Variability in individual assessment behaviour and its implications for collective decision-making.

ABSTRACT: Self-organized systems of collective behaviour have been demonstrated in a number of group-living organisms. There is, however, less research relating to how variation in individual assessments may facilitate group decision-making. Here, we investigate this using the decentralized system of collective nest choice behaviour employed by the ant Temnothorax albipennis, combining experimental results with computational modelling. In experiments, isolated workers of this species were allowed to investigate new nest sites of differing quality, and it was found that for any given nest quality, there was wide variation among individuals in the durations that they spent within each nest site. Additionally, individual workers were consistent in spending more time in nest sites of higher quality, and

SUBMITTER: O'Shea-Wheller TA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5310604 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature