Shared behavioral mechanisms underlie C. elegans aggregation and swarming.

ABSTRACT: In complex biological systems, simple individual-level behavioral rules can give rise to emergent group-level behavior. While collective behavior has been well studied in cells and larger organisms, the mesoscopic scale is less understood, as it is unclear which sensory inputs and physical processes matter a priori. Here, we investigate collective feeding in the roundworm C. elegans at this intermediate scale, using quantitative phenotyping and agent-based modeling to identify behavioral rules underlying both aggregation and swarming-a dynamic phenotype only observed at longer timescales. Using fluorescence multi-worm tracking, we quantify aggregation in terms of individual dynamics and population-level statistics. Then we use agent-based simulations and approximate Bayesian

SUBMITTER: Ding SS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6522220 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature