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The fast and the fractalous: speed and tortuosity trade off in running ants

  1. M. J. Angilletta Jr1,*,
  2. T. C. Roth II1,†,
  3. R. S. Wilson2,
  4. A. C. Niehaus2,
  5. P. L. Ribeiro3

Article first published online: 26 OCT 2007

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2007.01348.x

Issue

Functional Ecology

Functional Ecology

Volume 22, Issue 1, pages 78–83, February 2008

Additional Information

How to Cite

Angilletta, M. J., Roth II, T. C., Wilson, R. S., Niehaus, A. C. and Ribeiro, P. L. (2008), The fast and the fractalous: speed and tortuosity trade off in running ants. Functional Ecology, 22: 78–83. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2007.01348.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Ecology and Organismal Biology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA;

  2. 2

    School of Integrative Biology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia; and

  3. 3

    Department of Physiology, Institute of Biosciences, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

  1. †

    Present address. Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA.

* *Correspondence author. E-mail: mangilletta@indstate.edu

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 26 OCT 2007
  2. Article first published online: 26 OCT 2007
  3. Received 4 May 2007; accepted 19 September 2007; Handling Editor: Jeffrey Walker

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Keywords:

  • fractal dimension;
  • locomotor performance;
  • protean movement;
  • speed;
  • temperature

Summary

  • 1
    The thermal sensitivity of locomotor performance has often been described in terms of speed, but the trajectory of locomotion may play an equally important role in capturing prey or escaping predators. Hypotheses based on physical constraints or behavioural plasticity predict relationships between the speed and the tortuosity of running, which should affect the thermal sensitivity of locomotion.
  • 2
    We measured the speed and tortuosity of running by leaf-cutter ants over a range of temperatures from 10 °C to 40 °C. Tortuosity was estimated by the fractal dimension of each path.
  • 3
    As we expected, ants ran faster at higher temperatures, but they also followed straighter (less tortuous) paths. A negative relationship between speed and tortuosity was observed both within and among thermal environments.
  • 4
    Both biomechanical and behavioural mechanisms might have caused the observed relationship. Turning at high speeds should be more difficult because of the force needed to overcome inertia, and turning at low speeds could help ants evade a predator. Staged encounters with predators should help to define the ecological significance of the trade-off between speed and tortuosity.
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