Fewell Jennifer H
Department of Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology, University of Colorado, 80309-0334, Boulder, CO, USA.
Oecologia. 1990 Jan;82(1):45-51. doi: 10.1007/BF00318532.
Understanding the foraging behavior of an animal is critically dependent upon knowledge of the constraints on that animal. In this study, I tested whether fidelity to foraging direction acts as a behavioral constraint to foraging western harvester ants, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis. Individual P. occidentalis foragers showed strong fidelity to foraging route and direction. Directional fidelity in this population was not related to trunk trail use, food specialization, colony activity levels, or mortality risks. Directional fidelity constrained individual foraging decisions; when colonies were offered seeds of different quality in 2 directions, individuals did not switch directions to obtain the energetically more rewarding seeds. Colony-level recruitment was increased for energetically more profitable seeds, indicating that colonial responses may compensate for the constraints of directional fidelity on individual foragers.
了解动物的觅食行为严重依赖于对该动物所受限制的认识。在本研究中，我测试了对觅食方向的忠诚度是否对西方收获蚁（Pogonomyrmex occidentalis）的觅食行为构成行为限制。西方收获蚁的个体觅食者对觅食路线和方向表现出强烈的忠诚度。该种群中的方向忠诚度与主干道使用、食物专一性、蚁群活动水平或死亡风险无关。方向忠诚度限制了个体的觅食决策；当向蚁群在两个方向提供不同质量的种子时，个体不会改变方向去获取能量回报更高的种子。对于能量回报更高的种子，蚁群层面的招募有所增加，这表明蚁群的反应可能会弥补方向忠诚度对个体觅食者的限制。
