A Sensory-Driven Trade-Off between Coordinated Motion in Social Prey and a Predator's Visual Confusion.

ABSTRACT: Social animals are capable of enhancing their awareness by paying attention to their neighbors, and prey found in groups can also confuse their predators. Both sides of these sensory benefits have long been appreciated, yet less is known of how the perception of events from the perspectives of both prey and predator can interact to influence their encounters. Here we examined how a visual sensory mechanism impacts the collective motion of prey and, subsequently, how their resulting movements influenced predator confusion and capture ability. We presented virtual prey to human players in a targeting game and measured the speed and accuracy with which participants caught designated prey. As prey paid more attention to neighbor movements their collective coordination increased, yet increases

SUBMITTER: Lemasson BH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4767524 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature