Risk evaluation and decision making in slavemaking ants

From EESwiki

Slavemaking ants show an extraordinary lifestyle. Slavemaker workers are specialized in raiding host nests and stealing the brood. These enslaved host workers then forage and raise the brood for the slavemaker colony. As the slavemaker workers face a risk to be injured or killed during the raids, they are expected to be able to choose between host nests, depending on their demography. We plan to collect slavemaker colonies in Germany (Nuremberg region; genus Harpagoxenus) and in the USA (Rensselaerville, NY; genus Protomognathus), and we will perform choice trials in the lab. These raiding experiments allow us to gain insight into risk evaluation and decision making in slavemaking ants.

Contact: Sebastian Pohl, pohl@zi.biologie.uni-muenchen.de

Starting date: May 2009

Field trip  : May 2009 - June 2009

Costs  : We cover flight costs and travel expenses