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Treadmilling and dynamic protrusions in fire ant rafts
Robert J Wagner1, Kristen Such2, Ethan Hobbs3
1Mechanical Engineering Department, Material Science and Engineering Program, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 USA.
Journal of the Royal Society, Interface
|June 29, 2021
Summary
Fire ants form dynamic, tether-like structures when rafts encounter vertical surfaces. These protrusions emerge from asymmetric ant deposition, aiding exploration and escape in flooded environments.
Area of Science:
- Animal behavior
- Biophysics
- Collective intelligence
Background:
- Fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) create buoyant rafts for survival in floods.
- These rafts are dynamic structures composed of interconnected ants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the formation of tether-like protrusions from fire ant rafts docked to vertical surfaces.
- To understand the mechanisms driving sustained shape evolution and protrusion emergence in fire ant rafts.
Main Methods:
- Experimental observation of fire ant rafts interacting with stationary rods.
- Development and application of a self-propelled particle model under confinement.
Main Results:
- Fire ant rafts exhibit sustained shape evolution through competing contraction and expansion mechanisms.
- Tether-like protrusions form due to asymmetric deposition rates of ants at raft edges.
- Stochastic effects, wall accumulation, and confined ant motion contribute to protrusion formation.
Conclusions:
- Asymmetric ant deposition, driven by stochastic and confined motion, leads to spontaneous protrusion formation.
- These protrusions serve functional roles in exploration and escape for fire ants in flooded conditions.
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