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diff --git a/src/intro2.i b/src/intro2.i new file mode 100644 index 0000000..966688c --- /dev/null +++ b/src/intro2.i @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +Antlions, like many predators, collect prey by passively trapping them +in pits of their own design. +But only so many pits can fit in so much space, so antlions have +evolved the means to distribute their prey-catching. +Antlions, being members of the same species, likely cooperate to create +the best results for continued reproduction. +However, the methods by which they might communicate are unclear. +The individuals certainly are not intelligent enough to deliberately +construct a social framework by careful analysis, and pheremones require +much more machinery than can be expected of an invertebrate's larvae. + +In a previous study, it was observed that spatial constraints do affect +the organization of the group, especially in terms of the depth and +width of the pits which form. +Those antlions which do form pits form smaller pits, possibly to allow +for the introduction of a greater quantity of ants (antlions' primary +prey) +There are three hypothetical means by which they could discover their +environment: the trails other antlions leave, the obstacles which they +see in their environment, and the presence of gradients created by other +antlions. +To study which of these was the primary method by which their behavior +is determined, each of these pathways was interrupted, either with +artificial obstacles, artifical pits, or artificial removal of the trail +lines created by their migrations. +Similar to the previous study, pit depth, width, the distance to the +nearest neighbor, and coordinate organization were recorded. +Through prior investigation and research it was determined that antlions +generally tend to avoid highly aggressive competition and likely form +semi-hexagonal patterns to evenly distribute resources across the +population (given that each individual could only consume so many ants). + +These facts created the conditions for the development of this +hypothesis: ``Antlions likely lack an intelligent mode of communication, +so interruptions in the environment (removal of trails, introduction of +physical obstacles, fictional pits) will not impact their ability to +form nesting patterns, except insofar as they cannot nest immediately +adjacent to the obstacles because the primary regulating method is +cannibalism.'' +The dependent variables throughout the experiment were the settlement +patterns and behaviors of the antlions, which were quantified through +the nearest neighbor calculation, pit depth and width, and the number of +dead antlions. +The previous study will be examined as a control trial (as it had no +artificial interruptions), and two box sizes were used in this +experiment to see how a bottom-up behavioral explanation compares to +top-down social organization. +The restriction of available space may show up in the artificial +obstacle trial as a large explanatory variable for the antlions' +organizational choices. |