1
|
Strickland E, Pan D, Godfrey C, Kim JS, Hopke A, Ji W, Degrange M, Villavicencio B, Mansour MK, Zerbe CS, Irimia D, Amir A, Weiner OD. Self-extinguishing relay waves enable homeostatic control of human neutrophil swarming. Dev Cell 2024:S1534-5807(24)00381-2. [PMID: 38971157 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2024.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/08/2024]
Abstract
Neutrophils collectively migrate to sites of injury and infection. How these swarms are coordinated to ensure the proper level of recruitment is unknown. Using an ex vivo model of infection, we show that human neutrophil swarming is organized by multiple pulsatile chemoattractant waves. These waves propagate through active relay in which stimulated neutrophils trigger their neighbors to release additional swarming cues. Unlike canonical active relays, we find these waves to be self-terminating, limiting the spatial range of cell recruitment. We identify an NADPH-oxidase-based negative feedback loop that is needed for this self-terminating behavior. We observe near-constant levels of neutrophil recruitment over a wide range of starting conditions, revealing surprising robustness in the swarming process. This homeostatic control is achieved by larger and more numerous swarming waves at lower cell densities. We link defective wave termination to a broken recruitment homeostat in the context of human chronic granulomatous disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Evelyn Strickland
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Deng Pan
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Christian Godfrey
- Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgery, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julia S Kim
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Alex Hopke
- Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgery, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Shriners Burns Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Wencheng Ji
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Maureen Degrange
- Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | | | - Michael K Mansour
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Christa S Zerbe
- Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology (LCIM), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Daniel Irimia
- Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgery, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Shriners Burns Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Ariel Amir
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Physics of Complex Systems, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Orion D Weiner
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Yu JH, Napoli JL, Lovett-Barron M. Understanding collective behavior through neurobiology. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2024; 86:102866. [PMID: 38852986 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2024.102866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
A variety of organisms exhibit collective movement, including schooling fish and flocking birds, where coordinated behavior emerges from the interactions between group members. Despite the prevalence of collective movement in nature, little is known about the neural mechanisms producing each individual's behavior within the group. Here we discuss how a neurobiological approach can enrich our understanding of collective behavior by determining the mechanisms by which individuals interact. We provide examples of sensory systems for social communication during collective movement, highlight recent discoveries about neural systems for detecting the position and actions of social partners, and discuss opportunities for future research. Understanding the neurobiology of collective behavior can provide insight into how nervous systems function in a dynamic social world.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jo-Hsien Yu
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA. https://twitter.com/anitajhyu
| | - Julia L Napoli
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA. https://twitter.com/juliadoingneuro
| | - Matthew Lovett-Barron
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Goldberg TS, Bloch G. Inhibitory signaling in collective social insect networks, is it indeed uncommon? CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2023; 59:101107. [PMID: 37634618 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 07/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
Individual entities across levels of biological organization interact to reach collective decisions. In centralized neuronal networks, competing neural populations commonly accumulate information over time while increasing their own activity, and cross-inhibiting other populations until one group passes a given threshold. In social insects, there is good evidence for decisions mediated by positive feedbacks, but we found evidence for similar inhibitory signals only in honey bee (Apis mellifera) stop signals, and Pharaoh's ant- (Monomorium pharaonic) repellent pheromones, with only the former occasionally being used as cross-inhibition. We discuss whether these differences stem from insufficient research effort or represent genuine differences across levels of biological organization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tzvi S Goldberg
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
| | - Guy Bloch
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The A. Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; The Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Aung E, Abaid N, Jantzen B. Recovery of dynamical similarity from lossy representations of collective behavior of midge swarms. CHAOS (WOODBURY, N.Y.) 2023; 33:103114. [PMID: 37831793 DOI: 10.1063/5.0146161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
Understanding emergent collective phenomena in biological systems is a complex challenge due to the high dimensionality of state variables and the inability to directly probe agent-based interaction rules. Therefore, if one wants to model a system for which the underpinnings of the collective process are unknown, common approaches such as using mathematical models to validate experimental data may be misguided. Even more so, if one lacks the ability to experimentally measure all the salient state variables that drive the collective phenomena, a modeling approach may not correctly capture the behavior. This problem motivates the need for model-free methods to characterize or classify observed behavior to glean biological insights for meaningful models. Furthermore, such methods must be robust to low dimensional or lossy data, which are often the only feasible measurements for large collectives. In this paper, we show that a model-free and unsupervised clustering of high dimensional swarming behavior in midges (Chironomus riparius), based on dynamical similarity, can be performed using only two-dimensional video data where the animals are not individually tracked. Moreover, the results of the classification are physically meaningful. This work demonstrates that low dimensional video data of collective motion experiments can be equivalently characterized, which has the potential for wide applications to data describing animal group motion acquired in both the laboratory and the field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eighdi Aung
