Nov 24, 2015 01:52 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

A team of scientists observed army ants in Central and South America using their bodies collectively to form bridges meant to shorten their journeys through the rain forest.

According to Smithsonian.com, the researchers analyzed the process by filming the ants creating live bridges to cross various sized gaps. While it can make a group's trip more efficient, it also has its drawbacks.

Christopher Reid, a researcher at the University of Sydney, led the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences as a postdoctoral researcher at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

"These bridges change dynamically with the traffic pattern on the trail," the study's lead author said in a press release. "Imagine if the George Washington Bridge between New York City and New Jersey would reposition itself across the river depending on the direction of rush-hour traffic.

"Our work has implications for other self-assembling systems, such as reconfigurable materials and autonomous robotic swarms."

But in certain instances, the army ants run out of bodies and cannot complete the bridge, which results in a work stoppage. After all, the group needs members to perform other tasks like foraging for food.

"This stopping was a complete surprise for us," Reid said. "In many cases, the ants could have kept the bridge moving to create better shortcuts, but instead they stopped before achieving the shortest route possible."

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