Detour learning ability and the effect of novel sensory cues on learning in Australian bull ants, Myrmecia midas

ABSTRACTMany animals navigate in a structurally complex environment which requires them to detour around physical barriers that they encounter. While many studies in animal cognition suggest that they are able to adeptly avoid obstacles, it is unclear whether a new route is learned to navigate around these barriers and, if so, what sensory information may be used to do so. We investigated detour learning ability in the Australian bull ant, Myrmecia midas, which primarily uses visual landmarks to navigate. We first placed a barrier on the ants’ natural path of their foraging tree. Initially, 46% of foragers were unsuccessful in detouring the obstacle. In subsequent trips, the ants became more successful and established a new route. We observed up to eight successful foraging trips detouring around the barrier. When we subsequently changed the position of the barrier, made a new gap in the middle of the obstacle, or removed the barrier altogether, ants mostly maintained their learned motor routine, detouring with a similar path as before, suggesting that foragers were not relying on barrier cues and therefore learned a new route around the obstacle. In additional trials, when foragers encountered new olfactory or tactile cues, or the visual environment was blocked, their navigation was profoundly disrupted. These results suggest that changing sensory information, even in modalities that foragers do not usually need for navigation, drastically affects the foragers’ ability to successful navigate.Subject CategoryNeuroscience and Cognition