure and infection by C. bombi on olfactory learning of bumblebee workers. We found no evidence that either sulfoxaflor, C. bombi, or their combination had any significant effect on bumblebee olfactory learning, despite their known negative impacts on other aspects of bumblebee health. This suggests that losses in cognitive ability, as measured here, are unlikely to explain the impacts of sulfoxaflor and its interactions with other stressors on bumblebees. Our novel methodology provides a model system within which to test interactive effects of other key stressors on bee health.
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37
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Flexible navigational computations in the Drosophila central complex. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2022; 73:102514. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 12/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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38
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Freas CA, Wystrach A, Schwarz S, Spetch ML. Aversive view memories and risk perception in navigating ants. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2899. [PMID: 35190612 PMCID: PMC8861035 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06859-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Many ants establish foraging routes through learning views of the visual panorama. Route models have focused primarily on attractive view use, which experienced foragers orient towards to return to known sites. However, aversive views have recently been uncovered as a key component of route learning. Here, Cataglyphis velox rapidly learned aversive views, when associated with a negative outcome, a period of captivity in vegetation, triggering increases in hesitation behavior. These memories were based on the accumulation of experiences over multiple trips with each new experience regulating forager hesitancy. Foragers were also sensitive to captivity time differences, suggesting they possess some mechanism to quantify duration. Finally, we analyzed foragers' perception of risky (i.e. variable) versus stable aversive outcomes by associating two sites along the route with distinct captivity schedules, a fixed or variable duration, with the same mean across training. Foragers exhibited fewer hesitations in response to risky outcomes compared to fixed ones, indicating they perceived risky outcomes as less severe. Results align with a logarithmic relationship between captivity duration and hesitations, suggesting that aversive stimulus perception is a logarithm of its actual value. We discuss how aversive view learning could be executed within the mushroom bodies circuitry following a prediction error rule.
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39
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Moura PA, Corso G, Montgomery SH, Cardoso MZ. True site fidelity in pollen‐feeding butterflies. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Priscila A. Moura
- Departamento de Ecologia Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte Natal Brazil
| | - Giberto Corso
- Departamento de Biofísica e Farmacologia Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte Natal Brazil
| | | | - Marcio Z. Cardoso
- Departamento de Ecologia Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte Natal Brazil
- Departamento de Ecologia Instituto de Biologia Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Brazil
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40
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Yossen MB, Buteler M, Lozada M. Context-dependent use of olfactory cues by foragers of Vespula germanica social wasps. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:645-655. [PMID: 34839409 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01583-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Food search is guided by cues from different sensory modalities, such as olfactory and visual. In social wasps, olfaction plays a key role in locating new resources. However, while several studies have focused on the importance of odours in predation, less is known about their role during scavenging, when spatial memories become a relevant guidance mechanism. Here, we investigated whether the use of odours during carrion exploitation by Vespula germanica wasps depends on whether they are locating or relocating the resource. By means of field choice experiments, we evaluated wasp response to odours: an odour eliciting a spontaneous aversive response, a learnt odour eliciting an appetitive response, and the conspecifics' odour eliciting an attractive response. Experiments were conducted in different contexts, i.e., during food localisation by naïve foragers, re-localisation of a resource at the learnt site and re-localisation of a resource that had been displaced from the learnt site. All olfactory stimuli evaluated markedly influenced foraging decisions in naïve wasps and in experienced wasps when the food was moved from the learnt location. However, odours were ignored during the wasp's return to the foraging site. These results suggest a cue hierarchy, in which local landmarks are more reliable to relocate carrion, while olfaction would be useful to locate novel resources or relocate a known source when spatial memories fail. Our findings demonstrate a context-dependent use of odours during carrion exploitation by V. germanica wasps and highlight the importance of spatial memories as an important factor modulating odour response.
