Studying how animals learn, use information strategically, and evaluate their options
Animal Comparative Economics lab
From the ACE lab and by TJ Czaczkes
Publications
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Koch A, Kabas M, Czaczkes TJ (2024) No evidence thatrecruitment pheromone modulates olfactory, visual, or spatial learning in the ant Lasius niger. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
Trigos-Peral G, et al (2024) Urban abiotic stressors drive changes in the foraging activity and colony growth of the black garden ant Lasius niger. Science of the Total Enviroment
Zanola D, Czaczkes TJ, Roxana J (2024) Ants evade harmful food by active abandonment. Communications Biology
Poissonnier L-A, Hartmann Y, Czaczkes TJ (2023) Ants combine object affordance with latent learning to make efficient foraging decisions. PNAS
Wagner T, Czaczkes TJ (2023) Corpse-associated odours elivit avoidence in invasive ants. Pest management Science
Beyer et al. (2023) Testing presence of directionality information in female spider silk trails through male trail-following behavior. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology
Czaczkes TJ, Koch A, Schmid S, Trindl A, Heinze J, Cordonnier M (2023) Not Dear Neighbours: Antennation and jerking, but not aggression, correlate with genetic relatedness and spatial distance in the ant Lasius niger. Ecological Entomology
Wagner T, Galante H, Josens R, Czaczkes TJ (2023) Systematic examination of learning in the invasive ant Linepithema humile reveals fast learning and long-lasting memory. Animal Behaviour.
Galante H, Czaczkes TJ (2023) Invasive ant learning is not affected by seven potential neuroactive chemicals. Current Zoology
De Agrò M, Matschunas C, Czaczkes TJ (2022) Bundling and segregation affect
pheromone deposition, but not choice, in an ant. eLife
Oberhauser FB, Bogenberger K, Czaczkes TJ (2022) Ants prefer the option they are trained to first. Journal of Experimental Biology
Czaczkes TJ (2022) Advanced cognition in ants. Myrmecological News
Czaczkes TJ, Berger A, Koch A, Dreisbach G (2021) Conflict interference in ant insect. Journal of Comparative Psychology
Wenig K, Bach R, Czaczkes TJ (2021) Hard limits to cognitive flexibility: ants can learn to ignore but not avoid pheromone trails. Journal of Experimental Biology
De Agrò M, Grimwade D, Bach R, Czaczkes TJ (2021) Irrational risk aversion in an ant Animal Cognition
Koch A, Czaczkes TJ (2020) No specialist pheromone-ignoring ants in Lasius niger Ecological Entomology
Czaczkes TJ, Kumar P (2020) Very rapid multi-odour discrimination learning in the ant Lasius niger Insectes Sociaux
Oberhauser FB, Koch, A, de Agro M, Rex K, Czaczkes TJ (2020) Ants resort to heuristics when facing tasks they cannot solve. Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Wendt S, Kleinhölting N, Czaczkes TJ (2020) Negative feedback: Ants choose unoccupied over occupied food sources and lay more pheromone to them. Journal of the Royal Society: Interface
Wendt S, Czaczkes TJ (2020) Labelling effect in insects: cue associations influence perceived food value in ants (Lasius niger). Journal of Comparative Psychology
Czaczkes TJ (2020) Communication: Recruitment to Resources. In: Starr C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Social Insects. Springer, Cham.
Jones A, Czaczkes TJ, Gallager AJ, Oberhauser FB, Gourlay E, Bacon JP (2019) Copy when uncertain: lower light levels increase trail pheromone depositing and reliance on pheromone trails in ants. Animal Behaviour 156, 87-95
Oberhauser FB, Middleton EJT, Latty T, & Czaczkes TJ (2019) Meat ants cut more trail shortcuts when facing longer detours. Journal of Experimental Biology 222 (21)
Czaczkes TJ, Beckwith JJ, Horsh A-L, & Hartig F (2019) The multi-dimensional nature of information drives prioritization of private over social information in ant.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B 20191136
Wendt S, Strunk, KS, Heinze J, Roider, A, & Czaczkes TJ (2019) Positive and negative incentive contrasts lead to relative value perception in ants. eLife 45450
Giehr J, Czaczkes TJ & Heinze J (2019) Sanitary behavior in queenright and queenless ant colonies. Behavioural Processes 164 86-90
Oberhauser FB, Schlemm A, Wendt S, & Czaczkes TJ (2019) Private information conflict: Ants prefer olfactory cues to route memory. Animal Cognition 22 (3) 355-364
Grüter C & Czaczkes TJ (2019) Communication in social insects and how it is shapred by individual experience. Animal Behaviour 151 207-215
Czaczkes TJ, Urrutia A-MB, Ghislandi P, & Tuni C (2018) reduced light avoidance in spiders from populations in light-polluted urban environments.
