Ant Cooperation

Description:  Ants show one of the highest forms of social (or group) interactions, known as eusociality. In the following two videos ants work together to carry a large food item and create a bridge made of ants. The individual goals of ants are less important than the overall goals of the colony. Bees, wasps, termites and even some mammals (like the the naked mole-rat) show a similar behavior.

Web Resource: Eusociality - Wikipedia

This is a perfect example of mother Nature's idea of team work, we should learn from it and use it in our everyday life, there is no hard task that a TEAM cannot FINISH! two men are smarter than one man. A whole group of men and women are definitely smarter then two men.

Weaver ants (Oecophylla spp) live in canopies where their territories span multiple trees. They therefore need to travel between trees and for this they have developed ability to bridge gaps between twigs and leaves. They grab each other with their mandibles and build a bridge of connected ants.

Can Prairie Dogs Talk?

Description: Biology Professor Con Slobdochikoff and his team have shown that prairie dogs have a complex language for communicating danger from predators. Dogs, badgers, coyotes, and humans all have distinctive calls to alert the other members of the colony. Dr. Slobdochikoff has even shown that these warning calls can have descriptors (e.g. a large human with a green shirt is approaching). This phenomenon can be used to show the advantages of group living as well as information sensation, processing, and behavior / memory formation.

Web Resource:  Can Prairie Dogs Talk? - The New York Times

Biologist Professor Con Slobdochikoff and his team have been listening closely to the squeaky barks of the prairie dogs - America's answer to the meerkat. Could their seemingly simple communication be far more intricate than first though?

Dolphins and Humans Fishing Together

Description:  Bottlenose dolphins in Laguna, Brazil have learned to fish with humans. The dolphins drive shoals of mullet towards the human fisherman and then give a signal. The fisherman throw their nets which catch the fish and drive some of them back into the mouths of waiting dolphins. This mutualistic behavior benefits both the humans and the dolphins.

Web Resource: New Scientist Article

Wild dolphins in the coastal town of Laguna, Brazil have formed a strong symbiotic bond with fishermen working in the bay. The dolphins herd schools of fish towards the shoreline and then give distinct signals telling the fishermen when to cast nets.

Termite Olympics

Description:  This video shows the behavior of worker termites released onto a piece of paper with the Olympic rings drawn in pen.  Termites will follow a single line of ink as well.

Web Resource:  Why do termites follow an ink line?