Tanaka Y, Valentini G, Pratt SC, Shimoji H, Mizumoto N. Protocol to obtain long movement trajectories of leaders and followers in ant tandem runs.
STAR Protoc 2023;
4:102769. [PMID:
38060385 PMCID:
PMC10783595 DOI:
10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102769]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Tandem running in ants is a sophisticated form of communication. Precise measurement of movement coordination by the tandem pair can shed light on social interactions. Here, we describe an integrative approach to obtain long movement trajectories of a specific tandem pair within a crowd of ants. We describe a maze-like arena, video recording and editing, and movement tracking. We integrate two pieces of image-based tracking software that have distinct individual assignment strategies. This protocol aids comparative studies of recruitment communication across species. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Mizumoto et al. (2023)1 and Valentini et al. (2020).2.
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