Schultheiss, P. & Guénard, B.

Kinematic study of six mangrove ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) reveals different swimming styles and abilities

Most insects are morphologically and behaviourally adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle, and many species struggle if they fall onto the water surface. Yet, some terrestrial species exhibit an efficient aquatic locomotion ability that enables them to escape such perilous environments. Here, we perform a comparative study that investigates swimming behaviour in six taxonomically diverse arboreal species of ants from a mangrove habitat and describe the leg kinematics in detail. Across species, we find large differences in the speed and directedness of their swimming locomotion, and correspondingly large differences in swimming styles, that is, leg kinematics and synchronisation patterns. Our results demonstrate that some species do in fact display behavioural adaptations for efficient and directed swimming, and that their locomotion patterns are not analogous to those observed during walking. Ultimately, we suggest that the study of swimming behaviour in ants may provide an interesting system for investigating adaptive locomotion kinematics in contrasting environments.

Open access, licensed under CC BY 4.0. © 2021 The Author(s).

Schultheiss, P. & Guénard, B.

Kinematic study of six mangrove ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) reveals different swimming styles and abilities

Most insects are morphologically and behaviourally adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle, and many species struggle if they fall onto the water surface. Yet, some terrestrial species exhibit an efficient aquatic locomotion ability that enables them to escape such perilous environments. Here, we perform a comparative study that investigates swimming behaviour in six taxonomically diverse arboreal species of ants from a mangrove habitat and describe the leg kinematics in detail. Across species, we find large differences in the speed and directedness of their swimming locomotion, and correspondingly large differences in swimming styles, that is, leg kinematics and synchronisation patterns. Our results demonstrate that some species do in fact display behavioural adaptations for efficient and directed swimming, and that their locomotion patterns are not analogous to those observed during walking. Ultimately, we suggest that the study of swimming behaviour in ants may provide an interesting system for investigating adaptive locomotion kinematics in contrasting environments.

Open access, licensed under CC BY 4.0. © 2021 The Author(s).