Nest attributes influence choice accuracy, but not decision latency in acorn ants.

ABSTRACT: Decision making can have significant fitness consequences across various aspects of animal life. For acorn ants, Temnothorax curvispinosus, choosing a new nest quickly and accurately can affect the survival and fitness of the whole colony. When emigrating, ants consider several nest attributes such as cavity shape, height, and brightness. Ants may benefit from having more attributes differentiating potential nests only if they can quickly and accurately assess all possible attributes and make well-informed decisions. Here, we asked if the number and type of attributes differentiating potential nests affected the accuracy and latency of colony decision-making. We used pair-wise tests, where potential nests differed in one to three attributes, with one nest within the pair considered less op

SUBMITTER: Chan SS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12810839 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature