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PNAS Science Sessions

Individual decision-making and collective animal behavior

Apr 21, 2025
12:45

Individual decision-making and collective animal behavior

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, researchers explore advances in the modeling of collective animal behaviors.

In this episode, we cover: •[00:00] Introduction •[00:48] Conor Heins incorporated cognitive processes into a model of collective behavior. •[02:13] Eva Kanso analyzed how confinement influences collective behavior. •[03:41] Andreu Puy considered the role of speed in the leader-follower dynamics of schooling fish. •[04:45] Daniel Kronauer explored how a colony of clonal raider ants collectively responds to rising temperatures. •[06:02] Sonja Friman quantified the energy savings of starlings flying in complex formations. •[07:27] Daniele Carlesso modeled how weaver ants decide to form chains to explore their environment. •[08:43] Ashkaan Fahimipour explored how reef fish minimize the spread of misinformation. •[10:11] Clare Doherty explored the individualism of terrestrial hermit crabs moving in groups. •[11:44] Final thoughts and conclusion.

About Our Guests: Conor Heins  Machine Learning Researcher Verses AI / Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

Eva Kanso  Zohrab A. Kaprielian Fellow in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering University of Southern California

Andreu Puy  PhD Student Polytechnic University of Catalonia

Daniel Kronauer  Stanley S. and Sydney R. Shuman Professor Rockefeller University

Sonja Friman  Postdoctoral Fellow Lund University

Daniele Carlesso  Postdoctoral Researcher University of Konstanz

Ashkaan Fahimipour  Assistant Professor Florida Atlantic University

Clare Doherty  Research Associate Ulster University

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2320239121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2406293121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2309733121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2123076119 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2319971121 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2216217120 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2215428120 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-11469-1

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