Intermittent collective dynamics emerge from conflicting imperatives in sheep herds.

ABSTRACT: Among the many fascinating examples of collective behavior exhibited by animal groups, some species are known to alternate slow group dispersion in space with rapid aggregation phenomena induced by a sudden behavioral shift at the individual level. We study this phenomenon quantitatively in large groups of grazing Merino sheep under controlled experimental conditions. Our analysis reveals strongly intermittent collective dynamics consisting of fast, avalanche-like regrouping events distributed on all experimentally accessible scales. As a proof of principle, we introduce an agent-based model with individual behavioral shifts, which we show to account faithfully for all collective properties observed. This offers, in turn, an insight on the individual stimulus/response functions that can ge

SUBMITTER: Ginelli F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4611628 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature