Landmark navigation in a mantis shrimp
Abstract
Mantis shrimp commonly occupy burrows in shallow, tropical waters. These habitats are often structurally complex where many potential landmarks are available. Mantis shrimp of the speciesNeogonodactylus oerstediireturn to their burrows between foraging excursions using path integration, a vector-based navigational strategy that is prone to accumulated error. Here, we show thatN. oerstediican navigate using landmarks in parallel with their path integration system, correcting for positional uncertainty generated when navigating using solely path integration. We also report that when the path integration and landmark navigation systems are placed in conflict,N. oerstediiwill orientate using either system or even switch systems enroute. How they make the decision to trust one navigational system over another is unclear. These findings add to our understanding of the refined navigational toolkitN. oerstediirelies upon to efficiently navigate back to its burrow, complementing its robust, yet error prone, path integration system with landmark guidance.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Oct 07, 2020
- Source ID
- 10.1098/rspb.2020.1898
Entities
People
- Rickesh N Patel
- Thomas W Cronin
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County