The effect of idiosyncrasy on aggregation in group-living organisms

Nicolis, Stamatios C.; Deneubourg, Jean‐Louis

doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2022.111120

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…If the quality of a resting site decreases, the decision to keep staying in the site is counterintuitive., as it implies a potential decrease of fitness for individuals (isolated or in groups). However, theoretical studies involving multistable systems predict that under some conditions the initial state is robust and stable after a change of the parameters [ 21 , 60 , 61 ]. The purpose of the inversion condition experiment is to demonstrate this stability.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergence and retention of a collective memory in cockroaches

Calvo Martín,

Rodriguez Palacio,

Deneubourg

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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The stability of collective decisions-making in social systems is crucial as it can lead to counterintuitive phenomena such as collective memories, where an initial choice is challenged by environmental changes. Many social species face the challenge to perform collective decisions under variable conditions. In this study, we focused on situations where isolated individuals and groups of the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) had to choose between two shelters with different luminosities that were inverted during the experiment. The darker shelter was initially preferred, but only groups that reached a consensus within that shelter maintain their choice after the light inversion, while isolated individuals and small groups lacked site fidelity. Our mathematical model, incorporating deterministic and probabilistic elements, sheds light on the significance interactions and their stochasticity in the emergence and retention of a collective memory.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergence and retention of a collective memory in cockroaches

Calvo Martín,

Rodriguez Palacio,

Deneubourg

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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“…In addition to effects at the individual level, personality in group-living organisms has been shown to be important in governing collective actions. Recent theoretical and empirical studies suggest that various collective actions in animals can be facilitated by heterogeneity among group members [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. For instance, increasing behavioural variation among individuals in honeybee colonies improves colony efficiency and productivity [ 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential Gene Expression Correlates with Behavioural Polymorphism during Collective Behaviour in Cockroaches

Planas‐Sitjà

Deneubourg

Lafontaine

et al. 2022

Animals

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Consistent inter-individual variation in the propensity to perform different tasks (animal personality) can contribute significantly to the success of group-living organisms. The distribution of different personalities in a group influences collective actions and therefore how these organisms interact with their environment. However, we have little understanding of the proximate mechanisms underlying animal personality in animal groups, and research on this theme has often been biased towards organisms with advanced social systems. The goal of this study is to investigate the mechanistic basis for personality variation during collective behaviour in a species with rudimentary societies: the American cockroach. We thus use an approach which combines experimental classification of individuals into behavioural phenotypes (‘bold’ and ‘shy’ individuals) with comparative gene expression. Our analyses reveal differences in gene expression between behavioural phenotypes and suggest that social context may modulate gene expression related to bold/shy characteristics. We also discuss how cockroaches could be a valuable model for the study of genetic mechanisms underlying the early steps in the evolution of social behaviour and social complexity. This study provides a first step towards a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with differences in boldness and behavioural plasticity in these organisms.

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Functional heterogeneity facilitates effectual collective task performance in a worker-polymorphic ant

Sakai,

Planas-Sitjà,

Cronin

2023

Behavioral Ecology

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Effective coordination of group actions underlies the success of group-living organisms. Recent studies of animal personality have shown that groups composed of individuals with different behavioral propensities can outperform uniform groups in a range of different tasks, but we have only a rudimentary understanding of how differences in individual behavior influence the behavior of the group as a whole. In this study, we use natural variation in behavioral propensity among morphologically distinct worker castes of the small carpenter ant Camponotus yamaokai to shed new light on this. Iterative testing indicated that ants displayed consistent behavioral differences among individuals and between castes, with major workers exhibiting a lower exploratory tendency than minors. By constructing groups of different caste composition and quantifying their performance in the task of colony emigration, we show that group performance is an asymmetric humped function of caste ratio, with optimal performance achieved by groups with natural caste ratios. Using a simulation model based on our empirical data, we demonstrate that interindividual differences in social attraction and exploratory tendency are sufficient to explain the observed patterns. Our results provide new insights into how group performance in collective tasks can vary with group composition.

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The effect of idiosyncrasy on aggregation in group-living organisms

Cited by 4 publications

References 55 publications

Emergence and retention of a collective memory in cockroaches

Emergence and retention of a collective memory in cockroaches

Differential Gene Expression Correlates with Behavioural Polymorphism during Collective Behaviour in Cockroaches

Functional heterogeneity facilitates effectual collective task performance in a worker-polymorphic ant

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