School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 874501, Tempe 85287, AZ, USA.
J Theor Biol. 2014 Jan 7;340:186-98. doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2013.07.014. Epub 2013 Aug 24.
We present an empirically based group model of foraging interactions in Messor pergandei, the Sonoran desert harvesting ant. M. pergandei colonies send out daily foraging columns consisting of tens of thousands of individual ants. Each day, the directions of the columns may change depending on the resource availability and the neighbor interactions. If neighboring columns meet, ants fight, and subsequent foraging is suppressed. M. pergandei colonies face a general problem which is present in many systems: dynamic spatial partitioning in a constantly changing environment, while simultaneously minimizing negative competitive interactions with multiple neighbors. Our simulation model of a population of column foragers is spatially explicit and includes neighbor interactions. We study how different behavioral strategies influence resource exploitation and space use for different nest distributions and densities. Column foraging in M. pergandei is adapted to the spatial and temporal properties of their natural habitat. Resource and space use is maximized both at the colony and the population level by a model with a behavioral strategy including learning and fast forgetting rates.
我们提出了一种基于经验的 Messor pergandei 觅食相互作用的群体模型，Messor pergandei 是一种索诺兰沙漠收获蚁。M. pergandei 蚁群每天都会派出由数万只个体蚂蚁组成的觅食柱。每天，柱子的方向可能会根据资源的可用性和邻居的相互作用而改变。如果相邻的柱子相遇，蚂蚁会打架，随后的觅食活动会受到抑制。M. pergandei 蚁群面临着许多系统中都存在的一个普遍问题：在不断变化的环境中进行动态的空间划分，同时尽量减少与多个邻居的负向竞争相互作用。我们的柱觅食者种群模拟模型具有空间显式性，并包括邻居相互作用。我们研究了不同的行为策略如何影响不同巢穴分布和密度下的资源利用和空间利用。M. pergandei 的柱觅食行为适应了其自然栖息地的空间和时间特性。通过一个包括学习和快速遗忘率的行为策略的模型，在蚁群和种群水平上都实现了资源和空间利用的最大化。
