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Emergence of splits and collective turns in pigeon flocks under predation

Complex patterns of collective behaviour may emerge through self-organization, from local interactions among individuals in a group. To understand what behavioural rules underlie these patterns, computational models are often necessary. These rules have not yet been systematically studied for bird f...

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Autores principales: Papadopoulou, Marina, Hildenbrandt, Hanno, Sankey, Daniel W. E., Portugal, Steven J., Hemelrijk, Charlotte K.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The Royal Society 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8864349/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35223068
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211898
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author Papadopoulou, Marina
Hildenbrandt, Hanno
Sankey, Daniel W. E.
Portugal, Steven J.
Hemelrijk, Charlotte K.
author_facet Papadopoulou, Marina
Hildenbrandt, Hanno
Sankey, Daniel W. E.
Portugal, Steven J.
Hemelrijk, Charlotte K.
author_sort Papadopoulou, Marina
collection PubMed
description Complex patterns of collective behaviour may emerge through self-organization, from local interactions among individuals in a group. To understand what behavioural rules underlie these patterns, computational models are often necessary. These rules have not yet been systematically studied for bird flocks under predation. Here, we study airborne flocks of homing pigeons attacked by a robotic falcon, combining empirical data with a species-specific computational model of collective escape. By analysing GPS trajectories of flocking individuals, we identify two new patterns of collective escape: early splits and collective turns, occurring even at large distances from the predator. To examine their formation, we extend an agent-based model of pigeons with a ‘discrete’ escape manoeuvre by a single initiator, namely a sudden turn interrupting the continuous coordinated motion of the group. Both splits and collective turns emerge from this rule. Their relative frequency depends on the angular velocity and position of the initiator in the flock: sharp turns by individuals at the periphery lead to more splits than collective turns. We confirm this association in the empirical data. Our study highlights the importance of discrete and uncoordinated manoeuvres in the collective escape of bird flocks and advocates the systematic study of their patterns across species.
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spelling pubmed-88643492022-02-24 Emergence of splits and collective turns in pigeon flocks under predation Papadopoulou, Marina Hildenbrandt, Hanno Sankey, Daniel W. E. Portugal, Steven J. Hemelrijk, Charlotte K. R Soc Open Sci Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Complex patterns of collective behaviour may emerge through self-organization, from local interactions among individuals in a group. To understand what behavioural rules underlie these patterns, computational models are often necessary. These rules have not yet been systematically studied for bird flocks under predation. Here, we study airborne flocks of homing pigeons attacked by a robotic falcon, combining empirical data with a species-specific computational model of collective escape. By analysing GPS trajectories of flocking individuals, we identify two new patterns of collective escape: early splits and collective turns, occurring even at large distances from the predator. To examine their formation, we extend an agent-based model of pigeons with a ‘discrete’ escape manoeuvre by a single initiator, namely a sudden turn interrupting the continuous coordinated motion of the group. Both splits and collective turns emerge from this rule. Their relative frequency depends on the angular velocity and position of the initiator in the flock: sharp turns by individuals at the periphery lead to more splits than collective turns. We confirm this association in the empirical data. Our study highlights the importance of discrete and uncoordinated manoeuvres in the collective escape of bird flocks and advocates the systematic study of their patterns across species. The Royal Society 2022-02-23 /pmc/articles/PMC8864349/ /pubmed/35223068 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211898 Text en © 2022 The Authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Organismal and Evolutionary Biology
Papadopoulou, Marina
Hildenbrandt, Hanno
Sankey, Daniel W. E.
Portugal, Steven J.
Hemelrijk, Charlotte K.
Emergence of splits and collective turns in pigeon flocks under predation
title Emergence of splits and collective turns in pigeon flocks under predation
title_full Emergence of splits and collective turns in pigeon flocks under predation
title_fullStr Emergence of splits and collective turns in pigeon flocks under predation
title_full_unstemmed Emergence of splits and collective turns in pigeon flocks under predation
title_short Emergence of splits and collective turns in pigeon flocks under predation
title_sort emergence of splits and collective turns in pigeon flocks under predation
topic Organismal and Evolutionary Biology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8864349/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35223068
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211898
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