Forward and backward walking: Locomotion and navigation in Cataglyphis fortis

Erstveröffentlichung
2017-03-09Authors
Pfeffer, Sarah Elisabeth
Referee
Wolf, HaraldAyasse, Manfred
Dissertation
Faculties
Fakultät für NaturwissenschaftenInstitutions
Institut für NeurobiologieInstitut für Evolutionsökologie und Naturschutzgenomik
Abstract
The ability to locomote and to navigate plays an indispensable role within the animal kingdom.
These aspects can nicely be studied within the model organism Cataglyphis fortis that is adapted to a life within the hostile desert environments of North Africa, where a fast running and an efficient mode of orientation are required feats to survive. It is further decisive that the system of locomotion and navigation is able to cope with the unpredictability of its environment. The present work examine for the first time the influence of different walking speeds, changes in the walking direction and variations in the food supply on the animals’ behaviour by means of field and laboratory methods. The outcomes of our studies reveal a surprising flexibility and robustness of the ant’s locomotion and navigation behaviour.
Date created
2016
Cumulative dissertation containing articles
Manuscript 1:
Wahl, V., Pfeffer, S. E., & Wittlinger, M. (2015)
Walking and running in the desert ant Cataglyphis fortis
Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 201(6), 645-656
doi: 10.1007/s00359-015-0999-2
Manuscript 2:
Pfeffer, S. E., Wahl, V.L. & Wittlinger, M. (2016)
How to find home backwards? Locomotion and inter-leg coordination during rearward walking
of Cataglyphis fortis desert ants
Journal of Experimental Biology, 219(14), 2110-2118
doi: 10.1242/jeb.137778
Manuscript 3:
Pfeffer, S. E., & Wittlinger, M. (2016)
How to find home backwards? Navigation during rearward homing of Cataglyphis fortis desert
ants
Journal of Experimental Biology, 219(14), 2119-2126
doi:10.1242/jeb.137786
Manuscript 4:
Pfeffer, S. E., Bolek, S., Wolf, H., & Wittlinger, M. (2015)
Nest and food search behaviour in desert ants, Cataglyphis: a critical comparison
Animal cognition, 18(4), 885-894
doi: 10.1007/s10071-015-0858-0
Subject headings
[GND]: Fortbewegung | Cataglyphis fortis[LCSH]: Animal locomotion | Ants; Behavior | Locomotion | Animal navigation | Deserts | Searching behavior
[Free subject headings]: Desert ant Cataglyphis | Forward locomotion | Backward locomotion | Backward navigation | Flexibility of search behaviour
[DDC subject group]: DDC 570 / Life sciences
Metadata
Show full item recordDOI & citation
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://dx.doi.org/10.18725/OPARU-4268
Pfeffer, Sarah Elisabeth (2017): Forward and backward walking:
Locomotion and navigation in Cataglyphis fortis. Open Access Repositorium der Universität Ulm und Technischen Hochschule Ulm. Dissertation. http://dx.doi.org/10.18725/OPARU-4268
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