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Association of olfactory learning with cuticular hydrocarbon discrimination in the ant Camponotus floridanus

Description
Communication amongst eusocial insect is key to their success. Ants rely on signaling to mediate many different functions within a colony such as policing and nest mate recognition. Camponotus floridanus uses chemosensory signaling in the form of cuticular hydrocarbons to regulate these functions. Each cuticular hydrocarbon profile contains numerous hydrocarbons,…

Communication amongst eusocial insect is key to their success. Ants rely on signaling to mediate many different functions within a colony such as policing and nest mate recognition. Camponotus floridanus uses chemosensory signaling in the form of cuticular hydrocarbons to regulate these functions. Each cuticular hydrocarbon profile contains numerous hydrocarbons, however it is yet to be seen if Camponotus floridanus can discriminate between linear hydrocarbons of similar length. Individual specimens were conditioned in three different ways: 5 conditioning with high concentration of sugar water (1;1 ratio), 1 conditioning with high concentration of sugar water, and 5 conditioning with low concentration of sugar water (1;4). Two linear hydrocarbons were use, C23 and C24, with C23 always being the conditioned stimulus. Specimens who were conditioned 5 times with high concentration of sugar water were the only group to show a significant response to the conditioned stimulus with a p-value of .008 and exhibited discrimination behavior 46% of the time. When compared 5 conditioning with high concentration to the other two testing conditioning groups, 1 conditioning with high concentration produced an insignificant p-value of .13 was obtained whereas when comparing it with 5 conditioning low concentration of sugar a significant p-value of .0132 was obtained. This indiciates that Camponotus floridanus are capable of discrimination however must be conditioned with high concentration of sugar water, while number of conditioning is insignificant.
ContributorsDamari, Ben Aviv (Author) / Liebig, Juergen (Thesis director) / Ghaninia, Majid (Committee member) / Pratt, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Policy in Action in Standards-Based Assessment Reform: An Exploratory Case Study Using Actor Network Theory

Description
A group of educators and administrators in an international school in Thailand collaborated for a year to devise and publish a policy document with aim to reform assessment practices of its faculty. The group’s beliefs derived from standards-based assessment leaders and its broad aim was to build a more coherent,…

A group of educators and administrators in an international school in Thailand collaborated for a year to devise and publish a policy document with aim to reform assessment practices of its faculty. The group’s beliefs derived from standards-based assessment leaders and its broad aim was to build a more coherent, accurate, and meaningful assessment system. Using Actor Network Theory as its theoretical perspective, this mixed-methods action research study explored the extent that the policy document changed the beliefs and practices of the faculty, the assessment materials within the system itself, and what other factors may also help account for any changes. The first finding is that the policy did lead to observable changes in practices of faculty traced in tests, quizzes, and the gradebooks that record assessments. A second finding is that the impact of the policy as an agent for change depends on the frequency that it is referenced.
ContributorsMeisner, Nathan Robert (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth (Thesis advisor) / Marsh, Josephine (Committee member) / Heslip, Robin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021