A Model for Collective Dynamics in Ant Raids
Ant raiding, the process of identifying and returning food to the nest or bivouac, is a fascinating example of collective motion in nature. During such raids ants lay pheromones to form trails for others to find a food source. In this work a coupled PDE/ODE model is introduced to study ant dynamics...
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Main Author | |
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Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
17.08.2015
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Ant raiding, the process of identifying and returning food to the nest or
bivouac, is a fascinating example of collective motion in nature. During such
raids ants lay pheromones to form trails for others to find a food source. In
this work a coupled PDE/ODE model is introduced to study ant dynamics and
pheromone concentration. The key idea is the introduction of two forms of ant
dynamics: foraging and returning, each governed by different environmental and
social cues. The model accounts for all aspects of the raiding cycle including
local collisional interactions, the laying of pheromone along a trail, and the
transition from one class of ants to another. Through analysis of an order
parameter measuring the orientational order in the system, the model shows
self-organization into a collective state consisting of lanes of ants moving in
opposite directions as well as the transition back to the individual state once
the food source is depleted matching prior experimental results. This indicates
that in the absence of direct communication ants naturally form an efficient
method for transporting food to the nest/bivouac. The model exhibits a
continuous kinetic phase transition in the order parameter as a function of
certain system parameters. The associated critical exponents are found,
shedding light on the behavior of the system near the transition. |
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DOI: | 10.48550/arxiv.1508.04016 |