- Engineering Mechanics Program, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA
| | - Nicole Abaid
- Department of Mathematics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA
| | - Benjamin Jantzen
- Department of Philosophy, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Ju L, Glastad KM, Sheng L, Gospocic J, Kingwell CJ, Davidson SM, Kocher SD, Bonasio R, Berger SL. Hormonal gatekeeping via the blood-brain barrier governs caste-specific behavior in ants. Cell 2023; 186:4289-4309.e23. [PMID: 37683635 PMCID: PMC10807403 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023]
Abstract
Here, we reveal an unanticipated role of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in regulating complex social behavior in ants. Using scRNA-seq, we find localization in the BBB of a key hormone-degrading enzyme called juvenile hormone esterase (Jhe), and we show that this localization governs the level of juvenile hormone (JH3) entering the brain. Manipulation of the Jhe level reprograms the brain transcriptome between ant castes. Although ant Jhe is retained and functions intracellularly within the BBB, we show that Drosophila Jhe is naturally extracellular. Heterologous expression of ant Jhe into the Drosophila BBB alters behavior in fly to mimic what is seen in ants. Most strikingly, manipulation of Jhe levels in ants reprograms complex behavior between worker castes. Our study thus uncovers a remarkable, potentially conserved role of the BBB serving as a molecular gatekeeper for a neurohormonal pathway that regulates social behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Linyang Ju
- Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Karl M Glastad
- Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Lihong Sheng
- Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Janko Gospocic
- Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Urology and Institute of Neuropathology, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Callum J Kingwell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Shawn M Davidson
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Sarah D Kocher
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Lewis-Sigler Institute for Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Roberto Bonasio
- Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Shelley L Berger
- Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Epigenetics Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Strickland E, Pan D, Godfrey C, Kim JS, Hopke A, Degrange M, Villavicencio B, Mansour MK, Zerbe CS, Irimia D, Amir A, Weiner OD. Self-extinguishing relay waves enable homeostatic control of human neutrophil swarming. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.27.546744. [PMID: 37425711 PMCID: PMC10327146 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.27.546744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Neutrophils exhibit self-amplified swarming to sites of injury and infection. How swarming is controlled to ensure the proper level of neutrophil recruitment is unknown. Using an ex vivo model of infection, we find that human neutrophils use active relay to generate multiple pulsatile waves of swarming signals. Unlike classic active relay systems such as action potentials, neutrophil swarming relay waves are self-extinguishing, limiting the spatial range of cell recruitment. We identify an NADPH-oxidase-based negative feedback loop that is needed for this self-extinguishing behavior. Through this circuit, neutrophils adjust the number and size of swarming waves for homeostatic levels of cell recruitment over a wide range of initial cell densities. We link a broken homeostat to neutrophil over-recruitment in the context of human chronic granulomatous disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Evelyn Strickland
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Deng Pan
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Christian Godfrey
- BioMEMS Resource Center and Center for Surgery, Innovation and Bioengineering, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julia S Kim
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Tetrad Graduate Program, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Alex Hopke
- BioMEMS Resource Center and Center for Surgery, Innovation and Bioengineering, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Maureen Degrange
- Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | | | - Michael K Mansour
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Christa S Zerbe
- Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology (LCIM), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Daniel Irimia
- BioMEMS Resource Center and Center for Surgery, Innovation and Bioengineering, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ariel Amir
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Complex Systems, Faculty of Physics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Orion D Weiner
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Das B, Gordon DM. Biological rhythms and task allocation in ant colonies. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2023:101062. [PMID: 37247773 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Task allocation in ant colonies, mediated by social interactions, regulates which individuals perform each task, and when they are active, in response to the current situation. Many tasks are performed in a daily temporal pattern. An ant's biological clock depends on patterns of gene expression that are regulated using a negative feedback loop which is synchronized to earth's rotation by external cues. An individual's biological clock can shift in response to social cues, and this plasticity contributes to task switching. Daily rhythms in individual ant behavior combine, via interactions within and across task groups, to adjust the collective behavior of colonies. Further work is needed to elucidate how the social cues that lead to task switching influence the molecular mechanisms that generate clock outputs associated with each task, and to investigate the evolution of temporal patterns in task allocation in relation to ecological factors.
