Spatiotemporal organization of ant foraging from a complex systems perspective
Cristín, Javier (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Física)
Fernández-López, Pol (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Lloret-Cabot, Roger (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Genovart, Meritxell (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Méndez, Viçenc (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Física)
Bartumeus, Frederic (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Campos, Daniel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Física)

Date:	2024
Abstract:	We use complex systems science to explore the emergent behavioral patterns that typify eusocial species, using collective ant foraging as a paradigmatic example. Our particular aim is to provide a methodology to quantify how the collective orchestration of foraging provides functional advantages to ant colonies. For this, we combine (i) a purpose-built experimental arena replicating ant foraging across realistic spatial and temporal scales, and (ii) a set of analytical tools, grounded in information theory and spin-glass approaches, to explore the resulting data. This combined approach yields computational replicas of the colonies; these are high-dimensional models that store the experimental foraging patterns through a training process, and are then able to generate statistically similar patterns, in an analogous way to machine learning tools. These in silico models are then used to explore the colony performance under different resource availability scenarios. Our findings highlight how replicas of the colonies trained under constant and predictable experimental food conditions exhibit heightened foraging efficiencies, manifested in reduced times for food discovery and gathering, and accelerated transmission of information under similar conditions. However, these same replicas demonstrate a lack of resilience when faced with new foraging conditions. Conversely, replicas of colonies trained under fluctuating and uncertain food conditions reveal lower efficiencies at specific environments but increased resilience to shifts in food location.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2021-122893NB-C22 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2021-122893NB-C21
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Ecological modelling ; Biological physics ; Statistical physics
Published in:	Scientific reports, Vol. 14 (June 2024) , art. 12801, ISSN 2045-2322

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63307-1
PMID: 38834710

13 p, 2.6 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > CREAF (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles