1
|
Freas CA, Spetch ML. Route retracing: way pointing and multiple vector memories in trail-following ants. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb246695. [PMID: 38126715 PMCID: PMC10906666 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.246695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Maintaining positional estimates of goal locations is a fundamental task for navigating animals. Diverse animal groups, including both vertebrates and invertebrates, can accomplish this through path integration. During path integration, navigators integrate movement changes, tracking both distance and direction, to generate a spatial estimate of their start location, or global vector, allowing efficient direct return travel without retracing the outbound route. In ants, path integration is accomplished through the coupling of pedometer and celestial compass estimates. Within path integration, it has been theorized navigators may use multiple vector memories for way pointing. However, in many instances, these navigators may instead be homing via view alignment. Here, we present evidence that trail-following ants can attend to segments of their global vector to retrace their non-straight pheromone trails, without the confound of familiar views. Veromessor pergandei foragers navigate to directionally distinct intermediate sites via path integration by orienting along separate legs of their inbound route at unfamiliar locations, indicating these changes are not triggered by familiar external cues, but by vector state. These findings contrast with path integration as a singular memory estimate in ants and underscore the system's ability to way point to intermediate goals along the inbound route via multiple vector memories, akin to trapline foraging in bees visiting multiple flower patches. We discuss how reliance on non-straight pheromone-marked trails may support attending to separate vectors to remain on the pheromone rather than attempting straight-line shortcuts back to the nest.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cody A. Freas
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2E9
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Marcia L. Spetch
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2E9
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Ortega-Escobar J, Hebets EA, Bingman VP, Wiegmann DD, Gaffin DD. Comparative biology of spatial navigation in three arachnid orders (Amblypygi, Araneae, and Scorpiones). J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023:10.1007/s00359-023-01612-2. [PMID: 36781447 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01612-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
From both comparative biology and translational research perspectives, there is escalating interest in understanding how animals navigate their environments. Considerable work is being directed towards understanding the sensory transduction and neural processing of environmental stimuli that guide animals to, for example, food and shelter. While much has been learned about the spatial orientation behavior, sensory cues, and neurophysiology of champion navigators such as bees and ants, many other, often overlooked animal species possess extraordinary sensory and spatial capabilities that can broaden our understanding of the behavioral and neural mechanisms of animal navigation. For example, arachnids are predators that often return to retreats after hunting excursions. Many of these arachnid central-place foragers are large and highly conducive to scientific investigation. In this review we highlight research on three orders within the Class Arachnida: Amblypygi (whip spiders), Araneae (spiders), and Scorpiones (scorpions). For each, we describe (I) their natural history and spatial navigation, (II) how they sense the world, (III) what information they use to navigate, and (IV) how they process information for navigation. We discuss similarities and differences among the groups and highlight potential avenues for future research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Eileen A Hebets
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588, USA
| | - Verner P Bingman
- Department of Psychology and J. P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA
| | - Daniel D Wiegmann
- Department of Biological Sciences and J. P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 43403, USA
| | - Douglas D Gaffin
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Sibeaux A, Karlsson C, Newport C, Burt de Perera T. Distance estimation in the goldfish ( Carassius auratus). Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221220. [PMID: 36476009 PMCID: PMC9554733 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurophysiological advances have given us exciting insights into the systems responsible for spatial mapping in mammals. However, we are still lacking information on the evolution of these systems and whether the underlying mechanisms identified are universal across phyla, or specific to the species studied. Here we address these questions by exploring whether a species that is evolutionarily distant from mammals can perform a task central to mammalian spatial mapping-distance estimation. We developed a behavioural paradigm allowing us to test whether goldfish (Carassius auratus) can estimate distance and explored the behavioural mechanisms that underpin this ability. Fish were trained to swim a set distance within a narrow tank covered with a striped pattern. After changing the background pattern, we found that goldfish use the spatial frequency of their visual environment to estimate distance, doubling the spatial frequency of the background pattern resulted in a large overestimation of the swimming distance. We present robust evidence that goldfish can accurately estimate distance and show that they use local optic flow to do so. These results provide a compelling basis to use goldfish as a model system to interrogate the evolution of the mechanisms that underpin spatial cognition, from brain to behaviour.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adelaide Sibeaux