Collapse
|
8
|
Avinery R, Aina KO, Dyson CJ, Kuan HS, Betterton MD, Goodisman MAD, Goldman DI. Agitated ants: regulation and self-organization of incipient nest excavation via collisional cues. J R Soc Interface 2023; 20:20220597. [PMID: 37194494 PMCID: PMC10189599 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2022.0597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Ants are millimetres in scale yet collectively create metre-scale nests in diverse substrates. To discover principles by which ant collectives self-organize to excavate crowded, narrow tunnels, we studied incipient excavation in small groups of fire ants in quasi-two-dimensional arenas. Excavation rates displayed three stages: initially excavation occurred at a constant rate, followed by a rapid decay, and finally a slower decay scaling in time as t-1/2. We used a cellular automata model to understand such scaling and motivate how rate modulation emerges without global control. In the model, ants estimated their collision frequency with other ants, but otherwise did not communicate. To capture early excavation rates, we introduced the concept of 'agitation'-a tendency of individuals to avoid rest if collisions are frequent. The model reproduced the observed multi-stage excavation dynamics; analysis revealed how parameters affected features of multi-stage progression. Moreover, a scaling argument without ant-ant interactions captures tunnel growth power-law at long times. Our study demonstrates how individual ants may use local collisional cues to achieve functional global self-organization. Such contact-based decisions could be leveraged by other living and non-living collectives to perform tasks in confined and crowded environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ram Avinery
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Kehinde O. Aina
- Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Carl J. Dyson
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Hui-Shun Kuan
- Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | | | | | - Daniel I. Goldman
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Gong D, Hua Z, Mao A, Chen L, Peng Y, Zhang S. Web decoration is important in mediating foraging site fidelity as well as prey supplement and predation risk in an orb‐web spider. OIKOS 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Deyong Gong
- Centre for Behavioral Ecology and Evolution, State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei Univ. Wuhan Hubei China
| | - Zeyuan Hua
- Centre for Behavioral Ecology and Evolution, State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei Univ. Wuhan Hubei China
| | - Aijia Mao
- Centre for Behavioral Ecology and Evolution, State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei Univ. Wuhan Hubei China
| | - Luyao Chen
- Centre for Behavioral Ecology and Evolution, State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei Univ. Wuhan Hubei China
| | - Yu Peng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response, Faculty of Resources and Environmental Science, Hubei Univ. Wuhan Hubei China
| | - Shichang Zhang
- Centre for Behavioral Ecology and Evolution, State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei Univ. Wuhan Hubei China
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
A Single-Pheromone Model Accounts for Empirical Patterns of Ant Colony Foraging Previously Modeled Using Two Pheromones. COGN SYST RES 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogsys.2023.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
|
11
|
When being flexible matters: Ecological underpinnings for the evolution of collective flexibility and task allocation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2116066119. [PMID: 35486699 PMCID: PMC9170069 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2116066119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
A central problem in evolutionary biology is explaining variation in the organization of task allocation across collective systems. Why do human cells irreversibly adopt a task during development (e.g., kidney vs. liver cell), while sponge cells switch between different cell types? And why have only some ant species evolved specialized castes of workers for particular tasks? Although it seems reasonable to suppose that such differences reflect, at least partially, the different ecological pressures that systems face, there is no general understanding of how a system’s dynamic environment shapes its task allocation. To this end, we develop a general mathematical framework that reveals how simple ecological considerations could potentially explain cross-system variation in task allocation—including in flexibility, specialization, and (in)activity. Task allocation is a central feature of collective organization. Living collective systems, such as multicellular organisms or social insect colonies, have evolved diverse ways to allocate individuals to different tasks, ranging from rigid, inflexible task allocation that is not adjusted to changing circumstances to more fluid, flexible task allocation that is rapidly adjusted to the external environment. While the mechanisms underlying task allocation have been intensely studied, it remains poorly understood whether differences in the flexibility of task allocation can be viewed as adaptive responses to different ecological contexts—for example, different degrees of temporal variability. Motivated by this question, we develop an analytically tractable mathematical framework to explore the evolution of task allocation in dynamic environments. We find that collective flexibility is not necessarily always adaptive, and fails to evolve in environments that change too slowly (relative to how long tasks can be left unattended) or too quickly (relative to how rapidly task allocation can be adjusted). We further employ the framework to investigate how environmental variability impacts the internal organization of task allocation, which allows us to propose adaptive explanations for some puzzling empirical observations, such as seemingly unnecessary task switching under constant environmental conditions, apparent task specialization without efficiency benefits, and high levels of individual inactivity. Altogether, this work provides a general framework for probing the evolved diversity of task allocation strategies in nature and reinforces the idea that considering a system’s ecology is crucial to explaining its collective organization.
Collapse
|
12
|
Chen J, Ren Y, Huang WL, Zhang L, Li J. Multilevel Mesoscale Complexities in Mesoregimes: Challenges in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. Annu Rev Chem Biomol Eng 2022; 13:431-455. [PMID: 35378042 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-092220-115031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
This review discusses the complex behaviors in diverse chemical and biochemical systems to elucidate their commonalities and thus help develop a mesoscience methodology to address the complexities in even broader topics. This could possibly build a new scientific paradigm for different disciplines and could meanwhile provide effective tools to tackle the big challenges in various fields, thus paving a path toward combining the paradigm shift in science with the breakthrough in technique developments. Starting with our relatively fruitful understanding of chemical systems, the discussion focuses on the relatively pristine but very intriguing biochemical systems. It is recognized that diverse complexities are multilevel in nature, with each level being multiscale and the complexity emerging always at mesoscales in mesoregimes. Relevant advances in theoretical understandings and mathematical tools are summarized as well based on case studies, and the convergence between physics and mathematics is highlighted. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Volume 13 is October 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jianhua Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Complex Systems, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, People's Republic of China;
| | - Ying Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Complex Systems, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, People's Republic of China;
| | - Wen Lai Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Complex Systems, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, People's Republic of China;
| | - Lin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Complex Systems, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, People's Republic of China;
| | - Jinghai Li
- State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Complex Systems, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, People's Republic of China;
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Sundaram M, Steiner E, Gordon DM. Rainfall, neighbors, and foraging: The dynamics of a population of red harvester ant colonies 1988‐2019. ECOL MONOGR 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Erik Steiner
- Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis Stanford University Stanford CA
| | | |
Collapse
|
14
|
Despland E, Lessard JP. Social predation by ants as a mortality source for an arboreal gregarious forest pest. Basic Appl Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2022.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
|
15
|
Better tired than lost: Turtle ant trail networks favor coherence over short edges. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009523. [PMID: 34673768 PMCID: PMC8562808 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Creating a routing backbone is a fundamental problem in both biology and engineering. The routing backbone of the trail networks of arboreal turtle ants (Cephalotes goniodontus) connects many nests and food sources using trail pheromone deposited by ants as they walk. Unlike species that forage on the ground, the trail networks of arboreal ants are constrained by the vegetation. We examined what objectives the trail networks meet by comparing the observed ant trail networks with networks of random, hypothetical trail networks in the same surrounding vegetation and with trails optimized for four objectives: minimizing path length, minimizing average edge length, minimizing number of nodes, and minimizing opportunities to get lost. The ants’ trails minimized path length by minimizing the number of nodes traversed rather than choosing short edges. In addition, the ants’ trails reduced the opportunity for ants to get lost at each node, favoring nodes with 3D configurations most likely to be reinforced by pheromone. Thus, rather than finding the shortest edges, turtle ant trail networks take advantage of natural variation in the environment to favor coherence, keeping the ants together on the trails. We investigated the trail networks of arboreal turtle ants in the canopy of the tropical forest, to ask what characterizes the colony’s choice of foraging paths within the vegetation. We monitored day to day changes in the junctions and edges of trail networks of colonies in the dry forest of western Mexico. We compared the paths used by the ants to simulated random paths in the surrounding vegetation. We found that the paths of turtle ants prioritize coherence, keeping ants together on the trail, over minimizing the average edge length. The choice of paths reduces the number of junctions in the trail where ants could get lost, and favors junctions with a physical configuration that makes it likely that successive ants will reinforce the same path. Our work suggests that design principles that emphasize keeping information flow constrained to streamlined, coherent trails may be useful in human-designed distributed routing and transport networks or robot swarms.
Collapse
|
16
|
Silva JP, Valadares L, Vieira MEL, Teseo S, Châline N. Tandem running by foraging Pachycondyla striata workers in field conditions vary in response to food type, food distance, and environmental conditions. Curr Zool 2021; 67:541-549. [PMID: 34616952 PMCID: PMC8489177 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoab050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Ants show collective and individual behavioral flexibility in their response to immediate context, choosing for example between different foraging strategies. In Pachycondyla striata, workers can forage solitarily or recruit and guide nestmates to larger food sources through tandem running. Although considered more ancestral and less efficient than pheromone trail-laying, this strategy is common especially in species with small colony size. What is not known is how the decision to recruit or follow varies according to the immediate context. That is, how fine adjustments in information transfer affect immediate foraging decisions at the colony level. Here, we studied individually marked workers and evaluated their foraging decisions when food items varied in nature (protein versus carbohydrate), size, and distance from the nest at different temperatures and humidity levels. Our results show that tandem run leaders and potential followers adjust their behavior according to a combination of external factors. While 84.2% of trips were solitary, most ants (81%) performed at least 1 tandem run. However, tandem runs were more frequent for nearby resources and at higher relative humidity. Interestingly, when food items were located far away, tandem runs were more successful when heading to protein sources (75%) compared with carbohydrate sources (42%). Our results suggest that the social information transfer between leaders and followers conveys more information than previously thought, and also relies on their experience and motivation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Janiele Pereira Silva
- LEEEIS, Departamento de Psicologia Experimental, Instituto de Psicologia Experimental, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, CEP 05508-030, Brazil.,Programa de pós-graduação em Psicologia Experimental, USP, São Paulo, SP, CEP 05508-030, Brazil
| | - Lohan Valadares
- Evolution, Genomes, Behavior and Ecology, CNRS, 1 Avenue de la Terrasse, Gif-sur-Yvette 91987, France
| | - Maria Eduarda Lima Vieira
- LEEEIS, Departamento de Psicologia Experimental, Instituto de Psicologia Experimental, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, CEP 05508-030, Brazil.,Programa de pós-graduação em Psicologia Experimental, USP, São Paulo, SP, CEP 05508-030, Brazil.,LBC, Departamento de Fisiologia e Comportamento, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, CEP 59078-970, Brazil
| | - Serafino Teseo
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637551, Singapore
| | - Nicolas Châline
- LEEEIS, Departamento de Psicologia Experimental, Instituto de Psicologia Experimental, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, CEP 05508-030, Brazil.,Programa de pós-graduação em Psicologia Experimental, USP, São Paulo, SP, CEP 05508-030, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Gordon DM. Movement, Encounter Rate, and Collective Behavior in Ant Colonies. ANNALS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 114:541-546. [PMID: 34512857 PMCID: PMC8423106 DOI: 10.1093/aesa/saaa036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Spatial patterns of movement regulate many aspects of social insect behavior, because how workers move around, and how many are there, determines how often they meet and interact. Interactions are usually olfactory; for example, in ants, by means of antennal contact in which one worker assesses the cuticular hydrocarbons of another. Encounter rates may be a simple outcome of local density: a worker experiences more encounters, the more other workers there are around it. This means that encounter rate can be used as a cue for overall density even though no individual can assess global density. Encounter rate as a cue for local density regulates many aspects of social insect behavior, including collective search, task allocation, nest choice, and traffic flow. As colonies grow older and larger, encounter rates change, which leads to changes in task allocation. Nest size affects local density and movement patterns, which influences encounter rate, so that nest size and connectivity influence colony behavior. However, encounter rate is not a simple function of local density when individuals change their movement in response to encounters, thus influencing further encounter rates. Natural selection on the regulation of collective behavior can draw on variation within and among colonies in the relation of movement patterns, encounter rate, and response to encounters.
Collapse
|
18
|
Mangioni SE, dell'Erba MG, Combi B. Structure formation in a conserved mass model of a set of individuals interacting with attractive and repulsive forces. Phys Rev E 2021; 104:014212. [PMID: 34412252 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.104.014212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
We study a set of interacting individuals that conserve their total mass. In order to describe its dynamics we resort to mesoscopic equations of reaction diffusion including currents driven by attractive and repulsive forces. For the mass conservation we consider a linear response parameter that maintains the mass in the vicinity of a optimal value which is determined by the set. We use the reach and intensity of repulsive forces as control parameters. When sweeping a wide range of parameter space we find a great diversity of localized structures, stationary as well as other ones with cyclical and chaotic dynamics. We compare our results with real situations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sergio E Mangioni
- IFIMAR (Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata and CONICET), Deán Funes 3350, B7602AYL Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Matías G dell'Erba
- IFIMAR (Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata and CONICET), Deán Funes 3350, B7602AYL Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Bruno Combi
- IFIMAR (Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata and CONICET), Deán Funes 3350, B7602AYL Mar del Plata, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Bak-Coleman JB, Alfano M, Barfuss W, Bergstrom CT, Centeno MA, Couzin ID, Donges JF, Galesic M, Gersick AS, Jacquet J, Kao AB, Moran RE, Romanczuk P, Rubenstein DI, Tombak KJ, Van Bavel JJ, Weber EU. Stewardship of global collective behavior. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2025764118. [PMID: 34155097 PMCID: PMC8271675 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2025764118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Collective behavior provides a framework for understanding how the actions and properties of groups emerge from the way individuals generate and share information. In humans, information flows were initially shaped by natural selection yet are increasingly structured by emerging communication technologies. Our larger, more complex social networks now transfer high-fidelity information over vast distances at low cost. The digital age and the rise of social media have accelerated changes to our social systems, with poorly understood functional consequences. This gap in our knowledge represents a principal challenge to scientific progress, democracy, and actions to address global crises. We argue that the study of collective behavior must rise to a "crisis discipline" just as medicine, conservation, and climate science have, with a focus on providing actionable insight to policymakers and regulators for the stewardship of social systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph B Bak-Coleman
- Center for an Informed Public, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195;
- eScience Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Mark Alfano
- Ethics & Philosophy of Technology, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
- Institute of Philosophy, Australian Catholic University, Banyo Queensland 4014, Australia
| | - Wolfram Barfuss
- Earth System Analysis, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Member of the Leibniz Association, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
- Tübingen AI Center, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Carl T Bergstrom
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Miguel A Centeno
- Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
| | - Iain D Couzin
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell am Bodensee, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Jonathan F Donges
- Earth System Analysis, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Member of the Leibniz Association, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, 11419 Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Andrew S Gersick
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
| | - Jennifer Jacquet
- Department of Environmental Studies, New York University, New York, NY 10012
| | | | - Rachel E Moran
- Center for an Informed Public, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Pawel Romanczuk
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Department of Biology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Daniel I Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
| | - Kaia J Tombak
- Department of Anthropology, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, NY 10065
| | - Jay J Van Bavel
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003
| | - Elke U Weber
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
- Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Reznikova Z. Ants’ Personality and Its Dependence on Foraging Styles: Research Perspectives. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.661066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The paper is devoted to analyzing consistent individual differences in behavior, also known as “personalities,” in the context of a vital ant task—the detection and transportation of food. I am trying to elucidate the extent to which collective cognition is individual-based and whether a single individual’s actions can suffice to direct the entire colony or colony units. The review analyzes personalities in various insects with different life cycles and provides new insights into the role of individuals in directing group actions in ants. Although it is widely accepted that, in eusocial insects, colony personality emerges from the workers’ personalities, there are only a few examples of investigations of personality at the individual level. The central question of the review is how the distribution of behavioral types and cognitive responsibilities within ant colonies depends on a species’ foraging style. In the context of how workers’ behavioral traits display during foraging, a crucial question is what makes an ant a scout that discovers a new food source and mobilizes its nestmates. In mass recruiting, tandem-running, and even in group-recruiting species displaying leadership, the division of labor between scouts and recruits appears to be ephemeral. There is only little, if any, evidence of ants’ careers and behavioral consistency as leaders. Personal traits characterize groups of individuals at the colony level but not performers of functional roles during foraging. The leader-scouting seems to be the only known system that is based on a consistent personal difference between scouting and foraging individuals.
