Scaling of speed with group size in cooperative transport by the ant Novomessor cockerelli.

ABSTRACT: Working together allows social animals to accomplish tasks beyond the abilities of solitary individuals, but the benefits of cooperation must be balanced with the costs of coordination. Many ant species form cooperative groups to transport items too large for a single ant. However, transport by groups is often slower and less efficient than that of lone ants, for reasons that remain poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that groups are slower when porters must encircle the load to carry it, because this arrangement places ants in a variety of postures relative to the load and the direction of travel. Porters may therefore have difficulty maximizing individual forces and aligning them with those of other group members. Experiments on the desert ant Novomessor cockerelli, an adept coop

SUBMITTER: Buffin A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6177163 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature