Odor Trail

2021 ◽  
pp. 677-677
Keyword(s):  
Odor Trail

Olfactory Feedback during Exploratory Behavior by Gerbils

1975 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 935-940
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Wilz
Keyword(s):  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Open Field ◽  
Negative Feedback ◽  
Exploratory Behavior ◽  
Exploratory Activity ◽  
Odor Trail

In two separate experiments the locomotor activity of gerbils ( Ns = 16) was studied in an open field. The subjects were allowed to explore the field and were then returned to the same or an identical one. These were either contaminated or not with the organism's recent odor trail, though visually identical. Considerably less exploratory activity occurred when the field still contained the odor trail set out during the previous exploration. It is argued that the olfactory “marking” operates as a negative feedback device by limiting activity in a previously explored environment.

scholarly journals Sector search strategies for odor trail tracking

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gautam Reddy ◽  
Boris I. Shraiman ◽  
Massimo Vergassola
Keyword(s):  
Close Contact ◽  
Sequential Optimization ◽  
Odor Trail ◽  
Optimization Framework ◽  
Behavioral Paradigm ◽  
Scent Trails ◽  
Loss Of Contact ◽  
Tracking Behavior ◽  
Geometric Elements ◽  
Unified Description

Terrestrial animals such as ants, mice and dogs often use surface-bound scent trails to establish navigation routes or to find food and mates, yet their tracking strategies are poorly understood. Tracking behavior features zig-zagging paths with animals often staying in close contact with the trail. Upon sustained loss of contact, animals execute a characteristic sequence of sweeping “casts” – wide oscillations with increasing amplitude. Here, we provide a unified description of trail-tracking behavior by introducing an optimization framework where animals search in the angular sector defined by their estimate of the trail’s heading and its uncertainty.In silicoexperiments using reinforcement learning based on this hypothesis recapitulate experimentally observed tracking patterns. We show that search geometry imposes limits on the tracking speed, and quantify its dependence on trail statistics and memory of past contacts. By formulating trail-tracking as a Bellman-type sequential optimization problem, we quantify the basic geometric elements of optimal sector search strategy, effectively explaining why and when casting is necessary. We propose a set of experiments to infer how tracking animals acquire, integrate and respond to past information on the tracked trail. More generally, we define navigational strategies relevant for animals and bio-mimetic robots, and formulate trail-tracking as a novel behavioral paradigm for learning, memory and planning.

scholarly journals Pre-exposure and stimulus choice: Effects of odor trail

1968 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lester
Keyword(s):  
Odor Trail ◽  
Stimulus Choice

scholarly journals Observations on Forced Colony Emigration inParachartergus fraternus(Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Epiponini): New Nest Site Marked with Sprayed Venom

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidnei Mateus
Keyword(s):  
Nest Site ◽  
Dufour's Gland ◽  
Chemical Cue ◽  
Odor Trail ◽  
End Point ◽  
Behavioral Tasks ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Diffuse Cloud ◽  
Nesting Place ◽  
Dufour's Gland Secretions

Five cases of colony emigration induced by removal of nest envelope and combs and a single one by manipulation are described. The disturbance was followed by defensive patterns, buzz running, and adult dispersion. An odor trail created by abdomen dragging, probably depositing venom or Dufour's gland secretions, connected the original nest to the newly selected nesting place and guided the emigration. The substrate of the selected nesting place is intensely sprayed with venom prior to emigration, and this chemical cue marked the emigration end point. The colony moves to the new site in a diffuse cloud with no temporary clusters formed along the odor trail. At the original nest, scouts performed rapid gaster dragging and intense mouth contacts stimulating inactive individuals to depart. Males were unable to follow the swarm. Individual scouts switched between different behavioral tasks before and after colony emigration. Pulp collected from the old nest was reused at the new nest site.

scholarly journals A new angle on odor trail tracking

2022 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. e2121332119
Author(s):  
Siddharth Jayakumar ◽  
Venkatesh N. Murthy
Keyword(s):  
Odor Trail

scholarly journals Sector search strategies for odor trail tracking

2022 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. e2107431118
Author(s):  
Gautam Reddy ◽  
Boris I. Shraiman ◽  
Massimo Vergassola
Keyword(s):  
Polymer Physics ◽  
Sequential Optimization ◽  
Odor Trail ◽  
Learning Agents ◽  
Search Patterns ◽  
Behavioral Paradigm ◽  
Scent Trails ◽  
Loss Of Contact ◽  
Tracking Behavior ◽  
Geometric Elements

Ants, mice, and dogs often use surface-bound scent trails to establish navigation routes or to find food and mates, yet their tracking strategies remain poorly understood. Chemotaxis-based strategies cannot explain casting, a characteristic sequence of wide oscillations with increasing amplitude performed upon sustained loss of contact with the trail. We propose that tracking animals have an intrinsic, geometric notion of continuity, allowing them to exploit past contacts with the trail to form an estimate of where it is headed. This estimate and its uncertainty form an angular sector, and the emergent search patterns resemble a “sector search.” Reinforcement learning agents trained to execute a sector search recapitulate the various phases of experimentally observed tracking behavior. We use ideas from polymer physics to formulate a statistical description of trails and show that search geometry imposes basic limits on how quickly animals can track trails. By formulating trail tracking as a Bellman-type sequential optimization problem, we quantify the geometric elements of optimal sector search strategy, effectively explaining why and when casting is necessary. We propose a set of experiments to infer how tracking animals acquire, integrate, and respond to past information on the tracked trail. More generally, we define navigational strategies relevant for animals and biomimetic robots and formulate trail tracking as a behavioral paradigm for learning, memory, and planning.

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