scholarly journals Collective Vortex Behaviors: Diversity, Proximate, and Ultimate Causes of Circular Animal Group Movements

2016 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johann Delcourt ◽  
Nikolai W. F. Bode ◽  
Mathieu Denoël
Keyword(s):  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuaki Mizumoto ◽  
Sang-Bin Lee ◽  
Gabriele Valentini ◽  
Thomas Chouvenc ◽  
Stephen C. Pratt

AbstractLeadership of animal group movements depends on social feedback, hence leader’s signals and follower’s responses should be attuned to each other. However, leader and follower roles are difficult to disentangle in species with high levels of coordination. To overcome this challenge, we investigated a simple case of movement coordination: termite pairs in which a female leads a male as they search for a nest site. To tease apart leader and follower roles, we created conspecific and heterospecific pairs of Coptotermes gestroi and C. formosanus, which share a pairing pheromone so that males follow females of either species. Conspecific pairs were stable for both species, even though C. gestroi females produce less pheromone than C. formosanus. Heterospecific pairs with C. gestroi males were also stable, but not those with C. formosanus males. We attributed this difference to the C. gestroi male’s unique capacity to follow females that release small amounts of pheromone; C. formosanus males cannot follow or reject C. gestroi females as unsuitable. This conclusion was supported by an information-theoretic analysis that detected information flow from C. formosanus females to C. gestroi males as in conspecific pairs, but not from C. gestroi females to C. formosanus males. Despite their following ability, C. gestroi males lost to C. formosanus males in competitions to follow C. formosanus females. Thus, partner selection has shaped the species-specific association of mating pairs. Our results demonstrate that a similar level of coordination can emerge from distinct sets of complementary sender-receiver interactions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monamie Ringhofer ◽  
Clark Kendrick Go ◽  
Sota Inoue ◽  
Renata S. Mendonça ◽  
Satoshi Hirata ◽  
...  

AbstractIn animal groups, individual interactions achieve coordinated movements to maintain cohesion. In horse harem groups, herding is a behavior in which males chase females from behind; it is considered to assist with group cohesiveness. However, the mechanisms by which the individuals move to maintain group cohesion are unknown. We applied novel non-invasive methods of drone filming and video tracking to observe horse movements in the field with high temporal and spatial resolution. We tracked all group members and drew trajectories. We analyzed the movements of females and found two phases of interactions based on their timing of movement initiation. The females that moved first were those nearest to the herding male, while the movement initiation of the later females was determined by the distance from the nearest moving female, not by the distance from the herding male. These interactions are unique among animal group movements and might represent a herding mechanism responsible for maintaining group cohesion. This might be due to long-term stable relationships within a harem group and strong social bonds between females. This study showed that the combination of drone filming and video tracking is a useful method for analyzing the movements of animals simultaneously in high resolution.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justas Birgiolas ◽  
Christopher M. Jernigan ◽  
Richard C. Gerkin ◽  
Brian H. Smith ◽  
Sharon M. Crook

ABSTRACTMany scientifically and agriculturally important insects use antennae to detect the presence of volatile chemical compounds and extend their proboscis during feeding. The ability to rapidly obtain high-resolution measurements of natural antenna and proboscis movements and assess how they change in response to chemical, developmental, and genetic manipulations can aid the understanding of insect behavior. By extending our previous work on assessing aggregate insect swarm or animal group movements from natural and laboratory videos using video analysis software SwarmSight, we developed a novel, free, and open-source software module, SwarmSight Appendage Tracking (SwarmSight.org) for frame-by-frame tracking of insect antenna and proboscis positions from conventional web camera videos using conventional computers. The software processes frames about 120 times faster than humans, performs at better than human accuracy, and, using 30 frames-per-second videos, can capture antennal dynamics up to 15 Hz. We used the software to track the antennal response of honey bees to two odors and found significant mean antennal retractions away from the odor source about 1 s after odor presentation. We observed antenna position density heat map cluster formation and cluster and mean angle dependence on odor concentration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Florek ◽  
Urszula Nawrot ◽  
Agnieszka Korzeniowska-Kowal ◽  
Katarzyna Włodarczyk ◽  
Anna Wzorek ◽  
...  

AbstractFungi belonging to the Cryptococcus neoformans/C. gattii species complex (CNGSC) are pathogens causing severe infections in humans and animals, that for humans may result in a mortality rate ranging up to 70%. The CNGSC is divided into eight major molecular types, that may differ in their virulence and susceptibility. In order to fully understand the epidemiology of cryptococcosis, it is important to study the world distribution and population structure of these pathogens. The present study is the first presenting a population of strains isolated in Poland and one of the few using a multi-species animal group as a source of the specimen. The pathogen was present in 2.375% of the tested animals. The URA5-RFLP and MALDI-TOF MS analyses have revealed that the population consisted exclusively of C. neoformans strains, with a predominance of major molecular type VNIV (C. neoformans var. neoformans). The MALDI-TOF MS was used to perform the CNGSC strains identification on both the species and sub-species level. Despite the fact that the animals providing the specimens were not treated with 5-fluorocytosine, around 10% of the tested population presented MIC values exceeding 64 mg/L, indicating the existence of the 5-fluorocytosine-resistant strains in the environment.