Collapse
|
21
|
Japyassú HF, Neco LC, Nunes-Neto N. Minimal Organizational Requirements for the Ascription of Animal Personality to Social Groups. Front Psychol 2021; 11:601937. [PMID: 33995158 PMCID: PMC8116521 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.601937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, psychological phenomena have been expanded to new domains, crisscrossing boundaries of organizational levels, with the emergence of areas such as social personality and ecosystem learning. In this contribution, we analyze the ascription of an individual-based concept (personality) to the social level. Although justified boundary crossings can boost new approaches and applications, the indiscriminate misuse of concepts refrains the growth of scientific areas. The concept of social personality is based mainly on the detection of repeated group differences across a population, in a direct transposition of personality concepts from the individual to the social level. We show that this direct transposition is problematic for avowing the nonsensical ascription of personality even to simple electronic devices. To go beyond a metaphoric use of social personality, we apply the organizational approach to a review of social insect communication networks. Our conceptual analysis shows that socially self-organized systems, such as isolated ant trails and bee's recruitment groups, are too simple to have social personality. The situation is more nuanced when measuring the collective choice between nest sites or foraging patches: some species show positive and negative feedbacks between two or more self-organized social structures so that these co-dependent structures are inter-related by second-order, social information systems, complying with a formal requirement for having social personality: the social closure of constraints. Other requirements include the decoupling between individual and social dynamics, and the self-regulation of collective decision processes. Social personality results to be sometimes a metaphorical transposition of a psychological concept to a social phenomenon. The application of this organizational approach to cases of learning ecosystems, or evolutionary learning, could help to ground theoretically the ascription of psychological properties to levels of analysis beyond the individual, up to meta-populations or ecological communities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hilton F Japyassú
- National Institute of Science and Technology in Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies in Ecology and Evolution (INCT IN-TREE), Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.,Biology Institute, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
| | - Lucia C Neco
- School of Humanities, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Nei Nunes-Neto
- National Institute of Science and Technology in Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies in Ecology and Evolution (INCT IN-TREE), Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.,Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Grande Dourados, Dourados, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Irrational risk aversion in an ant. Anim Cogn 2021; 24:1237-1245. [PMID: 33939043 PMCID: PMC8492575 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01516-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Animals must often decide between exploiting safe options or risky options with a chance for large gains. Both proximate theories based on perceptual mechanisms, and evolutionary ones based on fitness benefits, have been proposed to explain decisions under risk. Eusocial insects represent a special case of risk sensitivity, as they must often make collective decisions based on resource evaluations from many individuals. Previously, colonies of the ant Lasius niger were found to be risk-neutral, but the risk preference of individual foragers was unknown. Here, we tested individual L. niger in a risk sensitivity paradigm. Ants were trained to associate one scent with 0.55 M sucrose solution and another with an equal chance of either 0.1 or 1.0 M sucrose. Preference was tested in a Y-maze. Ants were extremely risk-averse, with 91% choosing the safe option. Based on the psychophysical Weber-Fechner law, we predicted that ants evaluate resources depending on their logarithmic difference. To test this hypothesis, we designed 4 more experiments by varying the relative differences between the alternatives, making the risky option less, equally or more valuable than the safe one. Our results support the logarithmic origin of risk aversion in ants, and demonstrate that the behaviour of individual foragers can be a very poor predictor of colony-level behaviour.
