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  4. Tracking Individuals Shows Spatial Fidelity Is a Key Regulator of Ant Social Organization
 
research article

Tracking Individuals Shows Spatial Fidelity Is a Key Regulator of Ant Social Organization

Mersch, D. P.
•
Crespi, A.  
•
Keller, L.
2013
Science

Ants live in organized societies with a marked division of labor among workers, but little is known about how this division of labor is generated. We used a tracking system to continuously monitor individually tagged workers in six colonies of the ant Camponotus fellah over 41 days. Network analyses of more than 9 million interactions revealed three distinct groups that differ in behavioral repertoires. Each group represents a functional behavioral unit with workers moving from one group to the next as they age. The rate of interactions was much higher within groups than between groups. The precise information on spatial and temporal distribution of all individuals allowed us to calculate the expected rates of within- and between-group interactions. These values suggest that the network of interaction within colonies is primarily mediated by age-induced changes in the spatial location of workers.

  • Details
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Type
research article
DOI
10.1126/science.1234316
Web of Science ID

WOS:000319664500043

Author(s)
Mersch, D. P.
Crespi, A.  
Keller, L.
Date Issued

2013

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Published in
Science
Volume

340

Issue

6136

Start page

1090

End page

1093

Subjects

ants

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
BIOROB  
Available on Infoscience
June 11, 2013
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/92751
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