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Zoology Research and Administration Building, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Cecilia Karlsson
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Zoology Research and Administration Building, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Cait Newport
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Zoology Research and Administration Building, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Theresa Burt de Perera
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Zoology Research and Administration Building, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3SZ, UK
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Karlsson C, Willis J, Patel M, de Perera TB. Visual odometry of Rhinecanthus aculeatus depends on the visual density of the environment. Commun Biol 2022; 5:1045. [PMID: 36182985 PMCID: PMC9526725 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03925-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Distance travelled is a crucial metric that underpins an animal's ability to navigate in the short-range. While there is extensive research on how terrestrial animals measure travel distance, it is unknown how animals navigating in aquatic environments estimate this metric. A common method used by land animals is to measure optic flow, where the speed of self-induced visual motion is integrated over the course of a journey. Whether freely-swimming aquatic animals also measure distance relative to a visual frame of reference is unclear. Using the marine fish Rhinecanthus aculeatus, we show that teleost fish can use visual motion information to estimate distance travelled. However, the underlying mechanism differs fundamentally from previously studied terrestrial animals. Humans and terrestrial invertebrates measure the total angular motion of visual features for odometry, a mechanism which does not vary with visual density. In contrast, the visual odometer used by Rhinecanthus acuelatus is strongly dependent on the visual density of the environment. Odometry in fish may therefore be mediated by a movement detection mechanism akin to the system underlying the optomotor response, a separate motion-detection mechanism used by both vertebrates and invertebrates for course and gaze stabilisation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Karlsson
- Department of Zoology, Research and Administration Building, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK.
| | - Jay Willis
- Department of Zoology, Research and Administration Building, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Matishalin Patel
- Department of Zoology, Research and Administration Building, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Theresa Burt de Perera
- Department of Zoology, Research and Administration Building, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Gaffin DD, Muñoz MG, Hoefnagels MH. Evidence of learning walks related to scorpion home burrow navigation. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:275795. [PMID: 35638243 PMCID: PMC9250797 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The navigation by chemo-textural familiarity hypothesis (NCFH) suggests that scorpions use their midventral pectines to gather chemical and textural information near their burrows and use this information as they subsequently return home. For NCFH to be viable, animals must somehow acquire home-directed ‘tastes’ of the substrate, such as through path integration (PI) and/or learning walks. We conducted laboratory behavioral trials using desert grassland scorpions (Paruroctonus utahensis). Animals reliably formed burrows in small mounds of sand we provided in the middle of circular, sand-lined behavioral arenas. We processed overnight infrared video recordings with a MATLAB script that tracked animal movements at 1–2 s intervals. In all, we analyzed the movements of 23 animals, representing nearly 1500 h of video recording. We found that once animals established their home burrows, they immediately made one to several short, looping excursions away from and back to their burrows before walking greater distances. We also observed similar excursions when animals made burrows in level sand in the middle of the arena (i.e. no mound provided). These putative learning walks, together with recently reported PI in scorpions, may provide the crucial home-directed information requisite for NCFH. Highlighted Article: Evidence that sand scorpions perform looping walks immediately after establishing a burrow and the possible significance of these putative learning walks in terms of scorpion navigation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Douglas D Gaffin
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| | - Maria G Muñoz
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| | - Mariëlle H Hoefnagels
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Gatto E, Loukola OJ, Agrillo C. Quantitative abilities of invertebrates: a methodological review. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:5-19. [PMID: 34282520 PMCID: PMC8904327 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01529-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Quantitative abilities are widely recognized to play important roles in several ecological contexts, such as foraging, mate choice, and social interaction. Indeed, such abilities are widespread among vertebrates, in particular mammals, birds, and fish. Recently, there has been an increasing number of studies on the quantitative abilities of invertebrates. In this review, we present the current knowledge in this field, especially focusing on the ecological relevance of the capacity to process quantitative information, the similarities with vertebrates, and the different methods adopted to investigate this cognitive skill. The literature argues, beyond methodological differences, a substantial similarity between the quantitative abilities of invertebrates and those of vertebrates, supporting the idea that similar ecological pressures may determine the emergence of similar cognitive systems even in distantly related species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elia Gatto
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy.