Collapse
|
23
|
Incorvaia DC, Hintze A, Dyer FC. Spatial allocation without spatial recruitment in bumblebees. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Any foraging animal is expected to allocate its efforts among resource patches that vary in quality across time and space. For social insects, this problem is shifted to the colony level: the task of allocating foraging workers to the best patches currently available. To deal with this task, honeybees rely upon differential recruitment via the dance language, while some ants use differential recruitment on odor trails. Bumblebees, close relatives of honeybees, should also benefit from optimizing spatial allocation but lack any targeted recruitment system. How bumblebees solve this problem is thus of immense interest to evolutionary biologists studying collective behavior. It has been thought that bumblebees could solve the spatial allocation problem by relying on the summed individual decisions of foragers, who occasionally sample and shift to alternative resources. We use field experiments to test the hypothesis that bumblebees augment individual exploration with social information. Specifically, we provide behavioral evidence that, when higher-concentration sucrose arrives at the nest, employed foragers abandon their patches to begin searching for the better option; they are more likely to accept novel resources if they match the quality of the sucrose solution experienced in the nest. We explored this strategy further by building an agent-based model of bumblebee foraging. This model supports the hypothesis that using social information to inform search decisions is advantageous over individual search alone. Our results show that bumblebees use a collective foraging strategy built on social modulation of individual decisions, providing further insight into the evolution of collective behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Darren C Incorvaia
- Department of Integrative Biology and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Arend Hintze
- BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Department for Complex Dynamical Systems and MicroData Analytics, Dalarna University, Högskolegatan, Falun, Sweden
| | - Fred C Dyer
- Department of Integrative Biology and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Gelblum A, Fonio E, Rodeh Y, Korman A, Feinerman O. Ant collective cognition allows for efficient navigation through disordered environments. eLife 2020; 9:55195. [PMID: 32393436 PMCID: PMC7332297 DOI: 10.7554/elife.55195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The cognitive abilities of biological organisms only make sense in the context of their environment. Here, we study longhorn crazy ant collective navigation skills within the context of a semi-natural, randomized environment. Mapping this biological setting into the ‘Ant-in-a-Labyrinth’ framework which studies physical transport through disordered media allows us to formulate precise links between the statistics of environmental challenges and the ants’ collective navigation abilities. We show that, in this environment, the ants use their numbers to collectively extend their sensing range. Although this extension is moderate, it nevertheless allows for extremely fast traversal times that overshadow known physical solutions to the ‘Ant-in-a-Labyrinth’ problem. To explain this large payoff, we use percolation theory and prove that whenever the labyrinth is solvable, a logarithmically small sensing range suffices for extreme speedup. Overall, our work demonstrates the potential advantages of group living and collective cognition in increasing a species’ habitable range.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aviram Gelblum
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ehud Fonio
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yoav Rodeh
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.,Department of Software Engineering, Ort Braude College, Karmiel, Israel
| | - Amos Korman
- The Research Institute on the Foundations of Computer Science (IRIF), CNRS and University of Paris, Paris, France
| | - Ofer Feinerman
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Chen R, Meyer B, Garcia J. A computational model of task allocation in social insects: ecology and interactions alone can drive specialisation. SWARM INTELLIGENCE 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11721-020-00180-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
AbstractSocial insects allocate their workforce in a decentralised fashion, addressing multiple tasks and responding effectively to environmental changes. This process is fundamental to their ecological success, but the mechanisms behind it are not well understood. While most models focus on internal and individual factors, empirical evidence highlights the importance of ecology and social interactions. To address this gap, we propose a game theoretical model of task allocation. Our main findings are twofold: Firstly, the specialisation emerging from self-organised task allocation can be largely determined by the ecology. Weakly specialised colonies in which all individuals perform more than one task emerge when foraging is cheap; in contrast, harsher environments with high foraging costs lead to strong specialisation in which each individual fully engages in a single task. Secondly, social interactions lead to important differences in dynamic environments. Colonies whose individuals rely on their own experience are predicted to be more flexible when dealing with change than colonies relying on social information. We also find that, counter to intuition, strongly specialised colonies may perform suboptimally, whereas the group performance of weakly specialised colonies approaches optimality. Our simulation results fully agree with the predictions of the mathematical model for the regions where the latter is analytically tractable. Our results are useful in framing relevant and important empirical questions, where ecology and interactions are key elements of hypotheses and predictions.
