Experimental investigation of ant traffic under crowded conditions
Efficient transportation is crucial for urban mobility, cell function and the survival of animal groups. From humans driving on the highway, to ants running on a trail, the main challenge faced by all collective systems is how to prevent traffic jams in crowded environments. Here, we show that ants,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2019-10-01
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| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/48945 |
| _version_ | 1797242698565943296 |
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| author | Laure-Anne Poissonnier Sebastien Motsch Jacques Gautrais Camille Buhl Audrey Dussutour |
| author_facet | Laure-Anne Poissonnier Sebastien Motsch Jacques Gautrais Camille Buhl Audrey Dussutour |
| author_sort | Laure-Anne Poissonnier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Efficient transportation is crucial for urban mobility, cell function and the survival of animal groups. From humans driving on the highway, to ants running on a trail, the main challenge faced by all collective systems is how to prevent traffic jams in crowded environments. Here, we show that ants, despite their behavioral simplicity, have managed the tour de force of avoiding the formation of traffic jams at high density. At the macroscopic level, we demonstrated that ant traffic is best described by a two-phase flow function. At low densities there is a clear linear relationship between ant density and the flow, while at large density, the flow remains constant and no congestion occurs. From a microscopic perspective, the individual tracking of ants under varying densities revealed that ants adjust their speed and avoid time consuming interactions at large densities. Our results point to strategies by which ant colonies solve the main challenge of transportation by self-regulating their behavior. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:43:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-99eec500a7a543b9a2e3f786e10fdd49 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:43:21Z |
| publishDate | 2019-10-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-99eec500a7a543b9a2e3f786e10fdd492024-03-27T08:37:07ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2019-10-01810.7554/eLife.48945Experimental investigation of ant traffic under crowded conditionsLaure-Anne Poissonnier0Sebastien Motsch1Jacques Gautrais2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7002-9920Camille Buhl3Audrey Dussutour4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1377-3550Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse, FranceArizona State University, Tempe, United StatesResearch Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse, FranceSchool of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, AustraliaResearch Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse, FranceEfficient transportation is crucial for urban mobility, cell function and the survival of animal groups. From humans driving on the highway, to ants running on a trail, the main challenge faced by all collective systems is how to prevent traffic jams in crowded environments. Here, we show that ants, despite their behavioral simplicity, have managed the tour de force of avoiding the formation of traffic jams at high density. At the macroscopic level, we demonstrated that ant traffic is best described by a two-phase flow function. At low densities there is a clear linear relationship between ant density and the flow, while at large density, the flow remains constant and no congestion occurs. From a microscopic perspective, the individual tracking of ants under varying densities revealed that ants adjust their speed and avoid time consuming interactions at large densities. Our results point to strategies by which ant colonies solve the main challenge of transportation by self-regulating their behavior.https://elifesciences.org/articles/48945trafficforagingantslinepithema humileself-organizationcollective behavior |
| spellingShingle | Laure-Anne Poissonnier Sebastien Motsch Jacques Gautrais Camille Buhl Audrey Dussutour Experimental investigation of ant traffic under crowded conditions eLife traffic foraging ants linepithema humile self-organization collective behavior |
| title | Experimental investigation of ant traffic under crowded conditions |
| title_full | Experimental investigation of ant traffic under crowded conditions |
| title_fullStr | Experimental investigation of ant traffic under crowded conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental investigation of ant traffic under crowded conditions |
| title_short | Experimental investigation of ant traffic under crowded conditions |
| title_sort | experimental investigation of ant traffic under crowded conditions |
| topic | traffic foraging ants linepithema humile self-organization collective behavior |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/48945 |
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