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Affiliation(s)
- M B Yossen
- Laboratorio Ecotono, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medio Ambiente (INIBIOMA), CONICET, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Pasaje Gutiérrez 1125, 8400, San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - M Buteler
- Laboratorio Ecotono, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medio Ambiente (INIBIOMA), CONICET, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Pasaje Gutiérrez 1125, 8400, San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - M Lozada
- Laboratorio Ecotono, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medio Ambiente (INIBIOMA), CONICET, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Pasaje Gutiérrez 1125, 8400, San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina.
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41
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Hulse BK, Haberkern H, Franconville R, Turner-Evans DB, Takemura SY, Wolff T, Noorman M, Dreher M, Dan C, Parekh R, Hermundstad AM, Rubin GM, Jayaraman V. A connectome of the Drosophila central complex reveals network motifs suitable for flexible navigation and context-dependent action selection. eLife 2021; 10:66039. [PMID: 34696823 PMCID: PMC9477501 DOI: 10.7554/elife.66039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Flexible behaviors over long timescales are thought to engage recurrent neural networks in deep brain regions, which are experimentally challenging to study. In insects, recurrent circuit dynamics in a brain region called the central complex (CX) enable directed locomotion, sleep, and context- and experience-dependent spatial navigation. We describe the first complete electron-microscopy-based connectome of the Drosophila CX, including all its neurons and circuits at synaptic resolution. We identified new CX neuron types, novel sensory and motor pathways, and network motifs that likely enable the CX to extract the fly's head-direction, maintain it with attractor dynamics, and combine it with other sensorimotor information to perform vector-based navigational computations. We also identified numerous pathways that may facilitate the selection of CX-driven behavioral patterns by context and internal state. The CX connectome provides a comprehensive blueprint necessary for a detailed understanding of network dynamics underlying sleep, flexible navigation, and state-dependent action selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brad K Hulse
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Hannah Haberkern
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Romain Franconville
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | | | | | - Tanya Wolff
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Marcella Noorman
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Marisa Dreher
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Chuntao Dan
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Ruchi Parekh
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | | | - Gerald M Rubin
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
| | - Vivek Jayaraman
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
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Brebner JS, Makinson JC, Bates OK, Rossi N, Lim KS, Dubois T, Gómez-Moracho T, Lihoreau M, Chittka L, Woodgate JL. Bumble bees strategically use ground level linear features in navigation. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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43
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Chaib S, Dacke M, Wcislo W, Warrant E. Dorsal landmark navigation in a Neotropical nocturnal bee. Curr Biol 2021; 31:3601-3605.e3. [PMID: 34115977 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Bees, ants, and wasps are well known to visually navigate when traveling between their nests and foraging sites. When leaving their nest, landmarks in the vicinity are memorized and used upon return to locate the nest entrance.1,2 The Neotropical nocturnal sweat bee Megalopta genalis navigates under the forest canopy at light intensities ten times dimmer than starlight.3 Despite these dim conditions, Megalopta is able to memorize visual landmarks around the nest entrance in the frontal visual field.4 Even though frontal landmarks can clearly be discerned by Megalopta, the visual feature of greatest contrast in the rainforest at night is actually the dark dorsal silhouette of the distant canopy against the brighter night sky. Several species of ants,5-10 as well as a subsocial shield bug,11 use bright open gaps in the canopy as dorsal landmarks to navigate home while walking. Here we show that Megalopta is also able to distinguish dorsal landmarks during homing, the first flying insect known with this capacity. Megalopta is able to discriminate between differently oriented dorsal black striped patterns, or an "artificial canopy" of black circles, and to use this information to locate its nest entrance. These results suggest that the local foliage patterns created by the canopy against the brighter sky could potentially provide the bee with reliable landmark information for navigation during foraging and homing at night. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Chaib
- Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology, University of Lund, Sölvegatan 35, S-22362 Lund, Sweden.
| | - Marie Dacke
- Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology, University of Lund, Sölvegatan 35, S-22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - William Wcislo
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 2072 Balboa, Republic of Panama
| | - Eric Warrant
- Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology, University of Lund, Sölvegatan 35, S-22362 Lund, Sweden.