Collapse
|
26
|
Ant Foragers Compensate for the Nutritional Deficiencies in the Colony. Curr Biol 2020; 30:135-142.e4. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2019] [Revised: 10/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
|
27
|
Poissonnier LA, Motsch S, Gautrais J, Buhl C, Dussutour A. Experimental investigation of ant traffic under crowded conditions. eLife 2019; 8:e48945. [PMID: 31635695 PMCID: PMC6805160 DOI: 10.7554/elife.48945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Efficient transportation is crucial for urban mobility, cell function and the survival of animal groups. From humans driving on the highway, to ants running on a trail, the main challenge faced by all collective systems is how to prevent traffic jams in crowded environments. Here, we show that ants, despite their behavioral simplicity, have managed the tour de force of avoiding the formation of traffic jams at high density. At the macroscopic level, we demonstrated that ant traffic is best described by a two-phase flow function. At low densities there is a clear linear relationship between ant density and the flow, while at large density, the flow remains constant and no congestion occurs. From a microscopic perspective, the individual tracking of ants under varying densities revealed that ants adjust their speed and avoid time consuming interactions at large densities. Our results point to strategies by which ant colonies solve the main challenge of transportation by self-regulating their behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laure-Anne Poissonnier
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI)Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS31062 ToulouseFrance
| | | | - Jacques Gautrais
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI)Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS31062 ToulouseFrance
| | - Camille Buhl
- School of Agriculture, Food and WineThe University of AdelaideAdelaideAustralia
| | - Audrey Dussutour
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI)Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS31062 ToulouseFrance
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Gordon DM. Measuring collective behavior: an ecological approach. Theory Biosci 2019; 140:353-360. [PMID: 31559539 DOI: 10.1007/s12064-019-00302-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Collective behavior is ubiquitous throughout nature. Many systems, from brains to ant colonies, work without central control. Collective behavior is regulated by interactions among the individual participants such as neurons or ants. Interactions create feedback that produce the outcome, the behavior that we observe: Brains think and remember, ant colonies collect food or move nests, flocks of birds turn, human societies develop new forms of social organization. But the processes by which interactions produce outcomes are as diverse as the behavior itself. Just as convergent evolution has led to organs, such as the eye, that are similar in function but are based on different physiological processes, so it has led to forms of collective behavior that appear similar but arise from different social processes. An ecological perspective can help us to understand the dynamics of collective behavior and how it works.
Collapse
|
29
|
Moses ME, Cannon JL, Gordon DM, Forrest S. Distributed Adaptive Search in T Cells: Lessons From Ants. Front Immunol 2019; 10:1357. [PMID: 31263465 PMCID: PMC6585175 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.01357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 05/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
There are striking similarities between the strategies ant colonies use to forage for food and immune systems use to search for pathogens. Searchers (ants and cells) use the appropriate combination of random and directed motion, direct and indirect agent-agent interactions, and traversal of physical structures to solve search problems in a variety of environments. An effective immune response requires immune cells to search efficiently and effectively for diverse types of pathogens in different tissues and organs, just as different species of ants have evolved diverse search strategies to forage effectively for a variety of resources in a variety of habitats. Successful T cell search is required to initiate the adaptive immune response in lymph nodes and to eradicate pathogens at sites of infection in peripheral tissue. Ant search strategies suggest novel predictions about T cell search. In both systems, the distribution of targets in time and space determines the most effective search strategy. We hypothesize that the ability of searchers to sense and adapt to dynamic targets and environmental conditions enhances search effectiveness through adjustments to movement and communication patterns. We also suggest that random motion is a more important component of search strategies than is generally recognized. The behavior we observe in ants reveals general design principles and constraints that govern distributed adaptive search in a wide variety of complex systems, particularly the immune system.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Melanie E Moses
- Moses Biological Computation Laboratory, Department of Computer Science, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States.,Biology Department, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States.,Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, United States
| | - Judy L Cannon
- The Cannon Laboratory, Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States.,Department of Pathology, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States.,Autophagy, Inflammation, and Metabolism Center of Biomedical Research Excellence, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, United States
| | - Deborah M Gordon
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, United States.,Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Stephanie Forrest
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, United States.,Biodesign Institute and School for Computing, Informatics, and Decision Sciences Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Friedman DA, Greene MJ, Gordon DM. The physiology of forager hydration and variation among harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) colonies in collective foraging behavior. Sci Rep 2019; 9:5126. [PMID: 30914705 PMCID: PMC6435751 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-41586-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2018] [Accepted: 03/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Ants are abundant in desiccating environments despite their high surface area to volume ratios and exposure to harsh conditions outside the nest. Red harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) colonies must spend water to obtain water: colonies lose water as workers forage outside the nest, and gain water metabolically through seeds collected in foraging trips. Here we present field experiments showing that hydrated P. barbatus foragers made more foraging trips than unhydrated nestmates. The positive effect of hydration on foraging activity is stronger as the risk of desiccation increases. Desiccation tests showed that foragers of colonies that reduce foraging in dry conditions are more sensitive to water loss, losing water and motor coordination more rapidly in desiccating conditions, than foragers of colonies that do not reduce foraging in dry conditions. Desiccation tolerance is also associated with colony reproductive success. Surprisingly, foragers that are more sensitive to water loss are from colonies more likely to produce offspring colonies. This could be because the foragers of these colonies conserve water with a more cautious response to desiccation risk. An ant's hydration status may influence its response to the olfactory interactions that regulate its decision to leave the nest to forage. Thus variation among ant colonies in worker physiology and response to ambient conditions may contribute to ecologically significant differences among colonies in collective behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Friedman
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
| | - Michael J Greene
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA
| | - Deborah M Gordon
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| |
Collapse
|