0000000000315621
AUTHOR
Yehonatan Samocha
showing 3 related works from this author
Limited perceptual range and presence of conspecifics both affect the ability of pit-building wormlions to choose favorable microhabitats
2020
Abstract When choosing among several potential habitats, animals should strive to choose the habitat that provides the highest fitness. When animals choose habitats that do not provide the best possible fitness, there is a mismatch between habitat preference and performance. A common reason is that of limited information or perceptual range. Sit-and-wait predators are particularly deficient in information, due to spending most of their time in ambushing prey and, when they do travel, they cover only short distances. Here, we studied the effect of placing pit-building wormlions at a short distance from their preferred microhabitats, on the likelihood of them choosing it. When placed on the b…
Comparison of wormlion behavior under man-made and natural shelters: urban wormlions more strongly prefer shaded, fine-sand microhabitats, construct …
2019
Abstract Urban habitats differ from their natural surroundings in various aspects, such as a higher temperature and a distinct species composition. It is therefore not surprising that animal behavior too differs between these habitat types. We studied the foraging and habitat selection behavior of a pit-building predator, a wormlion, originating from either an urban or a more natural site. Wormlions occur in nature under structures that provide shelter from sunlight and rain, such as caves, and are also common in cities, occurring under artificial shelters. Wormlions construct pit-traps to hunt arthropods, and the pits constructed by urban wormlions were larger than those constructed by wor…
The effect of maze complexity on maze-solving time in a desert ant
2019
One neglected aspect of research on foraging behavior is that of the effect of obstacles that increase habitat complexity on foraging efficiency. Here, we explored how long it takes individually foraging desert ant workers (Cataglyphis niger) to reach a food reward in a maze, and examined whether maze complexity affects maze-solving time (the time elapsed till the first worker reached the food reward). The test mazes differed in their complexity level, or the relative number of correct paths leading to the food reward, vs. wrong paths leading to dead-ends. Maze-solving time steeply increased with maze complexity, but was unaffected by colony size, despite the positive correlation between co…