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Matsubara N, Okada R, Sakura M. Possible Role of Polarized Light Information in Spatial Recognition in the Cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. Zoolog Sci 2021; 38:297-304. [PMID: 34342949 DOI: 10.2108/zs200081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Many insects are able to use skylight e-vector patterns to deduce their heading direction. Crickets have been well known to orient themselves to certain e-vector orientations to keep their walking direction. However, it is still unknown if crickets are able to utilize polarized light information for spatial recognition. Using an experimental paradigm similar to the Morris water maze for rodents, here we examine the possibility that the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus can utilize polarized light information to find the target place. Crickets were placed in a round arena with a heated floor, a portion of which was cooled, and a cross-shaped e-vector pattern was presented from the top of the arena so that the cricket could find the cool spot by walking along the e-vector direction. When the arrangement of the e-vector pattern and the cool spot were fixed throughout the experiments, the time and the walking distance to find the cool spot were significantly decreased with increasing trials, but not when the e-vector pattern was rotated between each trial. Moreover, a model selection indicated that the visual stimulus contributed to the decrease in time and distance. To investigate the cricket's exploration patterns in the arena, a test trial in which the whole floor was uniformly heated was performed before and after the training trials. In the test trial, the crickets trained with the positionally fixed e-vector pattern showed wall-following behavior for a significantly longer time than those untrained and those trained with random e-vector patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nobuaki Matsubara
- Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
| | - Ryuichi Okada
- Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Kobe 657-8501, Japan.,School of Human Science and Environment, University of Hyogo, Himeji 670-0092, Japan
| | - Midori Sakura
- Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Kobe 657-8501, Japan,
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45
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Woodgate JL, Perl C, Collett TS. The routes of one-eyed ants suggest a revised model of normal route following. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:271814. [PMID: 34382659 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The prevailing account of visually controlled routes is that an ant learns views as it follows a route, while guided by other path-setting mechanisms. Once a set of route views is memorised, the insect follows the route by turning and moving forwards when the view on the retina matches a stored view. We engineered a situation in which this account cannot suffice in order to discover whether there may be additional components to the performance of routes. One-eyed wood ants were trained to navigate a short route in the laboratory, guided by a single black, vertical bar placed in the blinded visual field. Ants thus had to turn away from the route to see the bar. They often turned to look at or beyond the bar and then turned to face in the direction of the goal. Tests in which the bar was shifted to be more peripheral or more frontal than in training produced a corresponding directional change in the ants' paths, demonstrating that they were guided by the bar. Examination of the endpoints of turns towards and away from the bar indicate that ants use the bar for guidance by learning how large a turn-back is needed to face the goal. We suggest that the ants' zigzag paths are, in part, controlled by turns of a learnt amplitude and that these turns are an integral component of visually guided route following.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph L Woodgate
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Craig Perl
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Thomas S Collett
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
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Stankiewicz J, Webb B. Looking down: a model for visual route following in flying insects. BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS 2021; 16:055007. [PMID: 34243169 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ac1307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Insect visual navigation is often assumed to depend on panoramic views of the horizon, and how these change as the animal moves. However, it is known that honey bees can visually navigate in flat, open meadows where visual information at the horizon is minimal, or would remain relatively constant across a wide range of positions. In this paper we hypothesise that these animals can navigate using view memories of the ground. We find that in natural scenes, low resolution views from an aerial perspective of ostensibly self-similar terrain (e.g. within a field of grass) provide surprisingly robust descriptors of precise spatial locations. We propose a new visual route following approach that makes use of transverse oscillations to centre a flight path along a sequence of learned views of the ground. We deploy this model on an autonomous quadcopter and demonstrate that it provides robust performance in the real world on journeys of up to 30 m. The success of our method is contingent on a robust view matching process which can evaluate the familiarity of a view with a degree of translational invariance. We show that a previously developed wavelet based bandpass orientated filter approach fits these requirements well, exhibiting double the catchment area of standard approaches. Using a realistic simulation package, we evaluate the robustness of our approach to variations in heading direction and aircraft height between inbound and outbound journeys. We also demonstrate that our approach can operate using a vision system with a biologically relevant visual acuity and viewing direction.