An international study of how Argentine ants find their way through a changing maze could lead to more flexible computer algorithms, researchers say.
Biologist Chris Reid of the University of Sydney collected 60 ant colonies from university grounds, and forced them to navigate a diamond-shaped maze to reach a food source one metre away.
The Perspex maze was a graphical representation of a three-disc, three-rod version of the Towers of Hanoi puzzle, and allowed for 32,768 possible paths from one end to another.
All ant colonies were able to construct a trail between the nest and food source, with 93.3 percent of the colonies finding the shortest route within one hour.
Researchers then blocked off certain paths with a vertical plastic wall to find out how ants would adapt to a change in the maze."
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