Oberhauser FB, Koch A & Czaczkes TJ (2018) Small differences in learning speed for different food qualities can drive efficient collective foraging in ant colonies. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
Oberhauser FB, & Czaczkes TJ (2018) Tasting the unexpected: diconfirmation of experations leads to lower perceived food value in an invertebrate. Biology Letters 14: 20180440
Czaczkes TJ, Brandstetter B, di Stefano I, & Heinze J (2018) Greater effort increases perceived value in an invertebrate. Journal of Comparative Psychology
Czaczkes TJ, Koch A, Fröber K, & Dreisbach G (2018) Voluntary switching in an invertebrate: the effect of cue and reward change. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition
Czaczkes TJ (2018) Using T- and Y-mazes in myrmecology and elsewhere: a practical guide. Insectes Sociaux, 65(2), 213–224.
von Thienen W & Czaczkes TJ (2018) Do Ants Use Ant Colony Optimization? In Shortest Path Solvers. From Software to Wetware (pp. 265–291). Springer, Cham.
Bayer M, Czaczkes, TJ, & Tuni C (2018). Does silk mediate chemical communication between the sexes in a nuptial feeding spider? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 72 (49).
Bernadou A, Czaczkes TJ & Heinze (2017) From inside to outside and back again: changing waste dump formation, defecation and worker localization in a clonal ant
Wendt S & Czaczkes TJ (2017) Individual ant workers show self-control
Popp S, Buckham-Bonnett P, Evison SEF, Robinson EJH & Czaczkes TJ (2017)
No evidence for tactile communication of direction in foraging Lasius ants
Physiological Entomology 42 (1), 91-97
Bruce AI, Czaczkes TJ, Burd M. (2017) Tall trails: ants resolve an asymmetry of information and capacity in collective maintenance of infrastructure. Animal Behaviour 127, 179-185.
Journal of Experimental Biology 21:5, 744-751
Czaczkes TJ, Grüter C, Ratnieks FLW. (2015) Trail pheromones: an integrative view of their role in colony organisation. Annual Review of Entomology 60:581–599.
Czaczkes TJ, Czaczkes B, Iglhaut C, Heinze J. (2015) Composite collective decision-making. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 282.
Czaczkes TJ, Heinze J. (2015) Ants respond to a changing environment and making errors by adjusting pheromone deposition.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B Sciences 282.
Czaczkes TJ, Franz S, Witte V, Heinze J. (2015) Perception of collective path use affects path selection in ants. Animal Behaviour 99:15–24.
Czaczkes TJ, Heinze J, Ruther J. (2015) Nest Etiquette—Where Ants Go When Nature Calls. PLoS ONE 10:e0118376.
Couvillon MJ, Walter CM, Blows EM, Czaczkes TJ, Alton KL, Ratnieks FLW. (2015) Busy Bees: Variation in Insect Flower-Visiting Rates across Multiple Plant Species. Psyche 2015:e134630.
Czaczkes TJ. (2014) How to not get stuck – negative feedback due to crowding maintains flexibility in ant foraging. Journal of Theoretical Biology 360:172–180.
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 68:981–988.
Forster A, Czaczkes TJ, Warner E, Woodall T, Martin E, Ratnieks FLW. (2014) Effect of trail bifurcation asymmetry and pheromone presence or absence on trail choice by Lasius niger ants. Ethology 120:768–771.
Czaczkes TJ, Grüter C, Ratnieks FLW. (2013) Negative feedback in ants: crowding results in less trail pheromone deposition.
Journal of the Royal Society: Interface 10.
Journal of Experimental Biology16:188–197.
Czaczkes TJ, Vollet-Neto A, Ratnieks FLW. (2013) Prey escorting behavior and possible convergent evolution of foraging recruitment mechanisms in an invasive ant. Behavioral Ecology 24:1177–1184.
Czaczkes TJ, Ratnieks FLW. (2013) Cooperative Transport in Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and elsewhere. Myrmecological News:1–11.
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 66:1149–1156.
Czaczkes TJ, Grüter C, Jones SM, Ratnieks FLW. (2012) Uncovering the complexity of ant foraging trails. Communicative and Integrative Biology. 5:78–80.
Grüter C, Schürch R, Czaczkes TJ, Taylor K, Durance T, Jones SM, Ratnieks FLW. (2012) Negative feedback enables fast and flexible collective decision-making in ants. PLoS One 7:e44501.
Jones S, van Zweden J, Grüter C, Menezes C, Alves D, Nunes-Silva P, Czaczkes TJ, Imperatriz-Fonseca V, Ratnieks FLW. (2012) The role of wax and resin in the nestmate recognition system of a stingless bee, Tetragonisca angustula. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 66:1–12.
Czaczkes TJ, Ratnieks FLW. (2011) Simple rules result in the adaptive turning of food items to reduce drag during cooperative food transport in the ant Pheidole oxyops. Insectes Sociaux. 58:91–96.
Czaczkes TJ, Nouvellet P, Ratnieks FLW. (2011) Cooperative food transport in the Neotropical ant, Pheidole oxyops. Insectes Sociaux. 58:153–161.
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 64:141–148.
Lewis OT, Martin M, Czaczkes TJ. (2008) Effects of trail gradient on leaf tissue transport and load size selection in leaf-cutter ants. Behavioral Ecology. 19:805 –809.
