Stimulus dependent learning and memory in the neotropical ant Ectatomma ruidum
Learning and memory are major cognitive processes strongly tied to the life histories of animals. In ants, chemo tactile information generally plays a central role in social interaction, navigation and resource exploitation. However, in hunters, visual information should take special relevance during foraging, thus leading to differential use of information from different sensory modalities. Here, we aimed to test whether a hunter, the neotropical ant Ectatomma ruidum differentially learns stimuli acquired through multiple sensory channels. We evaluated the performance of workers of the ant E. ruidum when trained using olfactory, mechanical, chemo tactile and visual stimuli under a restrained protocol of appetitive learning. Using the conditioning of the maxilla labium extension response enabled control of the stimuli provided. Our results show that ants learn faster and remember longer when trained using chemo tactile or visual stimuli, than when trained using olfactory and mechanical stimuli separately. These results agree with the life history of E. ruidum, characterized by high relevance of chemo tactile information acquired through antennation as well as the role of vision during hunting.