| | - Olli J Loukola
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, POB 3000, 90014, Oulu, Finland
| | - Christian Agrillo
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy.,Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Sergi CM, Antonopoulos T, Rodríguez RL. Black widow spiders use path integration on their webs. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03009-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
8
|
Homing in the arachnid taxa Araneae and Amblypygi. Anim Cogn 2020; 23:1189-1204. [PMID: 32894371 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-020-01424-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2019] [Revised: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Adequate homing is essential for the survival of any animal when it leaves its home to find prey or a mate. There are several strategies by which homing can be carried out: (a) retrace the outbound path; (b) use a 'cognitive map'; or (c) use path integration (PI). Here, I review the state of the art of research on spiders (Araneae) and whip spiders (Amblypygi) homing behaviour. The main strategy described in the literature as being used by these arachnids is PI. Behavioural and neural substrates of PI are described in a small group of spider families (Agelenidae, Lycosidae, Gnaphosidae, Ctenidae and Theraphosidae) and a whip spider family (Phrynidae). In spiders, the cues used to detect the position of the animal relative to its home are the position of the sun, polarized light patterns, web elasticity and landmarks. In whip spiders, the cues used are olfactory, tactile and, with a more minor role, visual. The use of a magnetic field in whip spiders has been rejected both with field and laboratory studies. Concerning the distance walked in PI, the possibility of using optic flow and idiothetic information in spiders is considered. The studies about outbound and inbound paths in whip spiders seem to suggest they do not follow the PI rules. As a conclusion, these arachnids' navigation relies on multimodal cues. We have detailed knowledge about the sensory origin (visual, olfactory, mechanosensory receptors) of neural information, but we are far from knowing the central neural structures where sensory information is integrated.
Collapse
|
9
|
Wiegmann DD, Casto P, Hebets EA, Bingman VP. Distortion of the local magnetic field appears to neither disrupt nocturnal navigation nor cue shelter recognition in the amblypygidParaphrynus laevifrons. Ethology 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel D. Wiegmann
- Department of Biological Sciences Bowling Green State University Bowling Green OH USA
- J. P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior Bowling Green State University Bowling Green OH USA
| | - Patrick Casto
- Department of Biological Sciences Bowling Green State University Bowling Green OH USA
| | - Eileen A. Hebets
- School of Biological Sciences University of Nebraska‐Lincoln Lincoln NE USA
| | - Verner P. Bingman
- J. P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior Bowling Green State University Bowling Green OH USA
- Department of Psychology Bowling Green State University Bowling Green OH USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Nocturnal navigation by whip spiders: antenniform legs mediate near-distance olfactory localization of a shelter. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
|
11
|
Ortega-Escobar J, Ruiz MA. Role of the different eyes in the visual odometry in the wolf spider Lycosa tarantula (Araneae, Lycosidae). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 220:259-265. [PMID: 28100804 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.145763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2016] [Accepted: 10/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The wolf spider Lycosa tarantula returns home by means of path integration. Previous studies demonstrated: (i) that the angular component of the outbound run is measured using a polarized-light compass associated with the anterior median eyes; (ii) changes in direction of the substratum are detected by the anterior lateral eyes (ALEs); and (iii) in relation to the linear component of the outbound run, an increase of optic flow, in either the lateral or ventral fields of view, caused spiders to search for the burrow at a point nearer to the goal. However, the role of the secondary eyes [ALEs, posterior lateral eyes (PLEs) and posterior median eyes (PMEs)] in the perception of this optic flow and the importance of them for gauging the distance walked is still unknown. In this study, lateral or ventral gratings of wavelength λ=1 cm were used, with two groups of spiders in each setup: (1) PLEs+PMEs covered and (2) ALEs covered. The largest reduction in the distance walked to return to the burrow was observed with the ventral grating/ALEs covered. These results show the importance of the previously neglected ALEs for the visual behavior of these spiders. The possibility of gathering information for locomotion from the three pairs of secondary eyes in the mushroom bodies is discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Miguel A Ruiz
