Foraging Behaviour in Leaf-cutting Ants

In this activity students investigate the foraging preferences of leaf-cutting ants. This task is designed for students to collect data by observing film footage of the ants’ behaviour. Students analyse the data using the chi-square test and interpret the outcome in relation to their test statistic. This task also includes ‘How Science Works’ and application of knowledge questions for students to consider aspects of the experimental design and behaviour of leaf-cutting ants.

There are also two extension activities focusing on two further statistical analyses:

[b]‘Are females better parents than males?’[/b] Students will need to apply the standard error and 95% confidence limits to data collected in an investigation on the behaviour of burying
beetles.

[b]‘Is there a relationship between the forewing lengths of moths?’[/b] Students will need to apply the Spearman rank correlation test to data collected about the left and right forewing lengths in large yellow underwing moths.

This resource was provided by the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB).