Talk:Tandem running

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Aewells14. Peer reviewers: Lauralewis15, Jamespgdaltoniii, Tmeister21, BellaO 2212.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 10:41, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Untitled section 1
wtf is recruitment?
 * Never mind that, wtf is tandem running? A description of what the practice actually entails would be nice, seeing as how this is an encyclopedia n all. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 211.30.122.32 (talk) 07:46, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Untitled section 2
This reads like a dictionary definition not an encyclopedia article. Wood Thrush (talk) 16:45, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

Bella's opinion
I made 2 minor wording edits to your 1st paragraph. Some things to consider: 1) Under your "Teaching and Social Learning" heading, add one of those "Further information" links that can take people to the larger Wikipedia page titled "Social Learning in animals." 2) Perhaps change the wording for the second header so that it says "Species Known to use tandem running." I think you should emphasize that this is not an exhaustive list (ants and termites) and that it is possible that this phenomenon may be observed in other organisms. 3) For the last section titled "In other species," if you're only going to talk about termites, then maybe it would be best to rename the heading as "termites" or somethings like that. 4) However, I think you could also rename/refocus that section so that it is more about how tandem running can be used to evade predators. Flesh this out. If the topic of that section becomes predator evasion, then you can also discuss whether that have been studies to see if ants also use tandem running as a way to dilute their predation risks! 5) Lastly, are there any disadvantages to tandem running? If you find any studies on it, you may consider adding a subheading that specifically discusses the costs associated with this phenomenon.

Overall, I enjoyed the read. Very good job!

BellaO 2212 (talk) 11:22, 5 November 2015 (UTC)

JIMMY DALTON PAGE REVIEW
Great start guys! After reading through your page I have a few suggestions that I think might improve the overall quality of the article. The first thing I noticed is that your introductory section is longer, and in some aspects, more detailed than your other sections. These lower sections should go more specifically into the behaviors and phenomenon you addressed in the opening paragraph. Since this behavior is not specific to the one species of ant you mention in your opening sentence, I think that you should start by opening up with a description of what the behavior is. As the page is written now, an initial read through makes it appear to apply to a single species of ant. As a reader, I felt that you jumped directly into the way this behavior occurs in only one type of ant, which is not the case as indicated by your picture and final section. Instead, if you were to apply this concept to ants and other insects that follow this behavior in general and then move the detailed description of the mechanism of the behavior in ants it would allow the page to follow a more logical progression, especially considering the fact that you mention the occurrence of tandem running in other species such as termites. I do like how you briefly address the social learning aspect behind tandem running in the introduction, and think this could be left there if the same learning process applies to all organisms that carry out this behavior.

Another thing to consider would be the organization of your more specific subsections lower down the page. Currently you have it divided into a category that describes the social learning in tandem running of the same ants you mentioned in the introduction as well as a separate category that describes how this behavior works in other organisms (termites). I think that if you structured these subcategories into less general categories it could also help the division of content of the page. For example, your subcategories could be Teaching and Social Learning (in which you could add to what you have by cutting this more technical information out of the introduction and adding it here, and also describe the learning mechanism in other organisms like termites if they differ in learning the behavior), Tandem Running in Ants (in which you could talk about the benefits and other consequences of this behavior), and Tandem Running in Other organisms (in which you could expand upon the little info you already have on the termites). In the 'other organisms' sections you also mention that it can help reduce the risk of individual predation, perhaps you could add additional benefits besides saving time to the portion about the ants.

Overall, I think your content is interesting and off to a strong start. However, I think that your page could be strengthened by using more references to add additional information. If you do add more information regarding this behavior and it seems too much to add to any specific section, don't be afraid to create a new subsection containing that information, it will only serve to give the reader more context if necessary and hopefully a better understanding of the phenomenon. Also, as I said above, I think that making the introduction more general and then using the more specific subsections lower down the page to convey the physical methodology, implications, and benefits of this behavior in ants and other organisms would give the page a more logical progression and make it easier for users to locate the information they are seeking. Currently it seems more like a page on the behavior of a specific ant species, and less about the behavior in general.

Lastly, you may want to hyperlink some of the more technical jargon to its respective wikipedia page for users to reference if they are unclear about something in the article. All in all this looks like its going to be a great page! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jamespgdaltoniii (talk • contribs) 03:27, 4 November 2015 (UTC)

Levi's suggestions
I think it could really help your article if you provided some evolutionary background for tandem running.

You all have definitely expanded your article. However, I think you can flesh the content out more - give us some more details: What types of food do ants retrieves during a tandem run? Who benefit the most from the run, the learner, the group, both? What are the costs to the teacher/leader ants? Also, and feel free to disagree with this, I think it would be cool if you highlight some similarities of tandem running to learned behaviors in other species of insects or even lesser related animals, such as mammals. I realize that it is very difficult to find sources that can provide all of this information, so don't spend too much time on trying to find answers to these questions if you're having difficulty. But, if you can find more information, please do. The article is a little short, but there's SO much room for expansion.

I really like the addition of the section Species that Use Tandem Running. Now, if you could just give a brief description of how each species' ways of running is specific to that species, I think you'd be set. I forgot to mention this before but I love the picture you all have! Make sure you get it approved by the owner though. Our group was having some trouble with this before. One more suggestion: bring up the high sociality among ants. I think it is definitely applicable. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Levibrice (talk • contribs) 19:11, 4 November 2015 (UTC) Levibrice (talk) 18:37, 5 November 2015 (UTC)Levi

Laura's suggestions
Good work! I think you could add a lot more hyperlinks to your article, especially when you refer to different ant/termite species. Your hyperlink to your termite species actually doesn't lead to a wikipedia article, so try to have that link to an actual article. Your introduction is well-thought out, clear, and includes a good number of references. However, I think this information is a little specific/detailed for an introductory paragraph. Perhaps try to make this introduction a little less detailed, and add that detail to the rest of your article. You should definitely add a lot more information and references to the rest of your article, because it seems a little short as is. Your organization could also be improved by adding more sections and subsections.

Overall great start, but try to flesh it out a bit more!

Laura98.26.58.42 (talk) 00:27, 5 November 2015 (UTC)

Tommy's Suggestions
Seems like this is off to a really good start.

My main suggestion is that: Your intro is very detailed and the structure and content seem like they belong in the main ant paragraph instead. I'd suggest changing the intro to include general info and the involved species (then take out the section where species are listed). Then you could put all the specific information in a series of body paragraphs each with their own subheading (Social learning, mechanism, pheromones, etc). This may help you expand in a more structured way.

Aside from this, just a few quicker edits: 1) The species named in the page's image is not mentioned in the article. Does it exhibit this type of behavior, or just something similar? 2) Add more wiki links. This is one of the key concepts of wikipedia, allowing the reader to jump quickly between related articles. I'd consider linking things like antennae, predators, scavengers, herbivores, etc. This may seem unnecessary because people know what these terms mean. However, it will allow them to quickly find out more about any term they're interested in. 3) There were a few typos, which isn't an issue in this draft, but be sure to read through your article carefully as you continue to refine and finalize.

Great start, let me know if you have any questions! -Tommy- Tmeister21 (talk) 04:58, 5 November 2015 (UTC)