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Stankiewicz
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh EH8 9AB, United Kingdom
| | - B Webb
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh EH8 9AB, United Kingdom
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Goy N, Glaser SM, Grüter C. The adaptive value of tandem communication in ants: Insights from an agent-based model. J Theor Biol 2021; 526:110762. [PMID: 33992692 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2021.110762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Social animals often share information about the location of resources, such as a food source or a new nest-site. One well-studied communication strategy in ants is tandem running, whereby a leader guides a recruit to a resource. Tandem running is considered an example of animal teaching because a leader adjusts her behaviour and invests time to help another ant to learn the location of a resource more efficiently. Tandem running also has costs, such as waiting inside the nest for a leader and a reduced walking speed. Whether and when these costs outweigh the benefits of tandem running is not well understood. We developed an agent-based simulation model to investigate the conditions that favour communication by tandem running during foraging. We predicted that the spatio-temporal distribution of food sources, colony size and the ratio of scouts and recruits affect colony foraging success. Our results suggest that tandem running is favoured when food sources are hard to find, differ in energetic value and are long lasting. These results mirror the findings of simulations of honeybee communication. Scouts locate food sources faster than tandem followers in some environments, suggesting that tandem running may fulfil the criteria of teaching only in some situations. Furthermore, tandem running was only beneficial above a critical colony size threshold. Taken together, our model suggests that there is a considerable parameter range that favours colonies that do not use communication by tandem running, which could explain why many ants with small colony sizes forage solitarily.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natascha Goy
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
| | - Simone M Glaser
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Christoph Grüter
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany; School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TQ Bristol, UK
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Hermer E, Murphy B, Chaine AS, Morand-Ferron J. Great tits who remember more accurately have difficulty forgetting, but variation is not driven by environmental harshness. Sci Rep 2021; 11:10083. [PMID: 33980907 PMCID: PMC8114932 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-89125-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The causes of individual variation in memory are poorly understood in wild animals. Harsh environments with sparse or rapidly changing food resources are hypothesized to favour more accurate spatial memory to allow animals to return to previously visited patches when current patches are depleted. A potential cost of more accurate spatial memory is proactive interference, where accurate memories block the formation of new memories. This relationship between spatial memory, proactive interference, and harsh environments has only been studied in scatter-hoarding animals. We compare spatial memory accuracy and proactive interference performance of non-scatter hoarding great tits (Parus major) from high and low elevations where harshness increases with elevation. In contrast to studies of scatter-hoarders, we did not find a significant difference between high and low elevation birds in their spatial memory accuracy or proactive interference performance. Using a variance partitioning approach, we report the first among-individual trade-off between spatial memory and proactive interference, uncovering variation in memory at the individual level where selection may act. Although we have no evidence of harsh habitats affecting spatial memory, our results suggest that if elevation produced differences in spatial memory between elevations, we could see concurrent changes in how quickly birds can forget.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan Hermer
- grid.28046.380000 0001 2182 2255University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON Canada
| | - Ben Murphy
- grid.7836.a0000 0004 1937 1151University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Alexis S. Chaine
