4 research outputs found
Collective behaviour without collective order in wild swarms of midges
Collective behaviour is a widespread phenomenon in biology, cutting through a
huge span of scales, from cell colonies up to bird flocks and fish schools. The
most prominent trait of collective behaviour is the emergence of global order:
individuals synchronize their states, giving the stunning impression that the
group behaves as one. In many biological systems, though, it is unclear whether
global order is present. A paradigmatic case is that of insect swarms, whose
erratic movements seem to suggest that group formation is a mere epiphenomenon
of the independent interaction of each individual with an external landmark. In
these cases, whether or not the group behaves truly collectively is debated.
Here, we experimentally study swarms of midges in the field and measure how
much the change of direction of one midge affects that of other individuals. We
discover that, despite the lack of collective order, swarms display very strong
correlations, totally incompatible with models of noninteracting particles. We
find that correlation increases sharply with the swarm's density, indicating
that the interaction between midges is based on a metric perception mechanism.
By means of numerical simulations we demonstrate that such growing correlation
is typical of a system close to an ordering transition. Our findings suggest
that correlation, rather than order, is the true hallmark of collective
behaviour in biological systems.Comment: The original version has been split into two parts. This first part
focuses on order vs. correlation. The second part, about finite-size scaling,
will be included in a separate paper. 15 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, 5 video
Automated image-based tracking and its application in ecology
The behavior of individuals determines the strength and outcome of ecological interactions, which drive population, community, and ecosystem organization. Bio-logging, such as telemetry and animal-borne imaging, provides essential individual viewpoints, tracks, and life histories, but requires capture of individuals and is often impractical to scale. Recent developments in automated image-based tracking offers opportunities to remotely quantify and understand individual behavior at scales and resolutions not previously possible, providing an essential supplement to other tracking methodologies in ecology. Automated image-based tracking should continue to advance the field of ecology by enabling better understanding of the linkages between individual and higher-level ecological processes, via high-throughput quantitative analysis of complex ecological patterns and processes across scales, including analysis of environmental drivers