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Swimming Behavior In Temperate Forest Ants., Sarah Frances Handlon
Swimming Behavior In Temperate Forest Ants., Sarah Frances Handlon
College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses
Most terrestrial arthropods are helpless in water, and falling from a tree into a flooded forest understory should be especially problematic for small, cursorial organisms like ants. Whereas many species of tropical arboreal ants can tread across the water surface (i.e., swim), less is known of this behavior in temperate forest ants. I tested for swimming ability in various ant species collected from tree trunks in Kentucky. Results show that Camponotus pennsylvanicus, and C. nearcticus, are strong swimmers (operationally defined as directed motion at speeds > 3 body lengths per sec.), while Crematogaster ashmeadi, and Monomorium minimum tend to struggle and …