Description
"The uses of interaction patterns may be as diverse as the ants. Harvester ants use interaction rates to regulate forag- ing; the acorn ants Temnothorax use them to assess nestmate density in a new nest site; Pheidole pallidula uses interaction patterns, mediated by trail pheromone, to get large ants out when needed to retrieve large prey. If I could measure one behavioral trait for every ant species, it would be the rhythm of interactions. We could put them all together to hear the whole symphony of ant diversity, with the percussion from the opportunistic and touchy ants of the tropics, the basso ostinato of the sedate red wood ants as they move up and down the same trees decade after…
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