Foraging and nest relocation forming a bi-directional traffic of outbound and inbound individuals in one-lane organization are two main activities in ants’ life. In this paper, we conducted an experiment for nest relocation of loaded and unloaded ants, and some of them move back and forth between the old nest and the new one. In the experiment, we observed both uni- and bi-directional traffic flows of ants. The headway-speed relations indicate that the ants show the same sensitivity to the distance headway in both types of flows. For bi-directional traffic flow, head-on encounters and giving way behavior between opposite ants are common occurrence. It takes one unloaded ant 2.61 s to solve a head-on encounter with other unloaded one. Compared with unloaded ants, loaded ants have smaller moving speed, but are less likely to be impacted by head-on encounter. In observation region, both sudden stop and head-on encounter contained two phases, i.e. deceleration and acceleration were observed. Our analysis indicates that the relaxation time in deceleration process is less than that in acceleration process. The reduction of movement efficiency of encountering two discontinuous ants is larger than encountering two successive ants 0.18. This is owing to the absence of head-on encounter with following ants. Generally, this study investigates the bi-directional traffic of ants in experimental condition mainly and might inform the future studies of high-efficiency movement of collective behavior and traffic systems.
Bi-directional movement characteristics of Camponotus japonicus ants during nest relocation
2023 JEB Outstanding Paper Prize shortlist and winner
The JEB Editors are delighted to announce the shortlisted authors for the 2023 JEB Outstanding Paper Prize. Read the winning paper - Tiny spies: mosquito antennae are sensitive sensors for eavesdropping on frog calls - by Hoover Pantoja-Sanchez and Brian Leavell from Ximena Bernal's lab at Purdue University, USA.
JEB Science Communication Workshop for ECRs
If you’re an early-career researcher interested in science communication and are attending the SEB Annual Conference in Prague this summer, come a day early and join the JEB Editors at a sci comm workshop to learn the key writing skills needed to promote your research to a broad audience beyond your peers (1 July at 14.30-17.30). Places are limited to 24 attendees, and applicants should apply through the SEB registration page by 30 April 2024.
Bridging the gap between controlled conditions and natural habitats in understanding behaviour
Novel technologies enable behavioural experiments with non-model species, in naturalistic habitats and with underexplored behaviours. In their Commentary, Scholz and colleagues discuss how to obtain a deeper understanding of the natural ecology and lifestyle of study animals.
Beluga metabolic measures could help save species
To help save animals from extinction, it’s important to understand what each species needs to survive. This led Jason John et al. to measure the metabolic rates of captive belugas to develop a ‘fish calculator’ showing that the whales need to eat ~23 salmon per day.
ECR Workshop on Positive Peer Review
Are you an ECR looking for tips on how to write concise, astute and useful manuscript reviews? If so, join the JEB Editors at a 2-hour JEB-sponsored Workshop on Positive Peer Review at the Canadian Society of Zoologists annual meeting in Moncton on 9 May 2024 at 13.00-15.00. There are 25 spaces for ECRs and selection is first come, first serve. To sign up, check the ECR Workshop box when you register for the CSZ meeting.
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