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Additional Navigational Strategies Can Augment Odor-Gated Rheotaxis for Navigation under Conditions of Variable Flow
Gabrielle Vasey1, Ryan Lukeman1, Russell C Wyeth2
1*Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, St Francis Xavier University, P.O. Box 5000, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada B2G 2W5;
Integrative and Comparative Biology
|June 28, 2015
Summary
Animals navigating turbulent odor plumes can improve their search success by augmenting odor-gated rheotaxis with strategies like random walks or following the last-known flow direction. These enhanced movements increase the probability of locating odor sources in variable flow conditions.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Ecology
- Fluid Dynamics
- Mathematical Modeling
Background:
- Animals use olfactory cues for navigation, often relying on odor-gated rheotaxis in turbulent plumes.
- Variable flow can disrupt odor plumes, causing animals to lose contact with the chemical signal.
- Effective navigation strategies are crucial for animals locating resources and mates via olfaction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that augmenting odor-gated rheotaxis improves odor source localization in variable flow.
- To mathematically model animal navigation strategies in stochastic, variable-direction odor plumes.
- To compare the efficacy of different augmented movement strategies.
Main Methods:
- Developed a mathematical model linking stochastic odor plumes with intermittent chemical signals.
- Simulated four movement strategies: odor-gated rheotaxis alone and three augmented versions.
- Analyzed strategy performance based on animal speed, flow variation, and augmentation duration.
Main Results:
- All three augmented strategies (random walk, last-known heading, additional rheotaxis) outperformed strict odor-gated rheotaxis.
- The optimal strategy varied with animal speed, flow variability, and augmentation duration.
- Augmenting with a random walk or following the last-known flow heading were generally the most effective.
Conclusions:
- Augmenting odor-gated rheotaxis with additional movements enhances the probability of finding odor sources in turbulent, variable flows.
- Mathematical modeling provides valuable insights into animal navigation under complex environmental conditions.
- Findings suggest marine animals may employ such augmented strategies for olfactory navigation.
