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The emergence of a collective sensory response threshold in ant colonies

The sensory response threshold is a fundamental biophysical property of biological systems that underlies many physiological and computational functions, and its systematic study has played a pivotal role in uncovering the principles of biological computation. Here, we show that ant colonies, which...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Gal, Asaf, Kronauer, Daniel J. C.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: National Academy of Sciences 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9191679/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35653573
http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2123076119
Descripción
Sumario:The sensory response threshold is a fundamental biophysical property of biological systems that underlies many physiological and computational functions, and its systematic study has played a pivotal role in uncovering the principles of biological computation. Here, we show that ant colonies, which perform computational tasks at the group level, have emergent collective sensory response thresholds. Colonies respond collectively to step changes in temperature and evacuate the nest during severe perturbations. This response is characterized by a group-size–dependent threshold, and the underlying dynamics are dominated by social feedback between the ants. Using a binary network model, we demonstrate that a balance between short-range excitatory and long-range inhibitory interactions can explain the emergence of the collective response threshold and its size dependency. Our findings illustrate how simple social dynamics allow insect colonies to integrate information about the external environment and their internal state to produce adaptive collective responses.