What is the relationship between visual environment and the form of ant learning-walks? An in silico investigation of insect navigation. (June 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dewar, Alex DM; Philippides, Andrew; Graham, Paul
• Is Part Of: Adaptive behavior. Volume 22:Number 3(2014)
• Page Start: 163
• Page End: 179
• Publication Date: 2014-06
• Subjects: Insect navigation -- learning walks -- view-based homing -- visual navigation in ants; Animal behavior -- Periodicals; Animals -- Adaptation -- Periodicals; Adaptability (Psychology) -- Periodicals; Adaptation, Psychological -- Periodicals; Artificial intelligence -- Periodicals; 591.5
• DOI: 10.1177/1059712313516132
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1741-2633

Abstract

The learning walks of ants are an excellent opportunity to study the interaction between brain, body and environment from which adaptive behaviour emerges. Learning walks are a behaviour with the specific function of storing visual information around a goal in order to simplify the computational problem of visual homing, that is, navigation back to a goal. However, it is not known at present why learning walks take the stereotypical shapes they do. Here we investigate how learning-walk form, visual surroundings and the interaction between the two affect homing performance in a range of virtual worlds when using a simple view-based homing algorithm. We show that the ideal form for a learning walk is environment-specific. We also demonstrate that the distant panorama and small objects at an intermediate distance, particularly when the panorama is obscured, are important aspects of the visual environment both when determining the ideal learning walk and when using stored views to navigate. Implications are discussed in the context of behavioural research into the learning walks of ants.