2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter G. Cale

White-browed Babbler Pomatostomus superciliosus groups occupying linear strips of vegetation had breeding territories that were smaller in area and had longer linear dimensions than those occupying patches. A group's non-breeding home range was larger than its breeding territory. Groups occupying linear/patch home ranges expanded the linear extent and area of their home ranges more than those within other home range configurations. Some groups moved during the non-breeding season and this was more likely to occur if the group occupied a remnant with a low abundance of invertebrates during summer. Some groups that moved returned prior to the next breeding season, but the majority were never seen again. New groups moved into the study sites and established in vacant home ranges. This suggests that those groups that left the study sites may have established new home ranges elsewhere. Breeding site fidelity was lower in groups that had failed in previous breeding attempts. Therefore, group movements were influenced by the feeding and breeding quality of the habitat. However, the configuration of the local population also influenced group movements with those groups on the edge of a local population being more likely to move than those in the interior. New groups were formed by two processes; group dispersal, where groups generally filled a vacant home range, and group budding, which involved the splitting of a large group. Group dispersal maintained group densities while group budding increased the density of groups in a local population. These two processes were common, producing localized fluctuations in the density of groups. Since babbler groups contain only one breeding pair, changes in group density represent changes in effective population size. Therefore, group dynamics may be important to the persistence of local populations of White-browed Babblers, especially in landscapes that have suffered from habitat loss and fragmentation.


Author(s):  
Masahiko Hirata ◽  
Minamo Hamada ◽  
Ikuko Kawagoe ◽  
Koki Okamura ◽  
Sakura Yuda
Keyword(s):  
Beef Cow ◽  

2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Gilpin ◽  
T. James ◽  
F. Nourozi ◽  
D. Saunders ◽  
P. Scholes ◽  
...  

Identifying the source of faecal pollution is important to enable appropriate management of faecal pollution of water. We are developing and evaluating a combination of these microbial and chemical indicators better able to identify the source of faecal pollution. These assays make use of a combination of direct PCR, culturing, and colony hybridisation to identify source specific species of Bifidobacterium, Rhodococcus and Bacteroides. In conjunction with assays for (a) fluorescent whitening agents and (b) faecal sterols and stanols, these indicators were able to identify human derived faecal pollution in river water containing inputs from septic tanks, municipal oxidation ponds, farmed animals and feral animals. Differentiating amongst the animal sources was more difficult and will require development of molecular assays for organisms specific to each animal group.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andressa Maria Rorato Nascimento de Matos ◽  
Eloiza Teles Caldart ◽  
Fernanda Pinto Ferreira ◽  
Keila Clarine Monteiro ◽  
Marielen de Souza ◽  
...  

Abstract The aim of this study were to detect antibodies anti-Leishmania spp. and anti-Trypanosoma cruzi in two different populations of domestic cats (Felis catus domesticus) from North Paraná referred for surgical castration and to determine which characteristics of the animals studied may be associated with seropositivity. Serum samples from 679 cats were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) in series. Associations between age, sex, race, year of care and animal group were verified using the simple logistic regression. Percentage of 8.5% (58/679) of cats were positive for Leishmania spp. and 7.6% (51/673) for T. cruzi by the tests ELISA and IFAT. Animals collected by non-governmental animal protection organizations presented more seropositivity for Leishmania spp. (p<0.0001). Results shown that Leishmania spp. and T. cruzi are present in domestic cats in the northern part of the state of Paraná, as well as, owners of non-governmental animal protection organizations may be more exposed to leishmaniasis when compared to other animal owners evaluated in the present study.


2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1788) ◽  
pp. 20140812 ◽  
Author(s):  
William L. Romey ◽  
Magenta M. Miller ◽  
Jose M. Vidal

Coordinated group motion has been studied extensively both in real systems (flocks, swarms and schools) and in simulations (self-propelled particle (SPP) models using attraction and repulsion rules). Rarely are attraction and repulsion rules manipulated, and the resulting emergent behaviours of real and simulation systems are compared. We compare swarms of sensory-deprived whirligig beetles with matching simulation models. Whirligigs live at the water's surface and coordinate their grouping using their eyes and antennae. We filmed groups of beetles in which antennae or eyes had been unilaterally obstructed and measured individual and group behaviours. We then developed and compared eight SPP simulation models. Eye-less beetles formed larger diameter resting groups than antenna-less or control groups. Antenna-less groups collided more often with each other during evasive group movements than did eye-less or control groups. Simulations of antenna-less individuals produced no difference from a control (or a slight decrease) in group diameter. Simulations of eye-less individuals produced an increase in group diameter. Our study is important in (i) differentiating between group attraction and repulsion rules, (ii) directly comparing emergent properties of real and simulated groups, and (iii) exploring a new sensory modality (surface wave detection) to coordinate group movement.


2012 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. e-21-e-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Shkvyria ◽  
D. Vishnevskiy

Large Carnivores of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone During nine years observations on large carnivores of Exclusion Zone have been carried out. Species composition and the number of large predators in the Exclusion Zone correspond to the regional conditions. The presence of bears and permanent stay of the lynx in the Exclusion Zone was confirmed. Six wolf packs were counted. The use of an anthropogenically transformed areas, the shift of the daily regime of activity and characteristics of the diet are the most specific features of this animal group.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document