Foraging by Bucket-Brigade in Leaf-Cutter Ants

Hubbell, Stephen P.; Johnson, Leslie K.; Stanislav, Eileen; Wilson, Berry; Fowler, H G

doi:10.2307/2387973

Cited by 57 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…But we also found that when recovering cached leaves foragers did not select leaves based on their size. Furthermore, by sampling foragers and leaves at the nest entrance we allowed for any leaf transfer between foragers, which occurs in Acromyrmex (A. G. Hart, personal observation) and A. cephalotes (Hubbell et al 1980). In any case, we did not observe any leaf transfers when following individual foragers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Normally, a leaf piece is carried back to the nest by one worker, but the task can be partitioned, with either direct leaf transfer between foragers or indirect transfer with the formation of a cache somewhere along the trail. For example, A. cephalotes foragers sometimes use a two-stage relay process involving direct leaf transfer between foragers where trunk and side trails join (Hubbell et al 1980). Indirect transfer via caches has been seen in a wide range of trail locations from leaf source to nest entrance, for example at trail junctions and by obstacles (reported in Hart & Ratnieks 2000).…”

Section:  2001 the Association For The Study Of Animal Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Leaf caching in the leafcutting ant Atta colombica: organizational shift, task partitioning and making the best of a bad job

Hart

Ratnieks

2001

Animal Behaviour

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section:  2001 the Association For The Study Of Animal Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaf caching in the leafcutting ant Atta colombica: organizational shift, task partitioning and making the best of a bad job

Hart

Ratnieks

2001

Animal Behaviour

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“…Over all replicates, a total of 261 and 342 laden ants were collected for the control and experimental bridge, respectively. Leaf-cutting ants often pick up leaf fragments that are either dropped on the ground by other ants (Anderson and Jadin 2001; Hart and Ratnieks 2001) or directly transferred from one individual to the other (Fowler and Robinson 1979;Hubbell et al 1980;Anderson and Jadin 2001). Therefore, to ensure that the fragments had been cut by the workers we collected, the ants were followed from the moment they had completed their cut in the foraging area.…”

Section: Evects Of the Roof On The Size Distribution Of Laden Antsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual and collective problem-solving in a foraging context in the leaf-cutting ant Atta colombica

et al. 2008

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In this paper we investigate the Xexibility of foraging behavior in the leaf-cutting ant Atta colombica, both at the individual and collective levels, following a change in the physical properties of their environment. We studied in laboratory conditions the changes occurring in foraging behavior when a height constraint was placed 1 cm above part of the trail linking the nest to the foraging area. We found that the size and shape of the fragments of foraging material brought back to the nest were signiWcantly modiWed when the constraint was placed on the trail: independent of their size, forager ants cut smaller and rounder fragments in the presence of a height constraint than in its absence. This size adjustment does not require any direct sensory feedback because it occurred when the ants cut fragments in the foraging area; no further cutting was done when they encountered the constraint. This points to the existence of a template that ants store and use as a reference to adjust their reach while cutting. Remarkably, despite the decrease in the foraging material brought to the nest per capita the colony was still able to improve its foraging performance by doubling the number of transporters. This study illustrates the Xexibility of foraging behavior exhibited by an ant colony. It provides a rare example of insects Wnding an intelligent solution to a problem occurring in a foraging context, at both the individual and collective levels.

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“…Wilson's (1980) detailed analyses of caste optimization took place in the laboratory and so excluded the tasks involved in trail construction and maintenance under natural conditions. Much work has focused on the performance of workers utilizing trails (Lutz 1929;Hubbell et al 1980;Rudolph and Loudon 1986;Lighton et al 1987;Waller 1989;Shutler and Mullie 1991;Wetterer 1994;Burd 1995Burd , 1996 and the use of trail systems by colonies in exploiting resources (Fowler and Robinson 1979;Fowler and Stiles 1980;Shepherd 1982;Rockwood and Hubbell 1987). However, our understanding of foraging economics in leaf-cutting ant colonies will remain incomplete until the costs of trail construction and maintenance are included in colony time and energy budgets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Costs of trail construction and maintenance in the leaf-cutting ant Atta columbica

Howard

2001

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

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Leaf-cutting ants of the genus Atta use trunk trails during foraging which may persist for months or years. The time and energy costs of trail construction and maintenance were estimated for colonies of Atta columbica on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, to determine if these costs are likely to constrain new trail construction and promote persistence of existing trails. Large workers 2.2-2.9 mm in headwidth participated in trail-clearing significantly more frequently than typical leaf-carriers, indicating that they may form a distinctive task group within the foraging force. Small litter items were carried off trails, while large ones were cut up before removal, greatly increasing the costs of removing large litter items. The average time cost of removing a kilogram of litter was estimated at 3,359 ant-hours, and energy costs at 4.6 kJ. Colonies maintained trail systems 267 m in length and 16.5 m 2 in area, and built an estimated 2.7 km of trail with an area of 134 m 2 during a year. Based on litter standing crop and estimates of litterfall rates, total costs to colonies averaged 11,000 antdays of work and the energy equivalent of 8,000 leaf burdens. These costs are small relative to the number of available workers and rates of mass harvest, suggesting that costs do not significantly constrain trail construction. Instead, trails may persist because they provide access to high-quality resources or because only a few trails are required to fully exploit the foraging territory.

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Foraging by Bucket-Brigade in Leaf-Cutter Ants

Cited by 57 publications

References 5 publications

Leaf caching in the leafcutting ant Atta colombica: organizational shift, task partitioning and making the best of a bad job

Leaf caching in the leafcutting ant Atta colombica: organizational shift, task partitioning and making the best of a bad job

Individual and collective problem-solving in a foraging context in the leaf-cutting ant Atta colombica

Costs of trail construction and maintenance in the leaf-cutting ant Atta columbica

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