- Station d’Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale du CNRS, Moulis, France ,grid.424401.70000 0004 0384 0611Institute for Advanced Studies in Toulouse, Toulouse School of Economics, Toulouse, France
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Fragoso FP, Jiang Q, Clayton MK, Brunet J. Patch selection by bumble bees navigating discontinuous landscapes. Sci Rep 2021; 11:8986. [PMID: 33903682 PMCID: PMC8076261 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88394-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Pollen and nectar resources are unevenly distributed over space and bees must make routing decisions when navigating patchy resources. Determining the patch selection process used by bees is crucial to understanding bee foraging over discontinuous landscapes. To elucidate this process, we developed four distinct probability models of bee movement where the size and the distance to the patch determined the attractiveness of a patch. A field experiment with a center patch and four peripheral patches of two distinct sizes and distances from the center was set up in two configurations. Empirical transition probabilities from the center to each peripheral patch were obtained at two sites and two years. The best model was identified by comparing observed and predicted transition probabilities, where predicted values were obtained by incorporating the spatial dimensions of the field experiment into each model's mathematical expression. Bumble bees used both patch size and isolation distance when selecting a patch and could assess the total amount of resources available in a patch. Bumble bees prefer large, nearby patches. This information will facilitate the development of a predictive framework to the study of bee movement and of models that predict the movement of genetically engineered pollen in bee-pollinated crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabiana P. Fragoso
- grid.410547.30000 0001 1013 9784Agricultural Research Service Research Participation Program, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, 455 Science Drive, Madison, WI 53711 USA
| | - Qi Jiang
- grid.14003.360000 0001 2167 3675Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1300 University Ave, Madison, WI 53706 USA ,grid.467375.40000 0004 0443 827XPresent Address: Goldman Sachs, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282 USA
| | - Murray K. Clayton
- grid.14003.360000 0001 2167 3675Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1300 University Ave, Madison, WI 53706 USA
| | - Johanne Brunet
- grid.508983.fUnited States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Vegetable Crops Research Unit, 455 Science Drive, Madison, WI 53711 USA
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Mercker M, Schwemmer P, Peschko V, Enners L, Garthe S. Analysis of local habitat selection and large-scale attraction/avoidance based on animal tracking data: is there a single best method? MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2021; 9:20. [PMID: 33892815 PMCID: PMC8063450 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-021-00260-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND New wildlife telemetry and tracking technologies have become available in the last decade, leading to a large increase in the volume and resolution of animal tracking data. These technical developments have been accompanied by various statistical tools aimed at analysing the data obtained by these methods. METHODS We used simulated habitat and tracking data to compare some of the different statistical methods frequently used to infer local resource selection and large-scale attraction/avoidance from tracking data. Notably, we compared spatial logistic regression models (SLRMs), spatio-temporal point process models (ST-PPMs), step selection models (SSMs), and integrated step selection models (iSSMs) and their interplay with habitat and animal movement properties in terms of statistical hypothesis testing. RESULTS We demonstrated that only iSSMs and ST-PPMs showed nominal type I error rates in all studied cases, whereas SSMs may slightly and SLRMs may frequently and strongly exceed these levels. iSSMs appeared to have on average a more robust and higher statistical power than ST-PPMs. CONCLUSIONS Based on our results, we recommend the use of iSSMs to infer habitat selection or large-scale attraction/avoidance from animal tracking data. Further advantages over other approaches include short computation times, predictive capacity, and the possibility of deriving mechanistic movement models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moritz Mercker
- Bionum GmbH - Consultants in Biostatistics, Hamburg, Finkenwerder Norderdeich 15 A, Hamburg, Germany
- Research and Technology Centre (FTZ) Kiel University, Hafentörn 1, Büsum, 25761 Germany
| | - Philipp Schwemmer
- Institute of Applied Mathematics (IAM) Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 205, Heidelberg, 69120 Germany
| | - Verena Peschko
- Institute of Applied Mathematics (IAM) Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 205, Heidelberg, 69120 Germany
| | - Leonie Enners
- Institute of Applied Mathematics (IAM) Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 205, Heidelberg, 69120 Germany
| | - Stefan Garthe
- Institute of Applied Mathematics (IAM) Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 205, Heidelberg, 69120 Germany
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