Ants show left bias when exploring new spaces
Unlike Derek Zoolander, ants don't have any difficulty turning left. New research from the University of Bristol, UK published today in Biology Letters, has found that the majority of rock ants instinctively go left when entering unknown spaces.
PhD student Edmund Hunt and colleagues studied how Temnothorax albipennis ants explore nest cavities and negotiate through branching mazes.
They found that ants were significantly more likely to turn left than right when exploring new nests. Such left bias was also present when the ants were put in branching mazes, though this bias was initially obscured by wall-following behaviour.
So why do the majority of rock ants turn left when entering unknown spaces?
Edmund Hunt said: "The ants may be using their left eye to detect predators and their right to navigate. Also, their world is maze-like and consistently turning one way is a very good strategy to search and exit mazes.
"Furthermore, as their nest-mates are left-leaning too, there should also be safety in numbers. Consistent turning may also help the ants to monitor nest mates during house hunting. So perhaps leaning left is more shrewd than sinister."
Around ten percent of people are left-handed and brain lateralization is widespread in other vertebrates. There's also increasing evidence for sensory and motor asymmetries in the behaviour of invertebrates, but evidence for lateral biases in ants is relatively limited.
Behavioural lateralization in invertebrates is an important field of study because it may provide insights into the early origins of lateralization seen in a diversity of organisms, the researchers said.
More information: Ants show a leftward turning bias when exploring unknown nest sites, Hunt ER, O'Shea-Wheller T, Albery GF, Bridger TH, Gumn M, Franks NR. Biology Letters, rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.or … .1098/rsbl.2014.0945
Journal information: Biology Letters
Provided by University of Bristol
Chungu huonyesha upendeleo wa kushoto wanapochunguza nafasi mpya Tofauti na Derek Zoolander, chungu hawana ugumu wowote wa kugeuka kushoto. Utafiti mpya kutoka Chuo Kikuu cha Bristol, Uingereza, uliochapishwa leo katika Biology Letters, umegundua kwamba wengi wa chungu wa mwamba huelekea kushoto wakati wa kuingia katika nafasi zisizojulikana. Mwanafunzi wa PhD Edmund Hunt na wenzake walijifunza jinsi chungu wa Temnothorax albipennis wanavyochunguza mashimo ya viota na kujadiliana kupitia maze yenye matawi. Waligundua kwamba chungu walikuwa na uwezekano mkubwa zaidi wa kugeuka upande wa kushoto kuliko wa kulia wanapochunguza viota vipya. Upendeleo huo wa kushoto pia ulikuwepo wakati chungu walipowekwa katika maze ya matawi, ingawa upendeleo huu ulifichwa mwanzoni na tabia ya kufuata ukuta. Kwa hiyo kwa nini chungu wengi wa mwamba hugeuka upande wa kushoto wanapokuwa wakiingia katika maeneo yasiyojulikana? "Hata hivyo, Edmund Hunt anasema: ""Inawezekana kwamba chungu hutumia jicho lake la kushoto kugundua wanyama wanaowinda na jicho lake la kulia kuongoza njia." Pia, ulimwengu wao ni labyrinth-kama na mara kwa mara kugeuka njia moja ni mkakati mzuri sana kwa kutafuta na exit labyrinths. "Zaidi ya hayo, kwa kuwa wenzao wa kiota huelekea kushoto pia, lazima pia kuwe na usalama katika idadi. Pia, chungu hao wanaweza kuwasaidia kufuatilia viumbe wanaofanya viota vyao wakati wa kutafuta nyumba. Kwa hiyo labda kuelekeza upande wa kushoto ni jambo la busara zaidi kuliko baya". Karibu asilimia kumi ya watu ni watu wanaotumia mkono wa kushoto na ubongo una mwelekeo wa upande umesambaa sana katika wanyama wengine wenye uti wa mgongo. Kuna pia ushahidi unaozidi kuongezeka wa asymmetries ya hisia na motor katika tabia ya wanyama wasio na uti wa mgongo, lakini ushahidi wa upendeleo wa upande katika chungu ni mdogo. Utaratibu wa lateralization katika wanyama wasio na uti wa mgongo ni uwanja muhimu wa utafiti kwa sababu inaweza kutoa ufahamu wa asili ya mapema ya lateralization inayoonekana katika aina mbalimbali za viumbe, watafiti walisema. Mnyama wa kawaida huelekea upande wa kushoto wakati wa kuchunguza maeneo ya kiota, Hunt ER, O'Shea-Weller T, Albery GF, Bridger TH, Gumm M, Franks NR. Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti: Biolojia na Utafiti