- School of Psychology, University Autónoma of Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Development of site fidelity in the nocturnal amblypygid, Phrynus marginemaculatus. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2017; 203:313-328. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-017-1169-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2016] [Revised: 02/02/2017] [Accepted: 03/30/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
|
13
|
Visual guidance of forward flight in hummingbirds reveals control based on image features instead of pattern velocity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:8849-54. [PMID: 27432982 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1603221113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Information about self-motion and obstacles in the environment is encoded by optic flow, the movement of images on the eye. Decades of research have revealed that flying insects control speed, altitude, and trajectory by a simple strategy of maintaining or balancing the translational velocity of images on the eyes, known as pattern velocity. It has been proposed that birds may use a similar algorithm but this hypothesis has not been tested directly. We examined the influence of pattern velocity on avian flight by manipulating the motion of patterns on the walls of a tunnel traversed by Anna's hummingbirds. Contrary to prediction, we found that lateral course control is not based on regulating nasal-to-temporal pattern velocity. Instead, birds closely monitored feature height in the vertical axis, and steered away from taller features even in the absence of nasal-to-temporal pattern velocity cues. For vertical course control, we observed that birds adjusted their flight altitude in response to upward motion of the horizontal plane, which simulates vertical descent. Collectively, our results suggest that birds avoid collisions using visual cues in the vertical axis. Specifically, we propose that birds monitor the vertical extent of features in the lateral visual field to assess distances to the side, and vertical pattern velocity to avoid collisions with the ground. These distinct strategies may derive from greater need to avoid collisions in birds, compared with small insects.
Collapse
|
14
|
Wiegmann DD, Hebets EA, Gronenberg W, Graving JM, Bingman VP. Amblypygids: Model Organisms for the Study of Arthropod Navigation Mechanisms in Complex Environments? Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:47. [PMID: 27014008 PMCID: PMC4782058 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2015] [Accepted: 02/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Navigation is an ideal behavioral model for the study of sensory system integration and the neural substrates associated with complex behavior. For this broader purpose, however, it may be profitable to develop new model systems that are both tractable and sufficiently complex to ensure that information derived from a single sensory modality and path integration are inadequate to locate a goal. Here, we discuss some recent discoveries related to navigation by amblypygids, nocturnal arachnids that inhabit the tropics and sub-tropics. Nocturnal displacement experiments under the cover of a tropical rainforest reveal that these animals possess navigational abilities that are reminiscent, albeit on a smaller spatial scale, of true-navigating vertebrates. Specialized legs, called antenniform legs, which possess hundreds of olfactory and tactile sensory hairs, and vision appear to be involved. These animals also have enormous mushroom bodies, higher-order brain regions that, in insects, integrate contextual cues and may be involved in spatial memory. In amblypygids, the complexity of a nocturnal rainforest may impose navigational challenges that favor the integration of information derived from multimodal cues. Moreover, the movement of these animals is easily studied in the laboratory and putative neural integration sites of sensory information can be manipulated. Thus, amblypygids could serve as model organisms for the discovery of neural substrates associated with a unique and potentially sophisticated navigational capability. The diversity of habitats in which amblypygids are found also offers an opportunity for comparative studies of sensory integration and ecological selection pressures on navigation mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel D Wiegmann
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State UniversityBowling Green, OH, USA; J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State UniversityBowling Green, OH, USA
| | - Eileen A Hebets
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska Lincoln, NE, USA
| | | | - Jacob M Graving
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, OH, USA
| | - Verner P Bingman
- J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Bowling Green State UniversityBowling Green, OH, USA; Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State UniversityBowling Green, OH, USA
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Peckmezian T, Taylor PW. A virtual reality paradigm for the study of visually mediated behaviour and cognition in spiders. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.06.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
|