Abstract
If an animal that learns to respond to a visual stimulus presented to only one eye can continue to respond accurately when the stimulus is presented to the other eye, it is said to exhibit interocular transfer (IOT). IOT has been studied extensively in many groups of vertebrates1–11, but there is only one conclusive report of IOT in an invertebrate (Octopus)12. Here we demonstrate that an insect, the desert ant Cataglyphis, exhibits IOT when it navigates by the pattern of polarized light in the sky, but shows no IOT when it uses landmarks for orientation. This marked difference in behavioural performance may help to elucidate the neural strategies adopted by insects when using celestial (polarization) and terrestrial cues for navigation.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Rensch, B. Gedächtnis, Begriffsbildung und Planhandlung bei Tieren (Parey, Berlin, 1973).
Hamilton, C. R. in Analysis of Visual Behavior (eds Ingle, D. J., Goodale, M. A. & Mansfield, R. J. W.) 693–717 (MIT Press, 1982).
Berlucchi, G. in Changing Concepts of the Nervous System (eds Strick, P. L. & Morrison, A. R.) 321–336 (Academic, London, 1982).
Robinson, S. R. Brain Behav. Evol. 21, 114–124 (1982).
Ptito, M. & Lepore, F. Nature 301, 513–515 (1983).
Mohn, G. & Steele Russell, I. Behav. Brain Res. 7, 371–378 (1983).
Goodale, M. A. & Graves, J. A. in Analysis of Visual Behavior (eds Ingle, D. J., Goodale, M. A. & Mansfield, R. J. W.) 211–240 (MIT Press, 1982).
Mihara, M. & Watanebe, S. Behav. Brain Res. 4, 411–416 (1982).
Mallin, H. D. & Delius, J. D. Behav. Analyt. Lett. 3, 297–309 (1983).
Schulte, A. Z. vergl. Physiol. 39, 432–476 (1957).
Ingle, D. Brain Behav. Evol. 1, 58–85 (1968).
Muntz, W. R. A. J. comp. Physiol. Psychol. 54, 49–55 (1961).
Stavenga, D. G. in Handbook of Sensory Physiology Vol. 7, Pt 6a (ed. Autrum, H.) 357–439 (Springer, Berlin, 1979).
Wehner, R. & Srinivasan, M. in Insect Communication (ed. Lewis, T.) 29–47 (Academic, London, 1984).
Wehner, R. Senckenberg. biol. 64, 89–132 (1983).
Wehner, R. A. Rev. Ent. 29, 277–298 (1984).
Wehner, R. NeujBl. naturf. Ges. Zürich 184, 1–132 (1982).
Schmid-Hempel, P. thesis, Univ. Zurich (1983).
Cartwright, B. A. & Collett, T. S. J. comp. Physiol. 151, 521–543 (1983).
Wehner, R. in Neuroethology and Behavioral Physiology (eds Huber, F. & Markl, H.) 366–381 (Springer, Berlin, 1983).
Sherry, D. F., Krebs, J. R. & Cowie, R. J. Anim. Behav. 29, 1260–1266 (1981).
Wehner, R. & Strasser, S. Physiol. Ent. (in the press).
Rossel, S. & Wehner, R. J. comp. Physiol. A154, 607–615 (1984).
Wehner, R. & Rossel, S. in Experimental Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (eds Hoelldobler, B. & Lindauer, M.) 11–53 (Fischer, Stuttgart, 1985).
Batschelet, E. Circular Statistics in Biology (Academic, London, 1981).
Masuhr, T. & Menzel, R. in Information Processing in the Visual Systems of Arthropods (ed. Wehner, R.) 315–321 (Springer, Berlin, 1972).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wehner, R., Müller, M. Does interocular transfer occur in visual navigation by ants?. Nature 315, 228–229 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/315228a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/315228a0
This article is cited by
-
Advice on comparing two independent samples of circular data in biology
Scientific Reports (2021)
-
Long-leggedness in cataglyphoid Baltic amber ants
Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments (2020)
-
The Cataglyphis Mahrèsienne: 50 years of Cataglyphis research at Mahrès
Journal of Comparative Physiology A (2019)
-
Transfer of directional information between the polarization compass and the sun compass in desert ants
Journal of Comparative Physiology A (2015)
-
Walking Drosophila align with the e-vector of linearly polarized light through directed modulation of angular acceleration
Journal of Comparative Physiology A (2014)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.