| Autor: |
Szczuka A; Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland., Sochacka-Marlowe A; Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland.; Department of Biology and Integrated Bioscience Program, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA., Korczyńska J; Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland., Mazurkiewicz PJ; Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland.; College of Inter-Faculty Individual Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MISMaP), University of Warsaw, Stefana Banacha St. 2c, PL 02-097 Warsaw, Poland., Symonowicz B; Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland., Kukina O; Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland.; Department of Entomology, Phytopathology and Physiology, Ukrainian Research Institute of Forestry and Forest Melioration, Pushkinska St. 86, 61024 Kharkiv, Ukraine., Godzińska EJ; Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ludwika Pasteura St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland. |
| Abstrakt: |
Ant rescue behaviour belongs to the most interesting subcategories of prosocial and altruistic behaviour encountered in the animal world. Several studies suggested that ants are able to identify what exactly restrains the movements of another individual and to direct their rescue behaviour precisely to that object. To shed more light on the question of how precise the identification of the source of restraint of another ant is, we investigated rescue behaviour of red wood ant Formica polyctena workers, using a new version of an artificial snare bioassay in which a nestmate victim bore two wire loops on its body, one (acting as a snare) placed on its petiole and an additional one on its leg. The tested ants did not preferentially direct their rescue behaviour towards the snare. Moreover, the overall strategy adopted by the most active rescuers was not limited to precisely targeted rescue attempts directed towards the snare, but consisted of frequent switching between various subcategories of rescue behaviour. These findings highlight the importance of precise identification of cognitive processes and overall behavioural strategies for better understanding of causal factors underlying animal helping behaviour in light of new facts discovered by testing of various successive research hypotheses. |
