Decision making by Pheidole oxyops (1908) Forel through different resource types

• Grant number: 17/09558-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2017
• End date: February 28, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Animal Behavior
• Principal Investigator: Fábio Santos do Nascimento
• Grantee: Felipe Pereira da Rocha
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Ants are organisms of extreme importance to many environments. They mark their presence in almost every corner of the world due to their high degree of cooperation and organization in the nest. Cooperation that can be seen in 40 genera among ants' subfamilies. Cooperative transport behaviour allows these ants to be successful in the search and transport of resources than other ant species. Part of all their success comes from fluidity in task allocation when faced with a valuable and abundant resource or necessity, a concept better applied than division of labour, which refers us to learning and specialization, something barely seen in ants in general. An ant seen in soil assemblages in São Paulo state and also working cooperatively in the retrieval of food items to the nest is Pheidole oxyops. This project aims at studying further into this kind of behaviour so we can better understand the rules of decision taken by the foragers facing the food item, as well as the organization around the item for the retrieval process, as we know that these behaviours have been less studied than others in ants foraging, like pheromone trail laying. All statistical analysis will be done using software R®. (AU)