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Most experiments (n=17) were unsuccessful, in that ants began raiding out from the column to form trails that cross-linked various parts of the loop. Burdened ants on these trails moved in differing directions
In one experiment, 20.5±10.7 s/5 cm (¯X±S.D., n=12) for ants working in groups of three to carry seeds at 0.5 m from the transition area, compared to 7.9±1.4 (n=12) for similar groups at 1.5 m from that area; p<0.01, Mann-Whitney U test
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I thank D. Fletcher and D. Murphy for field assistance, and N. Carlin, D. Maddison, R.J. Stuart, and E.O. Wilson for comments on the manuscript. Funded by the National Geographic Society.
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Moffett, M.W. Ants that go with the flow: a new method of orientation by mass communication. Naturwissenschaften 74, 551–553 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00367078
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00367078