Using Hidden Markov Models to characterise intermittent social behaviour in fish shoals.

ABSTRACT: The movement of animals in groups is widespread in nature. Understanding this phenomenon presents an important problem in ecology with many applications that range from conservation to robotics. Underlying all group movements are interactions between individual animals and it is therefore crucial to understand the mechanisms of this social behaviour. To date, despite promising methodological developments, there are few applications to data of practical statistical techniques that inferentially investigate the extent and nature of social interactions in group movement. We address this gap by demonstrating the usefulness of a Hidden Markov Model approach to characterise individual-level social movement in published trajectory data on three-spined stickleback shoals (Gasterosteus aculeatus) a

SUBMITTER: Bode NWF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5847151 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature